The Italian restaurant, usually so quiet, was crowded tonight with a
large group of middle aged Franfurters. Why they picked this restaurant on
this night was anyone's guess. Thank the faltering national economy and
the fall of the dollar against the Euro.
Bobby managed to get a table because cops apparently took precedence over German tourists. Also, the proprietor had survived fascism in Italy, so German money wasn't as welcome as it might have been. Regular guests, however, also seemed to carry some weight. The waiter - his favorite cute waitress had quit to get married and move to Jersey - leaned over diffidently and asked if he would mind sharing a table with a young woman who was also dining alone. Bobby was tempted to refuse, but when the waiter supplied an unsolicited endorsement of the woman's good looks, he decided it might be a pleasant diversion. If nothing else, it would give him some other innocent bystander to observe. He'd seen enough Germans in the army.
His gaze followed the waiter to the front. The waiter tapped a young woman of average height on the shoulder and whispered something in her ear. He watched as her head, covered in a black scarf, nodded, and she turned, unbuttoning her jacket and tugging off the scarf.
She revealed herself, a young woman with pretty-plain features, brown eyes, and curly hair in three or four shades of blonde that were too odd and random to have been the result of even the most unfortunate highlighting mishap. Pleasant face, decent figure disguised by loose fitting sweater and old blue jeans. And sadness etched into every line of her face.
But he was projecting now. He'd already done this character study.
Bobby managed to get a table because cops apparently took precedence over German tourists. Also, the proprietor had survived fascism in Italy, so German money wasn't as welcome as it might have been. Regular guests, however, also seemed to carry some weight. The waiter - his favorite cute waitress had quit to get married and move to Jersey - leaned over diffidently and asked if he would mind sharing a table with a young woman who was also dining alone. Bobby was tempted to refuse, but when the waiter supplied an unsolicited endorsement of the woman's good looks, he decided it might be a pleasant diversion. If nothing else, it would give him some other innocent bystander to observe. He'd seen enough Germans in the army.
His gaze followed the waiter to the front. The waiter tapped a young woman of average height on the shoulder and whispered something in her ear. He watched as her head, covered in a black scarf, nodded, and she turned, unbuttoning her jacket and tugging off the scarf.
She revealed herself, a young woman with pretty-plain features, brown eyes, and curly hair in three or four shades of blonde that were too odd and random to have been the result of even the most unfortunate highlighting mishap. Pleasant face, decent figure disguised by loose fitting sweater and old blue jeans. And sadness etched into every line of her face.
But he was projecting now. He'd already done this character study.