Page 2 of A Hint of Delirium

“Yes, please.” The woman smiled up at me. “I’d like a Manhattan, please.”

I jotted down her order and shyly looked at her companion. “And for you, sir?”

“I’ll have an Old Fashioned with a lemon twist. Top shelf bourbon.” His voice was deep, sensuous, and incredibly smooth. He spoke with unshakeable confidence that was alarming as much as it was alluring.

“Of course.” I wrote it down and hustled away to put the order in.

Being in his presence felt strange, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what made him different. Yeah, he was totally smokin’ hot, but there was something else that set off my instincts and made me nervous. And I didn’t get nervous, not unless I was near … No, that wasn’t possible. I dismissed my feeling as simply being awestruck in the presence of beauty.

I put their order in at the bar and stood around waiting until the drinks were ready, then carried them back to their table. They didn’t want to order any food, so waiting on them was relatively easy. The rest of the night went smoothly, and I only had to check on them a few times to bring more drinks.

I was making my way across the restaurant as the pianists played Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Great Balls of Fire” while the crowd sang along to every word. I was closing out most of my tables, setting the checks down on their tables and thanking them for visiting us tonight. My shift was over in an hour and I was getting ready to give my section over to Korey. I never stayed until closing because I hated traveling home so late on my own. Luckily my employer was flexible.

Saving them for last, I approached the booth in the back corner and set their bill on the table, letting them know they could pay it whenever they were ready.

“No need to go so early,” the man with the green eyes said as he took the black booklet, opened it, and looked at the amount. He dug in his pocket for his wallet. I watched as he pulled out a couple of what looked like leaves from his wallet and placed them in the booklet, closed it, and handed it back to me. He smiled brightly. “Keep the change.”

My mouth fell open and I stood there in shock as I took the booklet from him. It wasn’t polite to open it in front of the customer, but I had to check to see I wasn’t imagining it – that what I saw wasn’t real. I opened the booklet and saw it was stuffed with crunchy leaves in varying shades of green and orange.

Moments like these, I questioned my sanity. Was what I saw real, or was it fake? Was I hallucinating? Sometimes I couldn’t tell the difference, but if I went back and put this in the register and it ended up being leaves, I would be in big trouble. The real question should be, why do I see leaves?

“Is there a problem?” He interrupted my musings and I realized I was just standing there, staring at the open booklet. His eyebrow was raised as he awaited my answer.

“I-I … You didn’t give me money,” I finally said, biting the bullet and going for it.

He chuckled, the sound musical. “Of course I did. Do you not see it there?” He pointed to the booklet in my hands.

I gulped, dreading what I was going to say next. “These are leaves.” I tilted the book a little so he could see.

He pursed his lips like he was in on some joke. “Are they now?” He grinned and stared at me with interest.

“Yes!” I exclaimed, my voice louder than intended. “I won’t report you; just pay the bill.”

He narrowed his emerald eyes at me and was about to say something when his companion screeched, “Are you insane? There’s like, two hundred dollars in there, plus a hefty tip for you, you ungrateful bitch!” Her voice rose with each word and slowly, people around us started to crane their necks toward the scene.

My eyes were wide as saucers and I clutched the booklet for dear life. Was I having an episode right now? I couldn’t be! They looked so real. My eyes glassed over but I bit my lip hard to stop from crying. I refused to show any kind of weakness. The tears weren’t because I was hurt by what she said, it was because I was frustrated. Frustrated with myself and angry at being called a bitch. I had my limits, even if Iwascrazy.

“Hey!” I yelled at the woman. “Who the hell are you calling a bitch?”

The handsome man held up a hand placatingly and smiled at his girlfriend. “Please, let’s be civilized.” He turned back to me with a mischievous grin. “What you see is money, nothing else.” He tilted his head as if observing me, then smirked like he was about to bust out laughing at any moment.

It set me off.

I flung the booklet down on the table. “No, it’s not!” I shouted. The leaves flew across the table. I picked them up and crumpled them in my hand until they were shredded.

“What are you doing?!” the woman shrieked as she snatched my wrist to stop me. “You just destroyed money! I want to speak to your supervisor,right now!”

I glared at her and opened my mouth to speak, then realized how eerily quiet the restaurant was. No music was playing, no patrons were talking. I turned around and saw that everyone was watching us, then my stomach dropped when I noticed my manager storming toward our direction.

When he reached us, I heard the anger in his voice. “What is going on here?” he gritted through his teeth so others couldn’t hear.

“They’re trying to skip out on the check.” I turned to face him. “They tried to pay with—”

“With money,” the man in the booth interjected.

My manager looked at the shredded leaves on the table and pointed to them. “Did you do this?”

“It’s just leaves!”

---