Commitment

Part 38

When Regan finished her late evening shift it was gone eight. It had been a long day, but then, that seemed to be the pattern recently. In a mood to treat herself she phoned the local Chinese restaurant in town and ordered a takeaway meal. She'd contemplated eating at the restaurant, as a treat, but being on her own, ordering just one starter, and sporting a black eye was not something she wanted to broadcast. More so given that the looks she'd received while she was at work suggested that most people in a restaurant would be equally flustered and probably would stare. And in any case a takeaway would be cheaper. She could order just one side dish, and no doubt it would be great. So she'd settled for ordering a take away and arranged a time for her to pick it up on her way home.

It was still quite bright, as the evenings were staying lighter for longer. It would be a good evening to go sit at her favourite spot, overlooking the stream. That way she could avoid Sam, Loretta and Gray. She was sure that seeing her face would bring back bad memories. She hoped that by tomorrow the bruise would be less tender and she might be able to camouflage the worst of it with some makeup, or she would avoid them if possible. She'd planned on doing that anyway, but her black eye and swollen face, just gave her an added reason to avoid Sam, Loretta and Gray.

Her mind reminded her, they were just staying with her. Four people living close, but three were living their lives differently to her. So why was she think about their feelings?

The restaurant was busy when she arrived, and her takeaway meal was ready, so she didn't have to wait, and didn't have to deal with too many people staring at her face. She explained about the bruises on her face when she noticed the concern in the waiter's eyes when Regan paid for her order. Regan was rifling through her purse to find the relevant money, she knew she had enough coins to cover the order. The restaurant's owner watched as Regan counted out the coins as she placed them on the counter and the waiter picked up the coins, The restaurant's owner who was listening to Regan's account told Regan to wait and the owner retrieved another takeaway meal that was on the counter.

"Here." She handed the brown bag to Regan.

Regan's brows beetled, "I didn't order that." She did not reach for the bag, just looked at the waiter, then the owner. She had her order in front of her: one small box in a brown bag. The owner's brown bag had at least three boxes inside.

Gently, she smiled, "It is for you!" She said in broken English.

Regan said softly, "For me, are you sure?" Someone made a mistake. And it might result in a discussion about who made the mistake. Regan looked at the waiter. Best to be upfront. She pointed at the big bag, "I don't have the money to pay for anything in that bag."

The waiter spoke in Mandarin to the owner, and then turned and smiled at Regan and said in English, "It's free!"

"Free?" Regan looked over at the owner. She repeated, "Free?"

"Yes." The owner bowed. "For you."

"But I didn't order it." Regan said quietly and hoped that no one in the restaurant was listening to this conversation.

"The customer didn't pick up their order." The waiter explained with a smile. "They paid. They are regulars here. They just phoned to say they couldn't collect it."

"Oh." Regan still did not reach for the bag.

"We were going to throw it out. But it is fresh. Was made at the same time as your order." The waiter said, assuming Regan was worried about the freshness of the order. The waiter said. "No charge."

Regan smiled and scowled at the same time, "Are you sure?" Regan looked over at the owner. The owner nodded. The waiter nodded. "This is very kind. Thank you." Regan smiled and took the brown bag. "Thank you."