Saving Della Ray

“What’s the special for today?” he asked, his gaze on the menu spread in his hands.

I stared at his dark head, shocked at how disappointed I felt that he didn’t remember me at all. Or if he had decided I was too unimportant to acknowledge. From the corner of my eye, I could see Gloria watching us and felt my cheeks go red with embarrassment. “Breaded chicken cutlet,” I responded, my voice small. “It comes with mashed potatoes and the Chef’s special chicken gravy.”

“I’ll have that,” he responded, and shut the menu.

Our pitiful three-fold menu was tossed across the table and I felt a sort of kinsman-ship with it.

“Coming right up,” I muttered to the back of his head and turning away, I made my way back to the kitchen. I didn’t miss the gloating look Gloria shot me from the table she was wiping down at the end of the aisle. She could see I had been utterly dismissed.

It was a slow afternoon so I was able to remain in the kitchen until the Chef, Allan had his plate ready. When I carried it over to his table, he was on his phone. As I put the plate down, I realized I hadn’t been so flustered to see him that I hadn’t even asked him what he wanted to drink.

I hovered over him for a few seconds waiting for his gaze to meet mine so I could ask his choice of refreshments. He raised his eyes to me, and the two, ocean blue balls of sheer beauty regarded me. He was watching me, but listening to whomever he was talking to, and I shifted from one foot to the other, wondering if I should just leave him. But he kept watching me, his face expressionless, and the intensity of his look made my mind go blank.

I began to sweat. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I turned around to take my leave.

His hand shot out suddenly and captured my wrist.

I froze.

“Sure,” I heard him say, but I couldn’t turn around. “I’ll update you soon.”

He let me go when he was done with his call. The part of my skin he had encircled with his touch felt like it had been seared. Fighting the urge to hold it with my other hand I turned around and gave him a polite smile. “I forgot to ask earlier. What can I get you to drink?”

An odd expression passed in his eyes and it reminded me of a line from a song about tombstones in someone’s eyes. Every hair on my skin stood up to attention and my throat was suddenly parched.

“I’ll have what I had the first time we met,” he said.

“So you do recognize me?” I asked in a hushed voice.

Della Ray

“Does anyone ever forget you?”

Once again, my brain got scrambled. What did he mean by that? Perhaps it was solely in reference to the humiliating incident at the store. “I suppose it must be particularly hard to forget someone who owes you money.”

“Forget the milk. I’ll have water. Make it cold,” he responded, his eyes boring into mine.

I blinked at the sudden change in topic. “Uh, sure,” I replied, slightly offended. I went to fulfill the order and wondered if he was aware that he’d made me this flustered. His words the last time we had met about wanting to fuck me had rattled my peace. I had replayed the scene again and again in my head. To be honest, I had been completely and truly unable to get him out of my head.

I returned with his glass of iced water.

He was already well into his meal, fork digging into the cutlet and knife cutting it into neat pieces which ended up in his wonderful mouth.

I wanted a reason to linger, but he gave me none. He didn’t even lift his head to look at me as I placed the glass on his table. It irritated me that he could so easily turn me on and off again. I glared vindictively at the head of dark hair before taking my leave.

Whilst in the kitchen, I continued with the rest of my buckeye pie, but I had lost my appetite. Chewing despondently, I thought about how I was going to pay him back his money.

I had no cash on me and his meal wouldn’t even be up to twenty percent of the amount he paid to settle my grocery bill. I resolved then to come to some sort of agreement with him. Maybe I could pay for his meals here so he could eat here for free until he reached $62.30.

At that moment, an elderly couple in matching blue Hawaiian t-shirts took a table in my section and I quickly busied myself serving them. So much so that I only realized he had finished his meal and was leaving when the whiff of his scent called all my senses to attention as he walked past.