Gemini (5 page)

“Wait…how did you get his name?” I was shaking. Words cannot describe how devastated I was that I was not working today.
So. Utterly. Pissed.

“Ok, here’s the best part. Are you ready for this? He paid with a credit card. That’s how I got his name. But when he went to sign it, he rushed off so fast…he friggin’ left it here! I am standing here holding Cedric Callahan’s credit card!” Sonia screamed into the phone. She better be out of Max’s earshot.

Cedric Callahan.
Oh my. The name certainly suited him.

“Are you going to try and look his number up, call him…so we can let him know we have his card?” I asked.

“Well, I figured since you’d be in here in an hour, I’d wait…to give you time to get here, unless of course, he figures it out first. Allison, you better get your ass up here in case he comes back.”

I didn’t know how I felt about this. I had been waiting hopelessly for this guy to come back to the diner for weeks. I was fairly certain that he was a one-time thing and that I would never see him again…ever. Now, he would definitely be coming back.

“Ok, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hung up the phone without waiting to hear her response. I needed to get out of my house as fast as possible AND make myself look decent. I grabbed the blow dryer and shook it through my hair faster than ever before. I stopped to put on under eye concealer, eyeliner and mascara, which I never bother to do when I am working at the diner, but I had to look my best in case he came in tonight. I hated having to put on this ugly uniform, but threw on a short fitted navy cardigan to cover the top. I dabbed on a few spots of mauve colored lipstick, threw on my corduroy beige pea coat and slammed the door behind me.

It was a cold fall day outside and the chill of the air hit my still damp head hard. I grabbed my knit hat out of my tote. Waiting for the commuter rail train seemed to take forever as my heart pounded out of my chest in anticipation.

***

Seven stops later, I exited the train and walked (well, jogged) the two blocks to the Stardust. My heart was pounding as I entered the chaos of the diner lunch crowd.

“Al!” Sonia rushed over to me. “He hasn’t come back yet. I just searched the white pages on my phone and found this listing in Boston. It’s the only Cedric Callahan in Massachusetts. It’s gotta be him.”

“Did you call?” I asked.

Sonia grinned. “No, you silly bitch…I am going to let you do the honors.”

“Me? I don’t want to call him! You do it…please?” I begged. I was so nervous. I couldn’t imagine what I would do or say if he picked up.

“Nope…no way. Come on…this is your chance to talk to him and then when he comes in, it’ll make it easier to strike up a conversation because you will have already spoken.”

“Sonia, we don’t know anything about this guy. You are assuming he is not married and that he is heterosexual. I am not getting my hopes up and I really don’t want to call him, nor do I expect that he would be thinking about anything more than getting his credit card back.” That was a lie.
My hopes were totally up.
I didn’t see a wedding ring that first time, so I was pretty sure married was out. Gay, though, that was certainly a possibility.

“He is not bloody gay.” Sonia laughed. “You said he was staring at you. Any normal hetero single guy would be checking you out. Come on, make the call…now! Just do it and get it over with.”

She handed me the cordless diner phone and I reluctantly grabbed the slip of paper from her hand that had his name and number written in pen. Without thinking it over, I grabbed the phone and dialed the number…6-1-7…5-8-9…9-6-5-8.

Riiing...Riiing...(My heart is thumping hard.) Riiing…Riiing…Riiing… Hello you have reached the voicemail of Cedric Callahan. Please leave your name, number and the time you called and I will get back to you as soon as I can. BEEP. (Heart Thumping)

I don’t remember exactly what I said, because I was so nervous. But I don’t think I sounded like an idiot. The gist was that he left his card, that he could come get it until closing and that he should ask for me. Done. That was over with.
Phew
. Ok. Now, the wait begins.
How am I going to get through this shift?

Sonia was smiling at me. “See…that wasn’t so bad! Good luck, bitch…I am heading out. Sonia kissed me on the cheek, grabbed her purse and headed toward the door. I knew she was eager go shopping for a new outfit for her date with Tom tonight, before heading to the apartment to get ready.

“I can’t believe you are leaving me. Have fun,” I said smiling.

“You too…call me if you snog him later…cheerio!” Sonia winked and left.

***

The slower late afternoon turned into an unusually busy evening at the diner. All of the booths and tables were full and the orders were non-stop during the dinner hours. I was so busy; I shouldn’t have had time to notice who
wasn’t here.
But of course it was all I could think about. Every time I would hear the bells chime at the door, my heart would stop for a second.

Maybe it wasn’t the right phone number.

Maybe he had no idea he left his card here and would not be coming in tonight after all.

At about 7:30, I took my dinner break. That was the good thing about working at a diner: I could have my choice of anything I wanted for dinner. (That might be a bad thing depending on how you look at it.)  I usually try for a salad with grilled chicken, but tonight…tonight I was going to eat my nerves away. I opted for a Reuben sandwich smothered in Thousand Island dressing, banana milkshake and chocolate cream pie for dessert. I was going to
throw down.

I sat down next to one of the regulars, Mr. Short, who was ironically, ridiculously tall, at about six foot seven. The other patrons call him Big Bird behind his back. Mr. Short is such a nice guy though and would probably find that funny.

“Hi, Mr. Short…mind if I join you?” I sighed and sat down before he could respond, because we sit together like this many times when he’d come in for lunch during my normal shift.

Mr. Short is a Vietnam veteran and widower. Since his kids all live in different states, the diner is like home to him and he has breakfast, lunch and dinner here. I enjoy keeping him company when I’m on duty.

“How ya doing tonight, Allison? It’s nice to see you here during the dinner hour.” Mr. Short looked at my tray full of food and lifted his brow.

“I know…a different variety for me, right?” I laughed.

“Yes…I should say!” he laughed.

“I am a little preoccupied with something tonight, so I am thinking food might help me calm my nerves.” I took a huge bite out of the sandwich and again, glanced at the door. This would not be the right time for Blue Eyes to walk in.

“Anything I can help you with?” he asked.

“No, no…I am fine, really,” I said taking a big gulp of my shake.

He opened the newspaper. “Ready for your horoscope?”

Mr. Short and I often checked our horoscopes during lunches together and he would always read mine to me.

“Yup…shoot,” I said.

Mr. Short read for me and I listened intently as I took another huge bite out of my sandwich.

“
You may receive word from a friend today with a career tip or inspiration for a new hobby. Whatever the case, Gemini, a friend will play a significant role in your life bringing forth business opportunities.”

“Interesting. I’ll keep it in mind,” I said.

Mr. Short gestured silently that I had dressing on the side of my mouth and I wiped myself with a napkin.

“Are you sure you are okay, Allison?”

“Yup,” I said with my mouth full of food, as I wiped it again.  

I could never admit to what I was really obsessing over tonight. It would sound so stupid to him, really, admitting that I was nervously waiting for a man who would probably never show.

I changed the subject and started asking him questions about Vietnam, his favorite topic, which inevitably led to as long of a story I was willing to sit for.

***

The crowd in the diner died down after about ten.  At that time of night, it was more about cleaning up and restocking for the next morning. There were a few stragglers sipping on coffee and eating pie, but for the most part, the real work was done for the night.

I finished wiping down the last of the empty tables and grabbed the broom from a side closet to sweep the floor behind the counter as Patsy Cline’s
“Crazy”
played. I was
crazy
all right. I thought about how stupid I felt looking at the door every thirty seconds tonight, when, even if he had come in, he would have taken his card and gone away just as fast back to his cosmopolitan life. It might not have mattered even if he came in. Why was I obsessing over this guy anyway? Was there something truly missing in my life that I had to create this imaginary drama? Is the significance of him all in my head?

I thought about the past year as I swept the floor: how much I missed my mother and how badly the relationship with Nate ended. I hadn’t focused on anything other than my problems until the distraction of Blue Eyes…
Cedric.
If I can take away anything from this situation, at least I know I have the capacity to be interested in something again.

***

It was 10:55 and time to start shutting down for the night. Max and whichever waitress worked the late shift would always walk out together before he locked up.

I turned off the neon “Open” sign in the window and grabbed my coat. I waited by the door for Max to come out of the kitchen, looking out at the streetlights. He wasn’t quite ready to leave yet and I could hear some last minute washing and clanking of pots and pans. Besides that, the music was off and the diner was eerily silent overall.

I couldn’t wait to get out of here, back to my apartment and into a hot bath. Pathetic. What a waste of energy today was, I thought, as the draft from standing near the door made me shiver.

The last train leaves at 11:20, so I wished Max would hurry up. I closed my eyes imagining how good the hot water bath would feel.

I opened my eyes just as a silver Audi pulled up out front.

I have been sitting at this business dinner for over two hours and I couldn’t tell you one thing that was said. I have been aimlessly nodding and nursing this scotch because I don’t want to get hammered tonight if I have any chance in hell of making it to the diner before they close. I would much rather be on the highway headed north right now, but couldn’t get out of here to save my life.

Earlier this afternoon, after I got the voicemail from Allison that I had left my credit card at the Stardust (
idiot move by the way
), I rushed back to the office elated and nervous, but determined to make it back to the diner after work.

In the midst of this development, I realized I had forgotten about a major client meeting followed by dinner scheduled at night. Westock was trying to woo Boston’s top sports anchor from a rival agency and he and his wife had scheduled a meeting with my colleagues and me. It wasn’t until I walked in and saw Julie waiting in my office panicking that I remembered.

Sports anchor Scott Ellis was already waiting in conference room B and he didn’t look too happy. Thankfully, I was skilled in the art of schmoozing and ass kissing and by the end of the meeting, I had him wrapped around my finger. I offered to take a lower percentage commission than he was paying his current agent and guaranteed that I could get him a higher salary. I had already had a meeting setup with TV station management who owed me a favor anyway, after I stopped another client of mine from suing them for breach of contract. I knew the higher salary was a given and I knew Ellis would be my client before the week was over.

***

No longer needing to kiss-ass, Ellis, his wife Maureen, a few of the other agents and I decided to celebrate our new relationship at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in the city.

It was 9:30 and I knew I needed to wrap this up soon if I wanted to get to the diner and allow time to go home and change out of my work clothes first.

Just when I was about to make up an excuse and leave…Karyn showed up. Apparently, she had called my assistant Julie’s cell phone to find out where we were and decided to join us. Karyn worked with Scott at the same station and must have thought her presence would help; little did she know how much worse she made this night for me by showing up when she did.

“Hey, babe. Hi, Scott…Maureen…” Karyn said as she walked in like she owned the place, asking the waiter for an extra chair and squeezing in beside me.

“Karyn, what a pleasant surprise.” I lied flashing a fake smile.