“Y-yes, p-please.” I notice his stutter is fairly bad, but the more the guy talks to him, the more at ease he gets and the more the stutter lessens.
“Here you go. Have a good night, Max.”
Max pays and takes his food. As he’s about to walk out, a young lady goes to push the door to come in. Max opens the door, and stands to the side to let her enter first. “Ma’am,” he says and tips his chin. He looks over to me, and I’m speechless and breathless. He’s beautiful. Like one of those perfect statues from ancient times. I can’t help but keep looking at him as he holds the door open for the young woman. He winks at me, then turns back to her.
I watch as she enters, smiles at him and comes to stand behind me.
I’ve never seen that happen before. A gentleman. A real life gentleman.
“How can I help you?” the guy calls to me, breaking the spell I’m under watching Max walk away.
“Um…” I lose my words for a fleeting second, “Can I have a salad please?” I turn to look out the front window, but Max is gone. Like a dream, a beautiful fantasy, he’s left as if he were never real to begin with.
With my dinner of a salad, I hope soon this extra weight will drop off me. I don’t want to be fat and ugly anymore. I can’t help being unattractive, but being fat I can certainly do something about. I take my dinner back to the staff breakroom and sit in it on my own, picking at the green leaves.
Before my break, I was overwhelmed remembering the sounds while I was in the bathroom, now though, all I can think about is the man I saw in the deli. Such a simple gesture, holding the door open for someone else. It’s playing on my mind, and I can’t let it go. One day, I hope to be treated the same way.
I check the time and see I’ve got to get back on the register. I have four more hours left of the night before I can go home.
The four hours fly by and before I know it, it’s the end of my shift. I close my register out and go get my bag. Taking my phone out, I figure I’ll try Trent once more in case he can pick me up. The phone rings out and goes to voicemail. I try once again, and the second call goes to voicemail, too. I sling my bag over my shoulder, and walk out through the front of the store. As I walk out the front door, I see Liam parking his car and coming toward the store. “Hey,” he says as he stops to talk to me.
“You’re in here late, what’s going on?”
“Shayne wants candy. So being the good boyfriend I am, I volunteered to bring her some.” Liam and Shayne found their groove last week, and since then they’ve been together virtually every spare moment. She’s still trying to organize the four of us to go out, but Trent hasn’t said we can go yet.
I smile at Liam; he really is a good guy. “That’s really nice of you.”
“What are you doing out so late? Did you finish a shift?”
“Yeah, there was one on offer so I took it. I need all the cash I can get before I go to college.”
“Aren’t you going on a full scholarship?”
“I am, but I still need money for back-up.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Hey, are you going home?”
“Yeah I am. I can’t get in touch with Trent, so I’m just going to walk.”
His eyes fly wide open. “Are you crazy? You can’t walk home on your own, not this late. Just give me five so I can get Shayne’s candy and I’ll drive you.”
“No, it’s okay. I could do with the exercise. I’ve put on so much weight lately, and I really need to get rid of it.”
Liam goes to take a step toward the store, but instead he stops and turns to look at me. “What? You think you’re fat?”
I nod my head and tap my hips and thighs. “See, hefty hips and thunder thighs.” That’s what Trent said I have.
“You can’t be serious, Lily. You’d be lucky to be a hundred pounds, fully clothed and soaking wet. And you’re what five foot seven? No way are you fat.”
“Close. I’m five foot six, and ninety-five pounds. I’ve put on ten pounds. It’s so obvious, look at my thighs. Worst of all are my hips.”
Liam looks at me with an unbelieving look, “Really?”
“Yes, look.” I hit my thighs again and watch them jiggle.
“Lily, if anything, you’re underweight. You should eat more, not less. And besides, it’s not safe to walk home alone in the dark.”
“What? You must need glasses, because I’m a fat cow.”
Liam shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “Whatever, but I’m not letting you walk home, anything can happen to a pretty girl like you.” Now I know Liam’s just being nice. “I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t start walking home.” He points to me as he walks backward into the store. “I’m serious, I’ll only be a few minutes.”