Short Story

Before John has the chance to act as a gentleman, I drag my chair out and slide into it, refusing to remove my jacket. Furthermore, I fold my arms and rest them on the table while maintaining the scowl on my face as I glare out the window at nothing in particular.
“Your waitress will be over soon, but can I get you both a drink?” offers the woman.
“I'll have a beer, whatever's on tap,” says John.
“Coke,” I say without emotion.
“What's wrong with you?” asks John, gaining my full attention as I penetrate my fury upon him.
“You're kidding, right?”
His face fills with bewilderment.
I scoff. “What's with all the flirting back there?” I stretch my hand behind me to point towards the podium. “You even asked for her number. Couldn't you have …show more content…

As soon as his glass reaches the table, he gathers it to take a long drink of it, finishing half the glass before returning it to the table.
“Are you ready to order?” she asks.
Until now, I haven't taken a glimpse at the menu, my appetite vanished the moment we step inside the building.
“Yeah, I'll have a loaded burger and another beer, thanks,” says John, giving me no time to ponder my meal.
“And for you?” asks the woman.
Instead of opening the menu, I scan the pictures of burgers on the front. “If you have a plain burger, that will be fine.”
“With fries?”
“Sure.” I lean back in my chair and watch her graceful hands gather our menus, though I refrain from glancing at her.
“Is this how you're going to be for the rest of the night?” asks John.
I refuse to answer him. Instead, I remain staring at the burn mark from a cigarette on the table.
“I said I was sorry, what more do you want?”
An explanation from Patsy.
“Please, Eva, talk to me.”
“When are you working next?” I ask with no emotion, drifting my gaze up to greet him once again, though the morose expression remains on my face.
“Tomorrow, why?”
I shrug my shoulders. “No reason, just making conversation.”
“Did you enjoy the garden? You seemed to.”
“Yeah, it was okay.”
He gathers his glass the drain the rest of his drink. As he rests it back on the table, I watch the foam glide back down the glass. In the time I've known John, this is the first time I've been alone with him.