That Night

It was the usual busy Saturday night at the restaurant. He was rushing through tables as usual. It wasn't something new for him that they were working under staffed.  And he really didn’t care about it at all. He had his rhythm.  

He was alone and life was dull. This workplace was full of noise. This noise was a distraction for him, diverting him from his loneliness. The ringing bell signalling that the food was ready and put up by the chef to be served. People chatting and then suddenly some women would laugh out loud. Then there is the noise of a child crying. These noises entered his ears and he would respond accordingly. To the bell, he would rush for the food to serve. People chatting he would often ignore or smile if they made that unusual eye contact. High pitched laughter of some women would annoy him for some reason. The crying child was the one that got his attention the most. He would rush to see what is wrong with the child. He could relate to that cry. As if they both thought that they were in the wrong place...

This night seemed no different than all other nights he lost count of. But who knew something special might happen that night? And it did happen. Although the moment was short, it moved him deeply.

He was standing by the shelf to take the food out when she entered in. Their eyes met and his heart missed a beat. The lonely sad bird was hit by a charming smile and all got still. She looked at him and smiled. He forgot to smile back.

He walked towards her, greeted her and showed her the place to sit. Then he brought her the menu, entangled in a million thoughts. He was surprised at such a pretty girl being alone there that night? Why? He ignored all possible reasons of her being there that did not included him.

If he is the north pole of a magnet then is she the south? Was she the one who has only come there just because he is working there? His dull heart was getting brighter with such thoughts. The ringing bell, the chatting people and all other noises that used to be distractions turned into music and she was the melody being sung by his heart. A perfect melody.

He poured a glass of water for her and as he put the glass on her table, she smiled and he smiled back. He was just turning back to give her time to decide when he heard: "Excuse me!” It was her. He looked back and she said,"May I please have another glass of water. I am waiting for someone special tonight!”

All of a sudden everything got back to how it was before. He realised that north and south poles always exist in pairs and that this pair was already complete. He felt like an exception to this pole theory. The noise of the ringing bell was even louder. People were chatting even more irritatingly. He felt as if the women were laughing at his poor luck. The perfectly written melody vanished. The music lost its rhythm. This was just another night at a dull, noisy workplace.

He replied with a smile, "Yeah sure!"