The Unexpected Neighbor

Jonesville Diner

I pull up to the Jonesville Diner, which was mostly comprised of an old train caboose. It's painted red on the outside with a large red and white striped awning covering a few tables where patrons can eat during the day when it's nice outside. On the inside, the middle has a long bar where mostly single patrons sit, this is also where the open passway is to the kitchen. On the left and right of the bar are booths that have seen better days. Most of the red and white seat coverings have cracks in them, and a few of the tables are unsteady. I try to keep them steady by folding napkins and sticking them under the legs, which only slightly helps for a while.

"Hey! There's our favorite waitress!" John, one of our regulars and one of Jonesvilles' 3 police officers, calls as I walk in the door.

"Hey John! How's Billy feeling today?" I inquire about his son, who took quite a hit during a baseball game a few days ago.

"Awe, he's good! Still a bit sore, but, that's what it takes to be a good catcher!" he laughs with a proud smile on his face, taking a five dollar bill out of his wallet to pay for coffee and peice of cake. I wave at Millie, the other waitress who's in her early-fourties, that I'll ring him out since she's wiping down a table on the other side of the diner.

As I'm ringing John up and handing him his change, I hear the bell on the door ring. "Welcome to Jonesville Diner!" I say instinctively. I look up as I place the change in Johns' hand and see 2 men that I've never seen before standing at the door looking around. "You can sit wherever you would like." I say with a smile. Both men look at me and head to a corner on the left side of the diner. They are both tall and muscular, one a bit more lean than the other. One has dark hair, the other with a shaved head.

I plaster on a smile and take two menus to the men. "Hello! I'm Cadhla and I'll be your server today! Our soup of the day is vegetable beef, and it's excellent when paired with the grilled cheese and green pepper sandwich. What can I get you guys to drink?"

The man with the dark hair looks up and I can immediately see his beautiful blue eyes. One eye has a gorgeous brown spot that reminds me of a rocky island in the middle of a stormy ocean. "I will take a bottle of Fillico, cold." the man says with an accent I don't recognize.

The bald man snorts and shakes his head. "He means water. We'll both have water, and let's try some spaghetti please."

I wrote down their order with a smile. "I'll bring those waters right out for you guys and your food should be up in no time."

As I turn to walk away I hear the bald man say to the other "Lars, you have to be reasonable. They're not going to have your water here. We will have to have some brought in." I hear him scoff as I'm filling their water glasses.

As I bring the ice water to their table I can't help but strike up a conversation with the men, who obviously aren't from here. "Here ya go guys. What brings you to the area, if you don't mind me asking?"

The two men look at each other for a moment and the bald one clears his throat. "Change of pace. We figured we needed to get away for a while so, we packed up and moved."

I smile, knowing that I've just met my new neighbors. "Did you buy the big white house over on Chester Street?"

Both men look at me with surprise, "How did you know that?" the bald one says, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh! I live across the street!" I laugh "Besides, it's not like you can keep a secret very long in Jonesville! Word travels fast in a small town. What made you move here?"

"I threw a dart and it landed here." the curly haired man says, with a look of displeasure on his face.

"Please forgive Lars here. He's a bit jetlagged from our flight. My name is Peter and I'm Lars', uh, companion." he shifts his eyes to Lars and moves in his seat uncomfortably.

"Order up! Two spaghetti!" I hear from the passway.

"I'll be right back with your food!" I turn and head to the passway to grab their food and return. "Here ya go! I'll let you guys eat in peace, but it was definitely nice to meet you two! My mom wants to drop a pie off for you. Would tomorrow be okay?"

Lars looks at me blankly and I give him a friendly smile. "That would be fine. Thank you." Peter says. With that I turn and walk away, making a mental note to stop by again in 10 minutes to check on their drinks.

As I busy myself wrapping silverware, Millie joins me. "My God! What a hot hunk of man that is. You could cut yourself on that jawline!" I giggle to myself.

"Millie, you're staring. That's not very polite." I glance their direction and notice that both men are eating spaghetti with a fork and spoon. I look at Millie and she shrugs. "They're my new neighbors. They bought the Petersons' old place across the street."

"Do you think they're gay? Wouldn't surprise me. They're far too attractive to be straight." Millie says, still staring.

I let out a snort and a laugh at the same time. "Millie! I guess that would make Josh happy at least!" We both start laughing at that remark.

~~~~
"Lars, come on. Remember why we're here. Stick to the plan! If everything works out, we will be gone before you know it." Peter says, checking his watch.

"I hate this idea. I hate this place. I don't want to be here, and I want to go home!" Lars says almost pouting. "This shouldn't be a requirement and you know it as well as I do."

"Yeah, well, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. This is one of those times. We both know this, so let's just concentrate on what needs to be done." Peter says, taking the last bit of spaghetti onto his fork and twirling it into the spoon before placing it into his mouth.

"Its never going to work. None of these people have any more class or culture than a herd of pigs." Lars looks around the small dingy diner with a look of disgust on his face.

Peter looks over at Cadhla taking in her beautiful red hair and striking green eyes. She's built like a graceful ballerina. He smiles internally, knowing that there's something special with her. "I don't know I kind of like it here."