elliot edwards and the pursuit of finding oneself

three (edited)

by the time megan had stopped reading, the sun had melted some of the frost on the floor and we both were sporting red noses and tear streaked cheeks. the decision to go to fourth street was made entirely by me. but megan had her doubts.

"are you sure you wanna do this? i dont want you to get your hopes up. he may not come. she said he stopped writing, she's probably just assuming that he still goes. and why would he still come if he's really met someone else?" she suggested at eleven fourty-three during our walk to the diner.

"who's the nervous one now?" i comment, keeping up my speed and staring down at the two little paper squares at the bottom of the envelope. she had done two illustrations on post-it notes. one of my father and one of herself. it was almost as if sending a photo would make it too easy.

"harry and alice. doesn't that sound nice? a writer and a painter. i half expected me to be the result of teenage rape." i admit. "elliot i don't want you to get hurt. please promise me you won't get your hopes up too high." she says, the concern visible in her scrunched up eyebrows.

"well whatever the real story is, at least they're alive. or my mom is, who knows about harry." i state, mumbling the last bit at the end. after standing outside of the diner for ten minutes we gathered the courage to come in. admittedly, half of our motivation was the heater inside.

it was twelve-o-four on friday afternoon when we got in. some sad looking employees from all over the city were scattered in the seats for their lunch break. i glanced between the painting and their faces- harry was nowhere to be found. "he's not here freckles." she says anxiously. "he'll come." i state confidently, walking across the checkered floor and sitting on one of the rainbow cushioned stools (the orange one).

as i scanned the room too many times to count i could only imagine the beautiful woman in the painting walking around and taking peoples orders in the light blue uniforms the workers were wearing. megan slowly walked over to me, sitting herself down on the yellow stool beside me.

"take all the time you like, everybody else does." mumbles a kid who looked about my age, handing us a menu. at second glance i saw that his plastic nametag had chuck writeen across it. truth be told, i wasn't even hungry, but that didn't keep me from scanning the menue to look occupied. "these milkshakes look really good." meg mutters.

"you're eating?" i question. "well, if we're waiting on your dad, we might be here a while." she states, causing me to grin. "i knew you'd come around." i admit. "drinks?" chuck asks, standing infront of us. "cherry coke and a strawberry milshake." i answer. he scribbles it down on his yellow pad of paper before disappearing to the back of the restaurant.

i turn my head back to the glass windows in the front of the shop and notice a 'help needed' sign hanging up in one of the windows. my eyebrows scrunch in thought for a moment before turning my head back, seeing chuck approaching with our drinks. "any chance you're still hiring?" i ask.

"unfortunately. wouldn't reccomend it though." he mumbles. "how much does it pay?" megan asks. "about eight bucks an hour." he answers. "got an aplication i can fill out?" i request. "as long as you don't come crawling to complain to me when you wanna quit." he says, smiling for the first time since we walked in and walking away.

"a job? really?" meg says before returning to suck on her red and white striped straw. "gives me an excuse to look for harry." i admit. "so what happens if you find him?" she questions. "hope for the best i guess." i say before turning my head to see if the person walked in was my dad. "wrong gender." meg teases, seeing that it was a woman.

"just called him. the boss man is desperate. can you work week days?" chuck says, standing on the other side of the counter. "only got one class on fridays, i can be in by ten. mondays through thursdays i can be here by two thirty. i'll even work early bird shifts on weekends." i tell him. "can you start tomorrow?" he jokes.

"yeah, don't see why not." i reply. "i was kidding but i'll take the offer. i'd rather not work alone tomorrow. be here by eight, work 'till one and we'll see if you're a keeper." he tells me. "sounds good." i state. "if you just wanna get it over with i can give you a tour of the back right now." he suggests.

"alright, be back soon." i say, tapping on the table and moving past megan. as we walked down the hallway nearing the staff bathroom we passed a bulletin with a cleaning schedule and a few extra notes hung up on it. as we approached it i saw an 'employee of the month' sign on it, with a poloroid hanging just below.

my eyes widened as we got close when i saw who was in the photo, and the writing of alice written below. "does she still work here?" i ask, knowing the answer. "who? oh! alice. no, sorry man. she's hot though right?" he says, eyebrows raised. "why is her picture still up then?"

"her boyfriend pays me like fifteen bucks a week to keep it up." he tells me. "boyfriend?" "yeah. it's a really old photo. i think she died or something. depressing am i right?" "fifteen bucks a week? not bad." i say as we begin walking again.

"this... this is the place to be. only way i can cach a break in this place is if i hide out in here." he tells me, motioning to the staff bathroom. "alice sure made her mark in here too" he says, pointing to small writing on the inner doorway (the same handwriting as in te letter)."harry and alice <3" i read.

"how has it not been washed off by now?" i ask, my heart racing in my chest. "i let harry sneak back in here and write over it again once in a while." he explains. "sad." he observes, breaking the silence. "anyways, i'll show you the kitchen."

it was almost one when the tour was over. "look man i'm actually looking for someone, you won't kick me out if i stay for the rest of the day will you?" i ask as he walks with me to our table. "who are you looking for? i might be able to help." he tels me. "long story. it's complicated. he doesn't now i'm looking for him and i'd like to keep it that way for now." i explain.

"understood." he states as i sit down next to megan again. "anything i can get you guys? besides drinks?" he asks. "chili cheese fries?" meg asks me. "yeah, chili chese fries. actually, make that two. we might be here a while." i tell him. "alright, they should be out in around ten."

i waited until he was out of hearing distance and told megan about the photo of my mom in the hallway, the writing on the door, and the deal made between chuck and harry. i thought of asking him how often harry comes in, (and maybe if he ever brings anyone along, proving my moms theory that he's met someone new), but i decided on keeping my mouth shut.