Surprise, Surprise
one
The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the run-down restaurant Annaliese worked in. Hours were long and the wage hardly ever compensated for all the hard work, but it was all she had to do in order to survive this meagerly living. Annaliese was glad, though, for the most part, as it was almost 8:30 PM. The last few customers had just left, so there was nothing much to do except clean the tables and make sure that the damage done in the kitchen for the day was all tidied up. Slowly, she grabbed a small towel from her backpack to wipe the sweat off her back and her neck. The restaurant didn’t exactly provide the best ventilation and air circulation.
Hesitantly, she started cleaning up a table on the far right corner. With her back against the entrance door, she worked as she listened to the chit chat of the two other waitresses with her. They were as lazy as grasshoppers, Annaliese had realized this during her second day at work. She had threatened to tell their boss about the two, but opted not to. They were working for food on their table as well, after all. Annaliese didn’t feel like taking that away from them. She might have been bitter or angry or sad, but she wasn’t nearly as cruel.
She grabbed onto the tray and made her way to the kitchen to dispose of the dishes. Fortunately for her, the kitchen staff were much friendlier and more hard working than the two other waitresses. With a smile, she greeted the cook a good evening. Still, work was not yet finished. The minutes felt like spiders who were preparing their prey - slow and creepy. Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, the wind chimes of the restaurant greeted her. A man, tall in stature with dark brown hair, walked through the doors. It was a man she had thought she had long forgotten. Annaliese, in her quietness, could do nothing but stare at the familiarity of the man’s shoulders and arms.
“P-p-p,” Annaliese couldn’t even bring herself to say his name. She couldn’t do it, not after all this time. “What are you doing here?” In that moment, it was as if the ticking of the clock, the chit chat of the two ladies in the back and the sound of the dishes banging in the kitchen had stopped in order to allow Annaliese to hear the tugging of her heart.
Hesitantly, she started cleaning up a table on the far right corner. With her back against the entrance door, she worked as she listened to the chit chat of the two other waitresses with her. They were as lazy as grasshoppers, Annaliese had realized this during her second day at work. She had threatened to tell their boss about the two, but opted not to. They were working for food on their table as well, after all. Annaliese didn’t feel like taking that away from them. She might have been bitter or angry or sad, but she wasn’t nearly as cruel.
She grabbed onto the tray and made her way to the kitchen to dispose of the dishes. Fortunately for her, the kitchen staff were much friendlier and more hard working than the two other waitresses. With a smile, she greeted the cook a good evening. Still, work was not yet finished. The minutes felt like spiders who were preparing their prey - slow and creepy. Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, the wind chimes of the restaurant greeted her. A man, tall in stature with dark brown hair, walked through the doors. It was a man she had thought she had long forgotten. Annaliese, in her quietness, could do nothing but stare at the familiarity of the man’s shoulders and arms.
“P-p-p,” Annaliese couldn’t even bring herself to say his name. She couldn’t do it, not after all this time. “What are you doing here?” In that moment, it was as if the ticking of the clock, the chit chat of the two ladies in the back and the sound of the dishes banging in the kitchen had stopped in order to allow Annaliese to hear the tugging of her heart.