“You just started working here, yet you asked me ifI’mnew?” I deadpan, and her eyes widen slightly.
“I… yeah, I guess that was silly, huh?”
“Very silly. Are you done with my card?” The waitress’s cheeks flush at my impassive, bored tone.
I can pick up on flirting from a mile away, and this girl looks like she’s fresh out of college. Not only that, but she’s awoman, so most definitely not my type.
“Yes, sorry! Um,” she flushes even further, biting away at her lower lip.
She is very pretty, which I can acknowledge. She most likely has never been rejected before.
Well, allow me.
“Um?” I ask, extending my hand for my debit card.
“I know you’re only visiting, but would you be interested in exchanging numbers or something? I know it’s sudden, but I think you’re very beautiful.”
I do admire her bravery; most people aren’t this forward with me.
“Listen—Amanda, is it?” I read the nametag on her shirt.
“Yes!” She beams.
“I’m not interested,” I say easily, and her face falls. “You’re not my type at all. And honestly, I’m kind of in a hurry, and you’re definitely holding me up. Are you going to hold my card hostage all day, or?”
Carrie elbows me roughly in the side, and I jolt as I glare down at her.
“Excuse him, he’s kind of an asshole, always has been. Eli is extra moody right now because his boyfriend is being weird,” my sister says in way of explanation.
Amanda’s eyes widen further at the wordboyfriend, but I can see the sting of rejection fade into the disappointment of hitting on a gay man.
“Oh! I see. Well, you two have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping in!” Amanda hands me my debit card, and Carrie and I leave the Waffle House.
“Why are you always such a dick?” she asks, climbing into the driver’s seat.
“I’ve found that if you’re up front from the get-go, you won’t have to spend five extra minutes nursing their bruised ego. Why is it my job to baby some waitress I don’t know?”
Carrie sighs. “That’s someone’s sister, you know. Someone’s daughter or best friend.”
“I really don’t understand why you’re bitching at me right now.”
I watch the landscape as it zooms by, rolling my window down to enjoy the breeze. I’m surprised to find myself missing the chill of Fort Myers already.
Carrie says nothing else about the waitress, but soon she circles back to our previous conversation as if we never left it.
“You’ll figure everything out,” she says. “I have faith that once you’re back in North Dakota, the answers will come to you when they’re needed. You’re smart, Eli.”
“Thanks, Car.”
“Now,” she grins. “We have about an hour. Wanna hit the casino before you go?”
The plane ride back to North Dakota is aggressively long, but the drive from the airport to my apartment is only about an hour. The taxi fare is ridiculous—but what can I do? Call John for a ride?
It doesn’t make it any better that I lost a hundred dollars at the casino with Carrie, but I had a good time.
And now I’m dropping my carry-on next to the couch in my living room, listening to the settling of the walls around me. Home sweet home, or whatever it is people say after a trip away.
Sitting on the brown cushion, I stare at my phone screen.Time to delve into my emotional issues.
