Beneath Your Beautiful

Chapter 16

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

10:30pm

We walked alone without anyone noticing all the way to a little diner on the corner. We walked inside and there were only a few people in there; an old man reading a newspaper, the waitress, and a woman who looked quite stressed and was drinking coffee. We seated ourselves in the worn out booths and the waitress walked over, handing us both menus.

“What drinks can I get ya?” She asked as she pulled out her note pad from her work belt. She looked like a middle-aged woman who’d been working at this diner for quite a while.

“I’ll have an ice tea.” I answered immediately.

“Make that two.” Justin added.

She smiled and walked away, bringing our drinks back within minutes. We then ordered our food, me ordering pancakes with a side of powdered sugar, and Justin ordering a sandwich with a side of fries. She walked away again and we sat in the tiny booth chit-chatting.

“I’m sorry that we kinda bailed on your reservations at that restaurant.” I said awkwardly as I stared at Justin.

“No worries, I didn’t like it either. It was too- rich, for me.”
We both laughed and I heard the old man at the counter chuckle a bit too. He sipped on his coffee and minded his own business. I turned my attention back to Justin and continued talking.

“Well if you were trying to be romantic, it definitely is still working.” I added with a smile.

“Oh thank God,” Justin said leaning back and letting out a breath, “because I wanted this night to be special. And right now, I wasn’t sure seeing we’re sitting in a run-down diner and ordering more food than we can probably eat.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Justin was just trying to be romantic and I kinda ruined it. It was still romantic to me though.

Our food arrived and we gobbled it up quickly. I knew that I was hungry and I could definitely tell that Justin was too. It was some of the best food I’d had over here in Paris so far, these lonely diners usually did have the best most of the time too. The waitress, Tammy her name tag said, came back with our bill and stood in front of us without placing it down. I looked from Justin to her and back to Justin in confusion.

Tammy smiled and tucked the billfold back into her work belt, “You’re bill was already paid for, you two are free to go.”

I shot a look towards Justin saying silently ‘what the hell?’ and I’m pretty sure he understood exactly what I was saying. The waitress walked away, her heels clicking against the floor, and disappeared behind swinging doors.

“But who?” Justin’s voice trailed off and I followed his eyes to the old man who was leaving the restaurant.

“Hey!” Justin said quickly as he shot up.

The man turned towards us and Justin sat back down, talking to him from his seat, “by any chance, did you pay our bill?”

The man smiled and dropped his hand from pushing on the door, “Of course I did.”

“Why?” I butted in nosily.

He let out a deep chuckle and shook his head, “I was in love once. I never left her side for 72 years, loving her more and more each day. It’s amazing to see that happing again in this generation. You two have a good night.”

He left the diner without any further words and Justin turned around back to me. I swallowed and smiled to myself. Wow, that man… he was so wise. Justin and I hadn’t said that we loved each other yet, but I could feel it. It was amazing how others could see it too, with just the simplest gestures and the things we said to each other.