the series of r/nosleep | volume one: the {smile} series

{P}ie

The story was too long so I had to post it in the comments. I'm sorry.

"Oh honey, you know I can't tell you that." I close the glass on the three tiered carousel and wipe away my fingerprints with a rag.

He leans over the counter and gives me his biggest grin. If it wasn't for the three missing teeth he might almost be cute. "Reba," he says. "You got me comin' back here day in and day out. How many years it been?"

"Too many," I say with a wink. I smooth down my apron, the same one my momma wore, and try to cover the last remaining mound of my ever receding baby bump.

"Now don't go playin'. You loved every minute of it."

I laugh and pull his tab. He slaps down a five and two ones; the same as every other day.

"Just the crust then. Will ya? Just give me the recipe for the crust and I'll go on my way."

"Well," I say and scratch my temple with a pencil's eraser. "How about you come in for another few years and I'll tell ya then."

He grins the same goofy grin he gives every day when I tell him that line, tips his hat and walks towards the exit. He turns backwards as he pushes through the door and says, "Reba Yerner, if you wasn't married I'd take you home with me."

"Mr. Marshall, if I wasn't married, I might just let you try." We wave at each other and then he's gone out into the early afternoon sun.

The diner's practically empty now. A couple sits in a corner booth sharing an order of fries, looking out the window, and making those silly kissy faces newlyweds still know how to make. The young dentist is at the end of the bar picking through the last crumbs of his chicken and waffles, and a trio of strangers sit at the large round table by the jukebox. The hairs stand at the back of my neck when I see them.

"Take a picture it'll last longer," Odetta says from behind me.

"I wasn't starin'," I protest.

"Sure you were. I had to say that twice before you even acknowledged me. You thinkin' about Francis and the boys?"

"No," I shake my head. The world seems foggy for a second and then my head clears. I turn away from the large round and motion at it with my head. "Just strange to see one guy out with two girls, right?"

Odetta laughs. "Honey, you've got a dirty mind. One of them is his daughter."

I turn around slowly and take a quick look. "Which one? They look like twins."

"Beats me."

The man in the blue shirt at the table looks up from his hamburger and tilts his head as if he's studying me. I turn back to Odetta. "He's creepy."

"Yep," she says. "And a horrible tipper." She smiles and pats my arm. "Don't worry, he's cashed out." I nod. "Ernest is waitin' outside. You good?" I nod again. "Good. I'll see you in the mornin'." She gets up on tiptoes and kisses my cheek. She starts walking to the door and just as she reaches it two young men barge through.

"'Scuse me, ma'am," the thin one says.

"Move it," the other one says and puts a shoulder into her.

"Well screw you, fatty," Odetta says and pushes her way outside. The man's face turns a bright shade of crimson that doesn't even begin to subside until the two are sitting at the bar in front of me.

"What can I get you two?" I ask, trying and failing to not sound annoyed.

The thin one's eyes soften as he looks from what could only be his brother to me. "What's good today?" he asks. Thick ropes of muscle ripple under a rolled flannel shirt as he picks up the menu.