2.
Gil gave his order to the smiling, quiet-spoken waiter boy. It had taken him a moment to find his voice, which was strange for him, seeing how he was a very awesome person. As the waiter, who had said his name was Matthew, left to take his order of coffee and eggs to the kitchen, Gilbert couldn't stop his eyes from following the boy. He never saw someone look as good as this Matthew did. And the boy was so sweet to, giving him a friendly smile and all. It was probably what the boy was paid to do, but it made Gil not feel so bad about his life and the hard days that were sure to come. That soft-spoken boy and his mile made Gil feel happy for the first time in… well, forever.
He had been staring at his hands thinking all this, with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He looked up and smiled genuinely when the boy set his plate and mug in front of him.
"Thank you Birdie."
Matthew tilted his head a little in confusion at the nickname, but offered the man a ghost of a smile and asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you?"
"Actually," Gil said, "Would you mind sitting down for a while and talking to me?"
Mattie was greatly surprised by the strange request. No one ever took much interest in him, much less wanted to have a conversation, unless they were asking for something. None the less, this man looked like he could use a friend, so Matthew took pity on him, glancing backwards at the kitchen and looked back at the man saying, "I'm off in a bit and I know where we could go, if you wish."
The young man nodded and Mattie walked away smiling to himself. He didn't know who the strange man was, but he was determined to find out, he thought as he went about cleaning tables and serving the few other costumers that were in on this Saturday morning in autumn.
Travelin' Soldier Travelin' Soldier Travelin's Soldier Travelin' Soldier Travelin' Soldier
He glanced at the clock about fifteen minutes later, and while grabbing his coat muttered a quick goodbye to his boss, who merely grunted in return. He walked over to where the young man was sitting and staring out the window with a now cold cup of coffee clutched in his hands. Matthew couldn't help but smile, which was quite strange, as he usually wasn't the smiling, happy type of person.
He cleared he throat, startling the man out of his thoughts.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yeah," the man said, "My name's Gilbert, by the way."
Matthew smiled again, "Well Gilbert, it's nice to meet your acquaintance."
"You as well, Birdie," Gilbert said as he gestured for Mattie to lead the way out of the diner.
"Why do you call me that?"
Gil frowned, "Do you not like it? I can stop if you want. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I was just curious."
They walked in silence for a bit, Mattie wondering what he had done wrong and Gilbert trying to think of an answer.
"I don't know," Gil finally muttered after several minutes.
"I like it," Matthew smiled. Where were all these smiles coming from? He never smiled. He wondered what had come over him.
"That's good," Gil looked relieved. He wanted to talk to this person, maybe get to know him, not scare him off.
"Oh hey, it's this way," Mattie, or Birdie, excitedly grabbed Gil's hand and half led, half dragged him over to their destination.
Gilbert, completely surprised by the small, warm hand in his, froze for a second, but then let himself be led away, all the while wondering who this strange person who had mysteriously wandered into his life was.
Yeah... so there you have it. Chapter two! I'm sorry the chapter are so short, I'm still trying to figure out this whole thing... Oh well. Chapter three should be here soon!