Chapter 2

As Deja came into 'Lucy's Diner' the next afternoon she noticed the familiar face from the night before. He was seated in the same booth with another cup of coffee before him. Because her shift didn't begin for another 15 minutes she decided to go over and thank him again for his generous tip. As she made her way to his booth she saw him look up at her and smile.

"Hi," Deja said returning a smile.

"Nice to see you again," the man replied.

"I just wanted to come over and introduce myself and thank you again for last night's tip."

"Oh, no problem. Glad you're so thankful, considering it was only like 3.00," he chuckled.

"Well, a 3.00 tip for a 1.50 coffee is pretty generous around these parts. My name is Deja by the way."

"Deja? Like deja vu?"

She nodded.

Well, nice to meet you Deja," he stuck out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Mort."

"Nice to meet you too, Mort," she paused for a moment..."Can I have seat?"

"Sure."

"So how come I haven't seen you here before?" she questioned. "Just passing through?"

"Actually, I recently moved to Datenville, about 30 minutes from here," he answered.

"And you came all the way here for a cup of coffee?" Deja questioned.

"I heard it was the best in the area."

Deja found that pretty funny, but as long as he was bringing his business to the establishment she worked at there was no problem.

"So, how do you like Datenville?" she quizzed.

"It's okay. A little more 'suburban' than I'm used to, but luckily I still have my seasonal home up in Tashmore Lake. Whenever I need a break from life, I tend to go there and relax," he said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, Mort. Let me get to work," Deja said. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, I'm good," he answered. "Maybe you can join me during your break later?"

"Do you plan on being here for another 3 hours?" she asked, laughing.

"Nothing better to do," he answered.

Sure enough after 3 hours, Mort was still in the diner. Reading a book to occupy his time.

"What ya readin'?" Deja asked as she plopped down in the seat across from Mort's.

"It's a novel by Tom Robbins," he replied.

"Any good?"

"Yeah, he's one of my favorite writers, besides myself that is," he answered giving a little smirk.

"So you write huh?"

Mort nodded.

"Anything I've read?" Deja asked very interested.

"Ever heard the short story book Everybody Drops The Dime?" he asked her.

"Can't say that I have. But I'll be sure the next time I'm at the bookstore I'll pick up a copy," she said winking her eye.

"I know this is gonna come totally from left field, but would you care to have dinner with me some time?" Mort asked Deja nervously.

She wasn't sure, considering she'd just met this guy the day before. But it's been awhile since she'd been on a date that wasn't fixed up by her friends so she figured what the hell.

"Sure. Here's my number," she began scribbling it down on a napkin. "Give me call some time this weekend or next week and maybe we can set something up.

"Will do."

Deja thanked him for the enjoyable conversation and excused herself. Over the next hour or so, while working, she stole glances at Mort, who continued to sit in the corner booth. The dinner crowd had entered and kept her busy and after getting a free moment to herself she noticed that Mort was no longer in the diner. He seemed to have more mystery about him than any other man she'd ever met. She normally had reservations about going out on dates with men she barely knew, but somehow she felt so comfortable around Mort. She already looked forward to his call.