The Rendezvous // Thomas Sangster

Curiosity Killed the Cat

I open the door to the office, stepping in from the bitter cold air to the comfy warm room. It really has started to feel like fall here. The leaves are peeling off the trees, similarly to the way that sweaters are peeled off in the afternoon. I rub my hands together, wishing I had gloves. 

The bell over the door rings when I close it, and I hear a females voice in the back room say, "Be out in just a second!"

"That's fine!" I respond.

A few seconds later, Kaya comes out, her blue eyes lit up, and her dark hair cascading down her shoulders, "Stephanie! How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. I just came down because I was bored." I sigh, "I love my dog, but he's not much fun to talk to."

Kaya smiles, sitting down at a desk, "That's totally understandable. It's got to be lonely staying in a trailer with no permanent neighbors."

I smile, "Well, at least I have the camp workers. You're all a cheery lot."

Kaya chuckles, "All of us? I've heard you've had a couple rows with a particular member of the staff a couple times."

I find myself blushing slightly, "Well, most of you are pleasant people."

"Well, personally, I'll take that as a compliment." Kaya grins. "So, what will you be doing tomorrow afternoon around lunch time, Stephanie? Would you like to go out for lunch?"

"Oh, well..." I start, but then an idea hits me.

"I would love to go out for lunch," I smile.

"Excellent." Kaya says, "I won't be working until after lunch tomorrow, so would you like to meet at that barbecue joint down the road at 12:30?"

"That'd be awesome. I'll see you tomorrow." I say.

When I leave the office a couple minutes later, stepping into the frigid air again, I have a new spring in my step. Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the day I find out more about Thomas. I just know it.

~~~~~~~

As I turn the ignition to my truck  off, it rumbles to a halt. The gray brick of Mom's barbecue is in front of me, and its lights glow in bright, blinking red. It's lunch hour, so there are quite a few cars outside the joint. I don't know if any of them belong to Kaya. 

I leap out of my vehicle, onto the grinding gravel. After I lock my truck, I pull my jacket around me tighter and trudge up to the door. Upon opening the it, my nose is immediately filled with the scent of pork and smoke. I step into the dim, hazy resturant, and my nerves are calmed. 

I'm a little worried about asking Kaya about Thomas. I don't want to seem like I'm prying - although I totally will be. And even worse, I don't want Kaya to tell Thomas that I was asking about him. I doubt Kaya would do that, but I also have a feeling that if Thomas found out, he would be rather unhappy. 

Kaya doesn't seem to be anywhere in the resturant yet, so I find a booth for us, sitting down so that I face the door. I watch the waiters and waitresses that bustle about, and the people they take orders for. Most are overweight. Not surprisingly. I mean, it is good barbecue, I'll give them that. I'm sure if I lived here for a long time, I'd get fat off the barbecue as well. 

I wait patiently for several minutes, watching the door and wondering where Kaya is when I suddenly hear a loud laugh travel to my table from the bar across the room. I turn my head to find the commotion, but widen my eyes and look away when I spot the familiar mop of blonde hair hopping off a stool. 

Oh no.

Please don't let him have seen me. Please don't let him come over here, please, please, please, I think.