The Only One

Chapter One

Isabo swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand as she picked up her next tray off the high counter; brimming with home-style waffles, over easy eggs, black coffee and hash-browns. She weaved in between the customers that seemed to flow non-stop through the double glass doors and into the warm diner that was open 24/7.

She was careful to step over a particular thin looking blondes' brown leather bag that was on the floor next to his chair. Isabo glanced down only to notice that his pack of Newport cigarettes and lighter had partially fallen out through a hole in the side of the bag as she moved past him towards the back corner of the diner where a a group of regulars were sitting. She knew better than to tell the man about the hole. He probably knew and didn't want some waitress he didn't know snooping around his personal things; he looked to be in a bad way, his shoulders were sagged forward and his head was bent down towards the table to the point where his chin almost rested on the thin, grey long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. One of his arms was sprawled across the table while the other rested lazily in his lap, wrist up.

Isabo lifted her tray a little higher, adjusting her hand more towards the center so it would be evenly balanced as young couple ran past her towards an open table. She approached the back where three truck drivers were sipping their coffee, waiting for their food. She smiled genuinely as she came closer to the men. They were all her regulars that she had gotten to know over the past fours years of her employment at Flo's Diner and had always been kind to her.

As Isabo gently set down her tray by James, the driver nearest to her, all three men perked up instantly at the prospect of their food arriving. They had all been very quiet as Isabo approached, probably exhausted from driving cross country for hours on end, not to mention it was about two in the morning.

"Good morning gentleman!" Isabo beamed. "Long haul today?" she asked as she started to pass out each plate, full of steaming food.

"Long as they usually are, doll." James grumbled lowly to himself as he grabbed the plate Isabo passed to him. He had the sleeves of his white cotton shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing his slightly dirty tan skin. He leaned across the table to grab the salt and his shirt slightly rode up, showcasing his toned muscles underneath. He sat back down and took a bite of his waffles. He smiled and looked at Isabo, nodded his head and continued to dig in. James's hair was brown and cropped into an Irish haircut; buzzed on the sides with a bit of his straight hair on top, he liked to keep himself clean shaven but Isabo noticed that he had allowed for a bit of scruff to grow, shading his jaw and adding a more haunted look to his demeanor. She eyed him for a moment longer, deciding that he needed to get more sleep. These men always seemed too hallowed for their young age. Most guys in their early twenties would be in college partying, but James, Felix and Chicago all decided to start traveling while earning some cash at the same time early in life.

"It was alright, I had a larger shipment of hardware than normal, so it took longer to load and unload. Not to mention I drove for eighteen hours straight" Felix stated while looking hungrily at the food that was being passed across the table to him. He ran his calloused hands through his dirty blonde hair that needed to be trimmed--it was always coming down over his eyes. Isabo made a mental note to cut it for him before his next drive. Felix tugged on his flannel overcoat so that the cuffs were slightly pushed up, and pulled his plate closer towards him. As he reached for a napkin in the dispenser that was one booth behind where he was sitting, his grey beanie fell out of his pocket next to Isabo's feet. He sighed and glanced up at her, a pleading look in his eyes and a slight smile curved up to the left. Isabo sighed and flicked the beanie up with her right foot, catching it on her shoulder as she re-filled Chicago's coffee mug. She then grabbed the knitted hat with her free hand and flicked it across the booth at Felix's face. He glared at her as he stuffed it into his flannel pocket but smiled none the less.

"Well! My drive was peaceful, not to mention the beautiful countryside I drove threw on the way." Chicago said enthusiastically. He then snapped his fingers and looked straight into Isabo's eyes. "Wait! My mistake, I drove on a interstate through a concrete city filled with pollution and the pandemonium of city people." He then sat back into the cracked, dark green booth he shared with James and crossed his arms while grumbling to himself about hating New York and the people in it.

Isabo then looked at him with her left hand on her hip and the other holding up the pot of coffee she had balanced on the tray, "Chicago, every time you come through here you say the same thing. 'You hate the city' and 'It's so polluted here'. Why don't you just move? There's work for truck drivers all around the world." She said with a scowl on her face. "I mean, common, you could even change professions, you're only what? Twenty four?" Chicago was a sandy haired brunnette with tanned skin and chocolate brown eyes. Isabo gave him a once over and noticed he has bulked up a bit more since the last time she has seen him; he probably was hitting the gym in between trips she thought.

Chicago then sat up straight, slightly leaning foward and looked at her with a smile on his face, "Because then who would make me my eggs just how I like 'em?"

Isabo rolled her eyes and refilled his nearly empty mug. "Well...true. But actually I didn't make your eggs this time. Jesse did. I told him just how you like them."

Chicago then squinted down at his plate. Two over-easy eggs, lightly browned on top with a light drizzle of ketchup with four strips of bacon burned black on the side, a small dish of maple syrup with two pieces of toast golden brown, extra butter and cut horizontally. He narrowed his eyes at his dish, then turned to the front to glare at Jesse, the newly hired cook, who was already looking at him with a slightly scared face. When he saw Mike's glare, his face turned white, making his dark haired and pale complexion seem eerily washed out. Jesse quickly turned back to the grill, head bowed low.

"Hey....just try it, okay? Jesse worked hard to make it just how you like. it." Isabo coaxed softly, tilting her head in Jesse's direction.

"Hmmm." Chicago looked at his food one more time before his face broke out into a dazzling smile. "Don't you worry your pretty head Isabo, everything looks to be in top shape. Oh! And tell Jesse he looks particularly mouthwatering this fine morning." He smirked and put his muscular arms across the back of his vinyl bench.

Isabo's mouth dropped open as she stared at Chicago. "I am not telling him that! Why can't you tell him? And why are you so rude to Jesse if you like him anyway?" Isabo finished as she closed her mouth and made a quick scan around the booth to make sure the men all had enough coffee while noticing the napkins needed refilled before tucking her serving tray under her right arm, holding up the almost empty pot of coffee with her left.

"It's all about the foreplay babydoll." he winked and then made a shooing motion with his hands, signaling her to go find Jesse and give him his message.

Isabo rolled her eyes as she turned around. "You're such a man-whore Chic." She said over her shoulder. All she heard as she retreated to the front of the diner was Chicago grumbling not call him that and the quick barking laughter of the other two. Isabo smiled to herself and shook her head, pushing the door open to the kitchen.