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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Drama
- Published: 05/24/2016
The Diner
F, from Ontario, CanadaIt is just 6 in the morning. Julie is in with her basket of linen from the dryer. She lays the linen on the tables, arranges all the tables with the table mats, plates and forks and then places a white daisy in the vase on every table. Julie, she is beautiful- tall and lovely with jet black hair tied up in a ponytail. Just eighteen! She helps her parents Mary and Dario with the restaurant in the summer. She’s a clever girl, that Julie. She wants to be a lawyer. She is done with all the tables. Now she’s helping her folks in the kitchen.
It’s around 6:30. Mike walks in. He is a lanky kid. He might be around the same age as Julie. He is the busboy. He has a crush on Julie. He looks around for her as soon as he gets in the door. He spots her at the end of the Diner and his face lights up. He waves and shouts, “Hey Jules,” with a big smile. He goes to the kitchen with a few quick steps. You know all is well with Mike just by his gait.
The place opens at 8 AM for breakfast. The smell of freshly baked bread is divine. The place is called ‘Mary and Dario’s Diner'. Mary and Dario started the place eight years ago using all the savings they brought with them from South America. It was tough, the first few years. They hardly had anything left after paying the rent and the bills. But now the business is good. They have a bunch of regulars. Most of the folks coming to the diner work around here and some live in the buildings nearby. Mary and Dario, they are hardworking honest people. They make everything fresh, using the best ingredients.
There’s Bill, the first customer. Bill’s here every day sharp at 8 AM. He loves a good breakfast. He walks over and sits down at table number 5. He examines the knives and forks. Julie walks over with a big smile. That's another reason Bill comes here every weekday. In the summer he stops by on the weekends too. Some days he is here for all three meals. He is not here as often after Labor Day! Bill’s in his mid-twenties. He looks smart and he dresses well. He works for the bank across the street. He is a financial advisor there. He grins at Julie while she brings him the coffee and whips out her order book. Bill asks for French toast today. The place is filling up. Some familiar faces and some new customers.
Julie is back with Bill’s order. That smells good. Looks good too. The blueberries and the strawberries piled over the French toast, which is covered with maple syrup. Yum…. Bill savors his breakfast while reading emails on his tablet preparing for the day ahead.
It is 9AM. The breakfast crowd has thinned out. There are a few customers lazing around. In walks Annie with her mom, Aida. Annie skips to one of the tables. They live in the next lane. Annie loves this place. She turned four this May. Every day she tries out a new pastry while her mom sips on her coffee and reads the newspaper. Today she has a blueberry Danish. Mary comes out to hug Annie and says hello to Aida. They exchange a few pleasantries and Mary walks back to the kitchen.
There is a young man leaning on the bicycle rack across the street with a cigarette in his mouth. He is almost gaunt. He wears blue jeans with a few tears and a black t-shirt. His curly hair is shaggy and unkempt. He must be around eighteen. His gaze seems to follow Julie to every table. He looks intense. He is talking to a burly middle aged man who also has a cigarette in his mouth.
Dario and Mary are busy preparing for the lunch crowd while Julie and the wait staff clean the tables and lay out new cutlery and water. Annie has dropped some blueberry filling on the table cloth. Julie can’t seem to clean the stains off so she changes the table cloth and puts a new one. She turns around and goes to the next table with her order book in hand. “Oh hello Tim,” she says. You can sense the tension in her voice. She’s talking to the young man from across the street. He touches Julie’s elbow ever so lightly and whispers. She pours some coffee for Tim and goes to the next table. Mary looks out of the kitchen window. You can see the anxiety on her face. She does not seem to like this young man.
The midday crowd is all done and the place is empty, except for a few customers.Tim is still hanging out at his table scribbling on a piece of paper. Mary and Dario are busy in the kitchen getting the lunch menu ready. Julie and the wait staff have cleared the tables. Seems like Mike is on his break. He shouts, “See you later Jules,” and runs out the door, strides across the street and goes to the bus stop. Julie and the wait staff are done with all the tables except for Tim’s. Julie goes over to his table and asks him if he is waiting for lunch. He grins at her, gets up and walks out. Julie takes the paper Tim scribbled on. She blushes and puts it in her pocket.
It is 11:30. The first customer walks in for lunch. He takes table 5. Everybody’s favorite since it right next to the window. He is the burly man from across the street. Julie comes over with the menu, curtseys and leaves.
Mike is back from his break and heads straight to the kitchen. He winks and smiles at Julie on his way.
The lunch crowd is pouring in. Mary peeps out to take inventory. The wait staff seems very busy. The burly man orders soup and sandwich. His phone rings and he answers, “Carlos”. The conversation does not sound pleasant. He puts the phone down and gulps down the glass of water. Puts the glass down and looks around. Julie is back with the order. She smiles at the man and places the soup and sandwiches on his table. “Enjoy,” she says and walks away. He eats his meal quickly. Leaves a twenty-dollar bill on the table and leaves. Julie is surprised by his action. She pockets the twenty-dollar bill, making a mental note to return his change next time he comes to the diner. She cleans the table, replaces the placemat, the cutlery and walks to the next table.
It is 1 PM. All the other tables are full. There’s a lot of noise. Everybody seems to be chatting and enjoying their meal.
It is almost 2 PM. The Diner is empty. The wait staff is clearing all the tables. Mike is busy with the dishes. Annie and her mom, Aida are back! Annie skips to table number 5, dragging her mom along. Julie comes over with her order book smiling at the pair. Annie wants waffles and apple juice. Her mom orders ‘Chicken Dijon Salad’ - chicken breast pieces and bacon bits with crisp romaine lettuce and Mary’s honey and mustard dressing. “Anything to drink,” asks Julie. “A diet Pepsi please,” Aida says, bringing out two tablets. One for her and one for Annie. Annie starts sketching on hers and Aida starts flipping through her magazines.
Tim and Carlos are across the street from the diner.They look like they are having a very serious conversation. They look towards the diner nervously every now and then.
Julie is back with the waffles, salad and drinks. “Enjoy,” she says and walks away. Mother and daughter dig into their meals. About five minutes into their lunch, Aida looks startled. Looks like a message she received seems to be very disturbing. She looks up from her tablet and looks out the window. She stares at Carlos standing there by himself. He stares back at her. “We need to go,” Aida tells Annie in a hushed voice. She leaves a few bills and some change on the table, picks up her things and rushes Annie towards the kitchen. Mary looks at Aida and takes her to the back door. It is like they have some silent understanding. Dario looks up at Mary. She tells him she knew Carlos before she met Dario. That Carlos and Aida were married for a little while. Tim is Carlos' son from the first marriage and Annie is his daughter with Aida.
Nina, the local police officer walks in. She is lovely, tall and elegant in her uniform. She smiles and nods at almost everyone. She walks past the Diner every day. Every once a while she stops by for a cup of coffee and waffles. Nina walks straight to the table next to the window and sits down. Julie greets her with a fresh pot of coffee. “I will get the waffles in a few Nina,” she says and goes to the kitchen. Nina joined the police force about two years ago and was assigned this precinct about a year ago. She speaks three languages– English, French and Spanish. Everyone loves Nina. There hasn’t been any crime in this area since Nina got here. Julie is back with Nina’s waffles and a jar of maple syrup. Yummy…
It is drizzling outside. Some folks have the hoods over their heads and speed past. Not too many umbrellas.The drizzle might have caught people by surprise.
The wait staff is getting ready for dinner. Not too many people for dinner. Mary and Dario decide to close early.
Next morning Julie is up early as usual. It is almost 8 AM and many of the regulars are in and out of the Diner.
A little after 11 Annie and Aida walk in. Julie comes to their table with the order book. Aida looks worried. She asks Julie if Mary has time to talk. Julie goes back to check with Mary.
There’s Carlos,the burly man. He sits at a table in the corner behind Aida and Annie. Aida cannot see him there, but he can see her and Annie. He has a newspaper in hand and hides his face behind it. One of the wait staff went to his table with the order book and a fresh jug of water. Carlos ordered the blueberry pie. He takes a few bites and pushes the plate away. Dario is not going to be pleased. Blueberry pie is Dario’s specialty. He takes great pride in making it.
Nina walks in a little later. Julie comes in with fresh coffee and says she’ll be back with Nina’s waffles. “Thanks Julie,” Nina says. When Julie returns, Nina asks her to sit and talk. “How do you know Tim,” Nina asks. “We went to high school together,” Julie replies. “What does he do now?” “He works at a bike shop.” “Has he talked to you about any of the customers?” “Not really.” “What was in the piece of paper you picked up from his table the other day?” “Oh it just some scribbling.” Julie puts her hand in her apron pocket and places the scarp on the table. “That’s beautiful Julie. That young friend of yours is a good artist!” It’s a drawing of Julie’s side profile. Julie blushes, puts the paper back in her pocket and walks away.
Mary comes out of the kitchen. She sees Carlos at the table behind Aida’s. Instead of going over to Aida and Annie’s table she walks to Nina’s table and talks to her in Spanish before returning to the kitchen. Aida realizes something is amiss when Mary doesn’t come to her table. She finishes her meal quietly. Pays for it, picks up Annie and leaves. Nina follows her.
After some time, Carlos pays for the pie and walks out too.When the dishes come back, Mike teases Dario about the unfinished blueberry pie. Dario makes sure he knows who didn’t finish his pie.
It is Saturday! Mary has special menu items for the weekend. She makes killer cinnamon buns on the weekends that she serves with every order. She even packs some for her favorite regulars. It smells divine when she bakes them. That smell of sugar and cinnamon together.
It is 11 AM and Bill strolls in for his brunch. Bill walks in and sits at his favorite table – table number 5. Julie waves to him. Julie heads over to take his order. He asks for the special of the day, ‘New Jersey Pork Roll’ with a diet coke. Julie smiles at him and skips to the kitchen. She is back in five minutes. “Enjoy,” she says and walks away to take orders at the next table.
Annie and Aida walk in too. They sit at table 6.
Carlos walks in and goes straight to table 6. He pulls a chair from the next table and sits himself down. Julie looks at Aida and senses trouble. She sees something in Carlos’ hand under the table. It looks like a gun under a napkin. She quickly steps to the kitchen and tells Mary about Carlos sitting at Aida and Annie’s table. Mary looks at Dario who grabs his cell phone and goes into the storeroom to make a call. Mike also senses trouble. Bill looks up from his tablet and sees Mary and Julie looking out of the kitchen window into the dining room at table 6. He knows something’s not right and sits up heightened, ready to take action.
Dario walks out of the kitchen with a blueberry pie in his hand. He hears Carlos speak in Spanish. He can hear Carlos threaten Aida to let him take Annie. For a moment it looks like Dario is going to serve the pie at table 7 but he suddenly swings around and throws the pie in Carlos’s face. Bill jumps up, pulls the table cloth off his table and ties Carlos to the chair. Mike hurries out of the kitchen and disengages the gun from Carlos' hand. Aida hurries off to the kitchen and takes off through the back door with Annie.
You can hear the police car’s sirens from a distance. Nina enters the Diner and arrests Carlos.
Nina walks the handcuffed Carlos to her car.
Mike and Bill look at Julie at the same time and wink while she looks out across the road at Tim standing there looking lost.
The Diner(Rita Cherian)
It is just 6 in the morning. Julie is in with her basket of linen from the dryer. She lays the linen on the tables, arranges all the tables with the table mats, plates and forks and then places a white daisy in the vase on every table. Julie, she is beautiful- tall and lovely with jet black hair tied up in a ponytail. Just eighteen! She helps her parents Mary and Dario with the restaurant in the summer. She’s a clever girl, that Julie. She wants to be a lawyer. She is done with all the tables. Now she’s helping her folks in the kitchen.
It’s around 6:30. Mike walks in. He is a lanky kid. He might be around the same age as Julie. He is the busboy. He has a crush on Julie. He looks around for her as soon as he gets in the door. He spots her at the end of the Diner and his face lights up. He waves and shouts, “Hey Jules,” with a big smile. He goes to the kitchen with a few quick steps. You know all is well with Mike just by his gait.
The place opens at 8 AM for breakfast. The smell of freshly baked bread is divine. The place is called ‘Mary and Dario’s Diner'. Mary and Dario started the place eight years ago using all the savings they brought with them from South America. It was tough, the first few years. They hardly had anything left after paying the rent and the bills. But now the business is good. They have a bunch of regulars. Most of the folks coming to the diner work around here and some live in the buildings nearby. Mary and Dario, they are hardworking honest people. They make everything fresh, using the best ingredients.
There’s Bill, the first customer. Bill’s here every day sharp at 8 AM. He loves a good breakfast. He walks over and sits down at table number 5. He examines the knives and forks. Julie walks over with a big smile. That's another reason Bill comes here every weekday. In the summer he stops by on the weekends too. Some days he is here for all three meals. He is not here as often after Labor Day! Bill’s in his mid-twenties. He looks smart and he dresses well. He works for the bank across the street. He is a financial advisor there. He grins at Julie while she brings him the coffee and whips out her order book. Bill asks for French toast today. The place is filling up. Some familiar faces and some new customers.
Julie is back with Bill’s order. That smells good. Looks good too. The blueberries and the strawberries piled over the French toast, which is covered with maple syrup. Yum…. Bill savors his breakfast while reading emails on his tablet preparing for the day ahead.
It is 9AM. The breakfast crowd has thinned out. There are a few customers lazing around. In walks Annie with her mom, Aida. Annie skips to one of the tables. They live in the next lane. Annie loves this place. She turned four this May. Every day she tries out a new pastry while her mom sips on her coffee and reads the newspaper. Today she has a blueberry Danish. Mary comes out to hug Annie and says hello to Aida. They exchange a few pleasantries and Mary walks back to the kitchen.
There is a young man leaning on the bicycle rack across the street with a cigarette in his mouth. He is almost gaunt. He wears blue jeans with a few tears and a black t-shirt. His curly hair is shaggy and unkempt. He must be around eighteen. His gaze seems to follow Julie to every table. He looks intense. He is talking to a burly middle aged man who also has a cigarette in his mouth.
Dario and Mary are busy preparing for the lunch crowd while Julie and the wait staff clean the tables and lay out new cutlery and water. Annie has dropped some blueberry filling on the table cloth. Julie can’t seem to clean the stains off so she changes the table cloth and puts a new one. She turns around and goes to the next table with her order book in hand. “Oh hello Tim,” she says. You can sense the tension in her voice. She’s talking to the young man from across the street. He touches Julie’s elbow ever so lightly and whispers. She pours some coffee for Tim and goes to the next table. Mary looks out of the kitchen window. You can see the anxiety on her face. She does not seem to like this young man.
The midday crowd is all done and the place is empty, except for a few customers.Tim is still hanging out at his table scribbling on a piece of paper. Mary and Dario are busy in the kitchen getting the lunch menu ready. Julie and the wait staff have cleared the tables. Seems like Mike is on his break. He shouts, “See you later Jules,” and runs out the door, strides across the street and goes to the bus stop. Julie and the wait staff are done with all the tables except for Tim’s. Julie goes over to his table and asks him if he is waiting for lunch. He grins at her, gets up and walks out. Julie takes the paper Tim scribbled on. She blushes and puts it in her pocket.
It is 11:30. The first customer walks in for lunch. He takes table 5. Everybody’s favorite since it right next to the window. He is the burly man from across the street. Julie comes over with the menu, curtseys and leaves.
Mike is back from his break and heads straight to the kitchen. He winks and smiles at Julie on his way.
The lunch crowd is pouring in. Mary peeps out to take inventory. The wait staff seems very busy. The burly man orders soup and sandwich. His phone rings and he answers, “Carlos”. The conversation does not sound pleasant. He puts the phone down and gulps down the glass of water. Puts the glass down and looks around. Julie is back with the order. She smiles at the man and places the soup and sandwiches on his table. “Enjoy,” she says and walks away. He eats his meal quickly. Leaves a twenty-dollar bill on the table and leaves. Julie is surprised by his action. She pockets the twenty-dollar bill, making a mental note to return his change next time he comes to the diner. She cleans the table, replaces the placemat, the cutlery and walks to the next table.
It is 1 PM. All the other tables are full. There’s a lot of noise. Everybody seems to be chatting and enjoying their meal.
It is almost 2 PM. The Diner is empty. The wait staff is clearing all the tables. Mike is busy with the dishes. Annie and her mom, Aida are back! Annie skips to table number 5, dragging her mom along. Julie comes over with her order book smiling at the pair. Annie wants waffles and apple juice. Her mom orders ‘Chicken Dijon Salad’ - chicken breast pieces and bacon bits with crisp romaine lettuce and Mary’s honey and mustard dressing. “Anything to drink,” asks Julie. “A diet Pepsi please,” Aida says, bringing out two tablets. One for her and one for Annie. Annie starts sketching on hers and Aida starts flipping through her magazines.
Tim and Carlos are across the street from the diner.They look like they are having a very serious conversation. They look towards the diner nervously every now and then.
Julie is back with the waffles, salad and drinks. “Enjoy,” she says and walks away. Mother and daughter dig into their meals. About five minutes into their lunch, Aida looks startled. Looks like a message she received seems to be very disturbing. She looks up from her tablet and looks out the window. She stares at Carlos standing there by himself. He stares back at her. “We need to go,” Aida tells Annie in a hushed voice. She leaves a few bills and some change on the table, picks up her things and rushes Annie towards the kitchen. Mary looks at Aida and takes her to the back door. It is like they have some silent understanding. Dario looks up at Mary. She tells him she knew Carlos before she met Dario. That Carlos and Aida were married for a little while. Tim is Carlos' son from the first marriage and Annie is his daughter with Aida.
Nina, the local police officer walks in. She is lovely, tall and elegant in her uniform. She smiles and nods at almost everyone. She walks past the Diner every day. Every once a while she stops by for a cup of coffee and waffles. Nina walks straight to the table next to the window and sits down. Julie greets her with a fresh pot of coffee. “I will get the waffles in a few Nina,” she says and goes to the kitchen. Nina joined the police force about two years ago and was assigned this precinct about a year ago. She speaks three languages– English, French and Spanish. Everyone loves Nina. There hasn’t been any crime in this area since Nina got here. Julie is back with Nina’s waffles and a jar of maple syrup. Yummy…
It is drizzling outside. Some folks have the hoods over their heads and speed past. Not too many umbrellas.The drizzle might have caught people by surprise.
The wait staff is getting ready for dinner. Not too many people for dinner. Mary and Dario decide to close early.
Next morning Julie is up early as usual. It is almost 8 AM and many of the regulars are in and out of the Diner.
A little after 11 Annie and Aida walk in. Julie comes to their table with the order book. Aida looks worried. She asks Julie if Mary has time to talk. Julie goes back to check with Mary.
There’s Carlos,the burly man. He sits at a table in the corner behind Aida and Annie. Aida cannot see him there, but he can see her and Annie. He has a newspaper in hand and hides his face behind it. One of the wait staff went to his table with the order book and a fresh jug of water. Carlos ordered the blueberry pie. He takes a few bites and pushes the plate away. Dario is not going to be pleased. Blueberry pie is Dario’s specialty. He takes great pride in making it.
Nina walks in a little later. Julie comes in with fresh coffee and says she’ll be back with Nina’s waffles. “Thanks Julie,” Nina says. When Julie returns, Nina asks her to sit and talk. “How do you know Tim,” Nina asks. “We went to high school together,” Julie replies. “What does he do now?” “He works at a bike shop.” “Has he talked to you about any of the customers?” “Not really.” “What was in the piece of paper you picked up from his table the other day?” “Oh it just some scribbling.” Julie puts her hand in her apron pocket and places the scarp on the table. “That’s beautiful Julie. That young friend of yours is a good artist!” It’s a drawing of Julie’s side profile. Julie blushes, puts the paper back in her pocket and walks away.
Mary comes out of the kitchen. She sees Carlos at the table behind Aida’s. Instead of going over to Aida and Annie’s table she walks to Nina’s table and talks to her in Spanish before returning to the kitchen. Aida realizes something is amiss when Mary doesn’t come to her table. She finishes her meal quietly. Pays for it, picks up Annie and leaves. Nina follows her.
After some time, Carlos pays for the pie and walks out too.When the dishes come back, Mike teases Dario about the unfinished blueberry pie. Dario makes sure he knows who didn’t finish his pie.
It is Saturday! Mary has special menu items for the weekend. She makes killer cinnamon buns on the weekends that she serves with every order. She even packs some for her favorite regulars. It smells divine when she bakes them. That smell of sugar and cinnamon together.
It is 11 AM and Bill strolls in for his brunch. Bill walks in and sits at his favorite table – table number 5. Julie waves to him. Julie heads over to take his order. He asks for the special of the day, ‘New Jersey Pork Roll’ with a diet coke. Julie smiles at him and skips to the kitchen. She is back in five minutes. “Enjoy,” she says and walks away to take orders at the next table.
Annie and Aida walk in too. They sit at table 6.
Carlos walks in and goes straight to table 6. He pulls a chair from the next table and sits himself down. Julie looks at Aida and senses trouble. She sees something in Carlos’ hand under the table. It looks like a gun under a napkin. She quickly steps to the kitchen and tells Mary about Carlos sitting at Aida and Annie’s table. Mary looks at Dario who grabs his cell phone and goes into the storeroom to make a call. Mike also senses trouble. Bill looks up from his tablet and sees Mary and Julie looking out of the kitchen window into the dining room at table 6. He knows something’s not right and sits up heightened, ready to take action.
Dario walks out of the kitchen with a blueberry pie in his hand. He hears Carlos speak in Spanish. He can hear Carlos threaten Aida to let him take Annie. For a moment it looks like Dario is going to serve the pie at table 7 but he suddenly swings around and throws the pie in Carlos’s face. Bill jumps up, pulls the table cloth off his table and ties Carlos to the chair. Mike hurries out of the kitchen and disengages the gun from Carlos' hand. Aida hurries off to the kitchen and takes off through the back door with Annie.
You can hear the police car’s sirens from a distance. Nina enters the Diner and arrests Carlos.
Nina walks the handcuffed Carlos to her car.
Mike and Bill look at Julie at the same time and wink while she looks out across the road at Tim standing there looking lost.
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