On My Doorstep [Editing]

Chapter 23

KEVIN

I walk up to De Terre restaurant to meet my friend, Rudy, for lunch. It feels like I haven't seen him in years, and he just called me up out of the blue to have lunch. Well, he first asked if I was finally seeing anyone because he knew a girl, then asked if I was free. I don't know why he's so concerned about-

"Ack!" I yelp, tripping over a stone outside of the restaurant. Which is right next to the pathway, why? "Fuc-"

"Excuse me, this is a family establishment."

I look up to find this older woman and her young daughter staring at me as I check myself for marks and dust, and the woman is clearly upset.

I stand up straight and look down at her, "my apologies, it just slipped out."

She flushes red, covering her daughter's ears, "you're disgusting!" Then she walks off, leaving me confused.

Why-

Oh...

I'm laughing as I walk into the restaurant, and when I tell the host the name of my party, he barely understands me. A smile is still on my face when I approach Rudy's table.

"Hey, good day so far," Rudy asks, getting up to give me a hug.

I hug him back and sigh, "you could say that. How are you doin', man?"

We sit down, and Rudy hikes up his pant legs slightly, "I'm good. Great, actually."

I smile, taking a sip of my water, then another. "Oh, they have table bread here. Hmm."

I grab a piece of fresh baguette, smear some bread on it then take a bite.

"I'm getting married and I want you to be my best man," Rudy spits out, fast, and I just barely catch what he says.

Married?!

Rudy smiles at me, eyes wide and expectant. I stare at him for a while, my mouth hung open with half-chewed bread nearly popping out of it. Well, because, what the hell?

My eyes light up and I try to speak, and end up breathing in a crumb or two.

"Ack," I hack up, getting wet bread all over the table. Rudy gets up and rushes over to me to check if I'm choking, "hey, can you breathe?"

Other customers and servers look over, and a few people come over when it seems like I can't stop. "I think he's choking. He's choking!" Someone yells, which creates even more bustle.

"DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO PERFORM THE HEIMLICH?!"

I cough one more time, and a small piece of bread finally flies out of my airway and onto the table. My body relaxes and I'm relieved to know that I'm no longer in any kind of danger.

That is until I feel hands around my middle.

"I got you-" an older man says, pulling me up out of absolutely nowhere.

"I'm okay!" I take his hands off of me and turn around, raising my hands. "I am okay. Thank you for the concern."

Everyone goes back to their business and I sit back down in front of a bewildered Rudy. He chuckles, then raises his hand to signal our server, "I think we need a drink after that."

******

"I just can't believe that, out of the two of us, you're the first to get married," I tell my friend as we wait for our food to arrive. This place apparently has some amazing pizza, so that's what we ordered, along with garden and caesar salads.