The Customer

"Would you like some more water,

sweetheart?" 

The waitress moved in closer 

drawing nearer to his glass, 

resting her flat stomach 

against Jerry's neatly folded hands.

"N..N...n..no thank you ma'am",

Jerry stuttered, clearly absorbed with 

the position of her body and the 

provocative curve of her lower back 

as she carefully serviced his water glass.  

Her hand never trembled when 

she refilled his glass to brim 

and Jerry liked that.  

He thought, 

a steady hand exhibited 

a certain confidence 

which was a quality Jerry 

could appreciate in a gal.  

The waitress ran as though she had come equipped 

with wheels instead of feet, 

as she zoomed from table to table, 

cleaning up empty plates and refilling 

sugar caddies, travelling at light speeds 

to and from the kitchen while 

simultaneously 

holding scalding plates of whatever 

the customer had ordered recently.  

Jerry had his eye on her lithe form 

as she moved back and forth, 

this way and that, almost balletically.  

Jerry wished he could dance with her then, 

holding her, the both of them 

spinning in unison as they glided 

like Mimi Rogers and Fred Astaire 

through the diner's double doors, 

out into the cold night air, to 

wherever that empty road might take them.  

Mentally packing for the trip ahead 

Jerry mused after the road outside.  

It stretched infinitely in both directions. 

Possibly taking them from here, 

to just about anywhere. 

He thought, as long as that anywhere 

was straight ahead, past the diner,

it's half dead occupants, down the road a ways 

until it curved out of sight, beyond dark hovels 

and through the decrepit cities 

strung out like lusterless pearls, 

gone without a word of goodbye, 

a few thousand miles over the horizon.    

Reviews

[Carol Cashes]

"balletically." That's a word? It's perfect and perfectly describes a good waitress who knows her work space and how to maximize two arms and two legs. Seen it, admired the dexterity and respected it. Again, your descriptions are spot on, you teller of tales...

[JulianaSun]

Okay, so is this the sequel to the Roadside Figure? Well, Jerry could be one of the soon-to-be-shot-dead characters in the diner. Maybe the guy from behind the azalea bushes is going to take him out first...Suspense is building up. How will it all end? :)

J