It was a beautiful day in the South Sound and I was slightly irritated. I had been called in to replace another waitress. As soon as I put my phone near my face I realized I had made a mistake, but what are you going to do? I couldn’t pretend to be someone else, I tried that once and it didn’t work. My fake Japanese accent didn’t fool anyone and I felt like a fool, but I did get some laughs out of it.
I reported for duty a few minutes late. Maddy just smiled and said, “I’m sorry babe. Maybe it will rain and customers will stay away. I nodded and said, “We can only hope.” Maddy, about the same age as me said “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope.” I smiled and said, “You’re no Princess Leia and we’re a long way from Star Wars.”
After about fifteen minutes we opened the door and within another ten we had customers trouncing in, some irritated, some friendly. It was a normal day. Maddy and I were used to all kinds of customers and knew how to be kind even to rude people . . . after all that’s really what our jobs are. Service with a smile and a few bucks in return.
The day was flying past. The beautiful day turned sour, turned better, turned worse, turned dark. My mind and my eyes kept returning to one woman sitting by the window. I never saw her searching for anyone, so I guessed she was not being stood-up. She wasn’t my customer, Maddy had her. Eventually, that one person was all we had. We were still aways from the evening shift, so I asked Maddy about the woman.
“No tears, no sorrow that I can see. She seems content to sit and look out the window. She ordered one of our biggest meals but hasn’t really touched it. Why are you asking?” I didn’t really have an answer. “Just curious I guess.” was all I could come up with. Maddy said, I’m going to step out side and smoke. I may smoke the rest of the day. You appear interested. She’s yours.” Maddy patted me on top of the head and disappeared in a column of smoke . . . okay, not really, but could have been . . . maybe.
I walked over to the woman’s table. The woman turned slightly toward me and asked, “Want me to leave so you can close?” I smiled, and said “No . . . just curious. Not nosy, just curious. You seem content.” the lady spoke. “Why don’t you join me. It will save me from looking up and you from looking down. I hate people that look down on others . . . well, no, that’s not true. I like people and find them interesting. Do you?”
I sat down and the next hour flew by. Mostly I just listened. She told me of her love life, her family, her husband, their children and about helping people. She talked about groups she had belonged to, various community projects she had run, the men and women she had planned and worked with and the results of improved community efforts.
She and her friends had done fantastic work and made huge differences in local lives. I was amazed. I had to ask, “Are you waiting for someone? You appear content. What’s next? How are your friends doing? How is your family? What lies ahead?”
The lady slowly turned her head towards me and said, “My friends have all died. I’ve outlived those I loved the most.” A tear filled my eye . . . and the lady laughed through her sadness. “Don’t worry, I am not going to kill myself. I still belong to a group or two that helps our community. I have new friends, but they are younger and think differently from me and don’t always listen. My family is wonderful, but they are still growing and moving.”
I understood her entirely. I’m still in my P.E.O. chapter but can’t do much except send out cards. I’m still in my reading group and that’s fun. The Calligraphy Guild is still fun, but my hands don’t work as well as they used too. I guess I’m just entering the “grand old lady” club. I’ve been busy going through my stuff! I’ve donated lots of my extraneous art supplies to TACID a group I dearly love. There are so many things we can all do.
Like magic. at least in my mind, the weather changed a bit, the clouds went away, the sun shown brightly as a group of ducks and ducklings paddled by. I walked over to the window and was amazed at the beauty and the glory that seemed to fill the air and the sky. I took it all in and then turned around to share a smile, but my unnamed customer was gone.
I took the bill and the money over to the cashier. The balance went into my pocket. It wasn’t as much as I had hoped, but it was enough to feed my piggy bank . . . and my heart.
