Revision. (The Re-Up)

Chapter Two: iii

iii

Dina's diner–spelled exactly like that as well, with the lower case second D–was the place for people like Ben and I, kind of just like my coffee shop I always go to, Dina's diner was a place that felt like home. It's not anything fancy, just a simple imitation truck stop diner, with old booths and wooden tables. The waitresses do their job, and the food tastes pretty good. Most meals from Dina's cost about fifteen dollars total, and you get your bang for your buck each and every time. Though, there was this one time that Ben likes to bring up any time we bring a new friend to Dina's, and it just so happens to be a story that is so repugnant that whatever new friend comes with us, never goes back. I don't know if he is trying to drain their business, or just use his story as mosquito repellent so no new people take our rightful place.

The story is told best by Ben, but he only tells it when he feels necessary.

When I walked out of my apartment that night, the air was frigid, something very unusual for the city, and the street lights flickered, begging for maintenance. I felt like there was going to be a phenomenon happening again that night, just like last time I was out in the dark alone, but nothing did. The overarching buildings watched me with their haunted and restless eyes; I felt like I was doing something wrong.

"Arrest me!" I shouted. Just a superstition, and I had to get rid of the feeling the universe was going to hunt me down like wounded prey.

A homeless man, down the street, heard me shouting. He shouted back, though it was unintelligible, it was like a wolf pack, howling in response to the pack leader howling. He was the wolf, and I was the leader. My hubris rose in this thought, and when I look back at it, it shouldn't have. To feel a feast of power and pride from the lesser celebrating my existence; perhaps I was really doing something wrong.

Dina's diner had lights outside, flashing lights that scattered about and exposed the brick wall that is the face of the building. They shared their upstairs with an apartment, and the resident was ironically, and conveniently, the owner of Dina's diner: Dina. Talk about a lifelong commitment.

When I got to the front door, I noticed one of big white stickers that were on the door, spelling out the establishment's name was chipping. It made me feel uneasy while entering the building. But when I entered the building, it was just the same as ever. The same amount of tables and chairs, the same waitresses, and the same people. One of those people being Ben, and he was waiting for me, sitting alone at our usual table.

As I approached the table, Dina came over to me and raised her hands in the air with a smile on her face, then pulled me into a hug. "Good to see you back," she said, "congratulations on the story."

I embraced her back, and smiled. When she pulled away she went to another table, assisting one of the waitresses, and then two more waitresses skirted past me, one of them being Audrey. My heart felt like stone at that moment, but I ignored the boulder in my chest to the best of my ability and sat across from Ben.

"I thought you'd never show up!"

"I'm not late, am I?"

"No, but you're certainly not early," He said this with a sly grin, but with upset sounding undertones. The ones that said: I've missed you. "So," he said, trying to lamely break the dense ice between us, "I'm proud of you."

This stopped me in my tracks, though I was already sitting. I do not know what I was expecting him to say, or what we would talk about, but none of what was expected involved sentiment. "Thank you," I said, "that really means a lot to me." It did mean a lot to me, truly. And not only that, but I felt the boulder leave my chest, and my body untense. That broke the ice.