Friday Romance: Secret Admirer (Part 3 of 3)
“Hey!” she shouted while strutting down the sidewalk. “I’m talking to you!” The man turned around and put his hands in the air, giving himself up.
At noon Rachel took her break, locking the door to the store and putting up a sign which read “Be back at” above a clock which pointed to 1:00 pm. She walked down the street to the diner, where she was seated at her favorite spot which had a window overlooking the street, letting her people watch as she ate her meal.
“What’ll it be today, Rachel?” asked Debby, the waitress. She had her hair tied up in a bun, the front frizz popping out, and stains on her white apron. “By the way, did you get the shipment in for those ornaments I like? The stained glass ones.”
“Not yet,” replied Rachel, “but I’ll let you know as soon as I do. Should be next week. I’ll get the Chef’s Salad, along with a ginger ale.”
“I’ll put that in for you. Hank has me working the fryers back there. I’ll score you some fries to hold you over.”
“I’d like that,” replied Rachel.
As she picked at her food she watched the people she’d come to know walking up and down the street. A lot of her regulars were people who worked the nearby shops, and some even knew her habits well enough to wave as they passed by, knowing she’d be sitting in the window seat. When she was just about finished she let out a quick gasp, catching herself before drawing too much attention. The man in the aviator sunglasses walked by the diner, seemingly making his way to her store. She waved Debby over and handed her enough money to cover her meal and a six dollar tip, then rushed out the door to try and catch the ‘secret admirer’.
“Hey!” she shouted while strutting down the sidewalk. “I’m talking to you!”
The man turned around and put his hands in the air, giving himself up.
“You caught me,” he said, “I was just on my way to see you. Sorry about yesterday.”
“You had me worried,” she said, “walking in and being all creepy like that.”
“Creepy? Is that how you treat all your customers?” He sulked a bit, looking defeated. “Fair enough. I admit it wasn’t my best attempt at a first impression.” He removed his sunglasses, revealing emerald eyes. “I’m Gary.”
“Gary Johnson?”
“What? No. Gary Webber. I’m new to town. Sorry, I should back up a bit. I was in the diner last week when I noticed you sitting by the window. I wanted to talk to you, but couldn’t quite build up the courage. I thought for sure yesterday when I came into your store that I’d be able to at least say hello. Things didn’t go quite as I expected. Soon as you started asking about me I choked up.”
“Did you leave the music box outside my door?” She was standing with her hands on her hips, imagining the two of them sitting in a dark room with a spotlight shining in Gary’s eyes.
“That was me,” he replied, followed by a sigh. “I figured I could use it as a way to start talking to you. I was on my way to your store to find out if you liked it. Was it a bit too much?”
“It was fine,” she replied, letting her hands fall to her side. “I wasn’t expecting it is all. It’s strange to see someone new around here. Sure, we get the random visitors passing through, but usually that’s not until the leaves start to turn closer to October. I’m Rachel, by the way.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rachel,” he replied. “It seems I’ve blown my chance at a decent first impression, but if you’re willing perhaps we can meet for lunch tomorrow? I work at the furniture store about a half mile that way.” He pointed past her.
“I’d like that,” she said, “I take my lunch from noon to one.”
“That’ll be perfect. See you tomorrow then.”
Rachel nodded and went back to her store. She pulled the music box from behind the counter and opened it, letting the music play as she stocked the shelves.
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