What Once Was

Waiting

"I told you never to come here." I hissed under my breath.

"You're still trying to act tough. It's okay, you don't have to try so hard. I'm over you."

I grit my teeth in a forced smile as I place down his cheap dish of mediocre food. He grins and eyes me as I place his fountain drink next to the plate I just set down.

"I'm not trying to act tough, Alec. I'd just wish you'd leave me alone."

He grinned and spun his fork in his hand. The small diner I worked at was nearly empty, and I knew I could afford to spend time lecturing him— but I knew he had a way with words that usually silenced me.

"Look at you. You would've never ended up as a small-town waitress if you'd stayed with me."

I grunted and spun on my heel. Did I miss him? The pang of the question filled my being and heated my cheeks. He is a cheater. A player. A rich, privileged brat who thinks his money is the most impressive thing to him. I crack a small smile when I realize that his money is probably the only thing a girl would be attracted to him for.

But then I remember the way he used to treat me. I was his Angel. I was his priority. I call back to the chef in the kitchen as I place some other customer's order. Back through the swinging staff doors and out into the dining area. My mind is lost in thought as I take orders for a family of three.

"...Could we get a highchair for the baby?"

The man is asking politely. I blink. "Of course! I stammer in a customer-service kind of way. He looks tired, and so did the woman with him, I assume she's his wife.

Wife.

A sadness fills my being, and I turn away quickly to not lose my professional demeanor. My mind flashes back to my previous relationship I had once had with Alec. I glance in his direction, and then feel irritated that I did so. I cross the restaurant to a little storage corner to grab the requested highchair. On my way back I glance at the clock; twenty minutes to nine. My shift is almost done. I look out the window into the evening, and at the glow of shop windows that shine through the pouring rain.

"Waitress...?"

"Oh, Right, the highchair."

"Sorry about that, Ma'am." I nod politely at the wife. She smiles and nods back. She looks happy. Maybe I could've been—

"...and he's crawling all over now! Can you believe that?"

The woman had been talking to me about her son, but I hadn't really been listening. "Wow!" I say with mock enthusiasm. "He certainly is cute."  A slightly confused look flashes across her face before she agrees whole-heartedly. I take down their orders and head for the kitchens. I can't wait for my shift to end.

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