Every few days for the last month she had seen him. She didn't know him, and before that month she was positive she'd never seen him before. Most people wouldn't have taken any notice in the new man, but for some reason she did.
So far she'd seen him at the store, in the park, walking home from work, at the local restaurant, in the internet café, outside her apartment building, pretty much everywhere. She was fairly sure he had never taken notice of her though. Why would he? He probably just moved here, he didn't know her, didn't go to work with her, didn't live across the hall from her, really didn't have any connection to her whatsoever. To him she might as well not exist. So why was he always on her mind?
When she went into public she would swivel her head around every so often, looking to see if he was near. When she had any time to herself she found her thoughts straying toward the image of his blond hair and bushy eyebrows. She would picture the way he held himself confidently, almost arrogantly, but not quite. He was a mystery to her, and she really wanted to meet him so she could figure him out. Each day when she got home, she swore to herself she would talk to him the next time she saw him. And yet, every time she did see him, her courage slipped away and the words caught in her throat.
That morning she had finally accepted that she would probably never meet the man, or at least have the courage to start a conversation with him. She might as well forget him. He wasn't anything special to her, so it wouldn't matter anyway.
Just pretend you never saw him in the first place. Yeah, like that'll ever work. Why the heck can't I just forget about him?! Her thoughts were interrupted when her coworker, Matthew, tapped on her shoulder. "Amelia, your customers at table five are still waiting for their order. They're getting a bit impatient." Amelia finally jolted back into reality. "Oh, sorry Mattie, I'll take care of it right away." She picked up her tray and hurried out of the kitchen, delivering the order as fast as she could and apologizing to the customers for the wait. She was a waitress at the only 50's style diner in town. She had been working there for almost three years now, and she hadn't once missed an order. She was very focused when she wanted to be. At least, until the mysterious man showed up. He had thrown off her ability to function correctly at work.
Come on, focus on your work. You don't want to get fired, do you? She thought as she walked to the next table to get another order. Besides, what would you even do if you did meet him for real? What if he's a total jerk? She was right. Even if she did start a conversation with him, he probably wouldn't like her at all. She was rather loud when she spoke, and often said unintentionally rude things. Most people didn't like her, and only spoke to her because they had to. Oh well, maybe it would just be better if they never met.
She had just finished that thought when she looked up from her notepad to take the newest customer's order, and was met with emerald green eyes. She froze where she was, not believing what she was seeing. The man was sitting at the table before her, looking up at her. The very man that had been on her mind all month, who had invaded all of her thoughts, and who was now waiting for her to take his order. She realized that his lips were moving, and he was saying something to her. "Excuse me miss, are you even listening?" She wanted to say something, but all that came out of her mouth was, "Huh?" He looked slightly annoyed, but said, "I said, do you have any Earl Grey tea?" His voice had a heavy British accent, and was tinted with annoyance. Amelia heard herself instinctively respond, "I'm afraid we don't have that sir. I can get you an iced tea or coffee." He grumbled before asking for a coffee and she felt her feet move toward the kitchen, but her eyes remained locked on the man.
She only snapped out of her trance when the kitchen door closed behind her and the man was blocked from her line of sight. She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding, and shook her head. She tried to pretend that he was just any other customer, and not someone that she'd been thinking of non-stop for the past month, and filled a mug with coffee. As she brought it out to him, she glanced at the clock. It was 5:58. Two minutes before her shift ended. Maybe she could get away with staying for a few extra minutes so she could work up the courage to talk to him. Then again, she had worked late every day for the past week, and her boss would get suspicious if she stayed after her shift again today. And she had promised Francine that she would meet up with her after work to go shopping. It wasn't a good idea to stay late today. She would just have to live knowing that she never had the guts to talk to him.
She took another deep breath before approaching the table again. She knew her hand was shaking when she set the mug down, and hoped the man didn't notice. "Can I get anything else for you, sir?" He glanced at the menu, but said, "Actually, I'm in a bit of a hurry today. Could you bring me my bill?" She nodded and hurried to the register to print the bill before bringing it back to the table. "Thank you, miss." He signed the bill, took a few big gulps of coffee, laid a handful of cash on the table, and was out the door. She stared after him and suddenly had the urge to follow him. She dropped the tray that was tucked under arm and ran after him.
As soon as she was outside the diner, she saw him get into a small car and start the engine. She ran to the driver's side window and tapped on the glass. He seemed a bit startled, but rolled down the window to see what she wanted. "Can I help you? Oh, did I under pay for the coffee? I'm quite sorry; I was in a bit of a rush. Here, just wait a second." He began to pull his wallet out of his pocket, but Amelia stopped him. "No, no. You didn't under pay, I just…" She just what? She couldn't come up with a logical reason for her behavior. Why had she run after the man in the first place?
"I uh… I just, umm… my name is Amelia." The man looked surprised that she had only stopped him to say her name. He said, "It's nice to meet you, I suppose. My name is Arthur. So, if you don't mind, I'm sort of in a hurry. I have someone waiting on me." She knew it was rude to keep him there any longer, but she couldn't stop just staring at the man. She heard a familiar voice calling to her across the parking lot. "Amelia! You forgot to take the bill off of one of the tables, and you're still wearing your apron!" Matthew looked slightly distressed that Amelia had taken off so quickly, and confused as to why she was standing outside some random person's car. She face-palmed and looked at Arthur before saying, "It was nice meeting you Arthur. Please come back tomorrow."
She ran back into the diner and apologized to Matthew. "Sorry Mattie, he just under paid for his coffee," she hated lying, but she didn't want to tell Matthew that she had followed the man- Arthur -for no apparent reason. As soon as her shift was officially over she went back out to the parking lot to meet up with Francine. The French woman enveloped her in a soft hug and said, "Amy, darling, it's been too long since we went shopping together. Where would you like to go?" Amelia was suddenly hit with a feeling of nausea. She felt herself swaying back and forth just a tiny bit, and her face flushed with heat. Her stomach started twisting in knots. She was definitely not feeling right. "Oh, I really don't feel well right now Francine. I'm so sorry but I'm gonna have to cancel. But we can go tomorrow." Francine looked a little disappointed but agreed. "You do look rather pale. Perhaps you will feel better if you get a good night sleep. But there are no excuses tomorrow!" Amelia nodded and began the short walk to her apartment, waving to Francine as she walked away.
After she got home she decided to take a longshower. It was refreshing, and she did feel a bit better afterward. When she was done she sat on the couch in her pajamas and her cat, Toni, jumped up with her. "Hey Toni, you'll never believe what happened today." Toni curled up next to her and purred. "You remember that guy I told you about, the one I keep seeing everywhere? Well today he came into the diner and I found out his name is Arthur. He was pretty cool, even though I only talked to him for a couple seconds. I hope he comes back tomorrow." She yawned heavily and looked at the clock. It was only 7:24. "It's kinda early to go to bed, huh? Oh well, I'm pretty tired. 'Night Toni." She got up and went into her bedroom for a good night sleep.