The Last of the Twenty: The Setting of the Board

Chapter 38

Alex decided the rumbling in his stomach was too much to ignore, and as it was still reasonably early in the day, he stopped off to get a quick bite to eat and see how long he would have to talk to Nadia’s mom before she went home from work that day. The small dirt parking lot of the diner was almost full, not unusual for a late Saturday morning. He took a quick glance around the parking lot and didn’t see Ethan’s car, and with a sigh of relief he parked and went inside.

The small restaurant was full of people and the sounds of conversation. It took the cashier a couple of minutes to even notice Alex had come in while she tried to sort out a large families’ bill. Finally, she looked to the door and saw Alex waiting to get a seat.

“Sorry Alex, busy this morning. You want a table in Nadia’s section” she asked.

“If she can handle another customer” Alex said with a grin.

“I’m sure she can handle having you there, she’s training a new girl so she’ll have some help anyways.” She marked a spot off on the seating chart and led him to the smaller room behind the main dining room. Alex thanked her and waited quietly for Nadia to show up, listening to a couple next to him argue about where to buy a new TV.

“Kind of late for breakfast isn’t it” Nadia asked from behind Alex, making him jump. He looked up at her and grinned.

“Kind of rude to be sneaking up on customers isn’t it” he asked playfully.

 She grinned down at him and rolled her eyes, “Well, you don’t count, I know you’ll be back no matter what I do” She said laughing.

As she was talking, another girl walked up behind her holding a pot of coffee and Alex felt his heart skip a beat. She had long black hair tied up into a neat ponytail that hung down to the middle of her back, light brown skin and light grey eyes that felt like they could look straight into his soul. He had never seen a girl that beautiful in his life. For a moment all he could do was stare until Nadia stepped between them and smacked Alex lightly upside the head.

“Alex, this is Delilah, she just started working here and we’re hoping she stays past the summer. Delilah, this is my friend Alex, we grew up together just up the road from here.”

Delilah smiled down at him and held the pot of coffee out, “nice to meet you, coffee?” she asked, her southern accent making her even more attractive to Alex.

“Umm, yea… sure…” he managed to get out.

 Nadia rolled her eyes again and stepped to the side while she poured Alex some coffee, then motioned to the rest of the tables in the room. “Could you see if anyone needs a refill while you have the pot out here, then we’ll head back and carry some orders out.”

“Sure thing” Delilah said, giving Alex a wink before walking off.

“Umm bye… nice to meet you…” Alex murmured as she walked away. When her back was turned, Nadia lightly hit him on the side of his head again.

“Don’t stare like that, it’s just her first day and I don’t want her scared off. It took me too long to finally get some help in here” she said quietly. Alex felt his face get hot.

“Sorry, just the usual” he said quietly.

Nadia looked quickly around, then bent down close to his ear, “I’ll try to find out if she’s single.” She whispered. Then with a wink, she stood up and wrote his order down. “That gonna be all for now Alex?”

“Yea, that’s all,” he said, “I need to get back home and get working on my project anyways, I’ve been slacking off. What are you up to the rest of the day? Meeting up with Ethan or something?”