Page 14 of A Chance Love

If this was how the place was run, she was surprised there were customers there at all. Most restaurants have hosts to greet their guests, or waitresses that will come to serve you. Why was this man yelling at her from the small window into the kitchen?

As he pushed open the door, April was actually taken aback by his appearance. He didn’t look like some teen waiter that loitered around in the back. He was clean shaven, though his hair wilted down on one side of his face as he walked towards her table.

He was dressed in worn jeans and a tank top, but the clean white apron on top made him look professional. Like he knew exactly what he was talking about, like he belonged in a five star restaurant in New York instead of this small town burger joint.

“What can I get you?” he said with a smile that threw April for a loop. The wrinkles at the sides of his lips intrigued her, but she made sure she didn’t stare too long at them.

She pulled up the menu in front of her face to hide the blush of her cheeks. “Can I ask a question?”

He looked around the restaurant, then shrugged. “Sure, I got nothing else going on.”

“Why is this place nearly empty? I know it’s late for dinner, but places around here are usually packed with people. It’s seven, not midnight.”

The man’s hand hit his chest as he feigned an injury. “Ouch. Okay, well if you must know. We’re approaching the end of tourist season. This is the best it’s going to get this time of year. Only the locals will come for the next few months.”

She felt bad for asking such a hurtful question. After all that happened to her today, she should have known a thing or two about that. “Right, sorry. I was just wondering.”

“That’s alright,” he replied. “Do you want a drink to start out? We have a ton of beers on tap. Otherwise, our wine list is right here.” He pulled out a small piece of laminated paper from the napkin holder and handed it to April. As she looked it over, she was impressed with the list.

“I’ll just take any zinfandel you have.” It was a white wine kind of night, just a little something to take the edge off.

The man nodded his head. “Sure, I’ll get you that right away. Take a look at the menu if you’d like something to eat. Our special today is a delicious breakfast buffet burger. It has hashbrowns, a fried egg, two different cheeses, and bacon.”

“Oh my gosh, that sounds fantastic. I’ll just take that,” she replied, salivating at the idea of the burger in front of her.

He smiled like he knew all along that she’d order it. “Of course. I’ll start on that right now.” As the man began to walk back to the kitchen, he yelled at the other guests. “You be careful tonight, Geno! I don’t want to have to call Carol again.”

April liked his voice. When it was loud and assertive and when it was sweet, asking her what she wanted and buttering her up. Within a minute, she had her glass of wine in front of her. As she sipped it, she took the time to walk around the restaurant and look at the photos from local events.

Some of them were school sports, different teams making it to state. Rarely did any of them say ‘state champions’ and not ‘state qualifiers.’ Others were from the local fairs, farmer’s markets, beach days.

This place wasn’t made for tourists, though April was sure many of them came to eat the good food Giant’s had to offer. It was made for the locals with reminders of how good this community was. The walls were a love letter to Sandcrest.

After a few minutes, April looked around for the man to ask him about a picture on the wall, one that looked like him. But he was nowhere to be seen, until a moment later when his face appeared in the small window to the kitchen. He had a hair net on and was talking to someone behind the bar.

The man who took her order was the cook? Was he always the cook or a waiter who needed to fill in at the last minute? Suddenly she wasn’t so sure how good the burger was going to taste. Still, she knew she needed to give it a chance. If everyone liked the food here, why not give this guy a shot at making it.

April sat back down at her table until the man returned. This time, his pristine apron was covered with small, round blotches of grease. “Here you are,” he told her as he set the food down. It smelled delicious.

The soft music hummed over them. He watched as she took her first bite. With a full mouth, April mumbled, “Oh my God. Delicious.”

“I knew you’d like it,” he said with a smirk.

“I would say compliments to the chef, but it seems as though I’m talking to him,” April replied between bites.

He nodded. “Name’s Nigel.”

“Nice to meet you, Nigel. I’m April.”

Nigel smiled, a warm smile that lit April up. “That’s a nice name.”

“I saw a picture on that wall over there,” she said, pointing to the one she had questions about. A man that looked oddly like Nigel stood beside two other men who were nothing like him. They were both rugged, in messy clothes with scraggly beards. “And I was wondering who those people are. There’s a description of every other photo in here except that one.”

“That’s me and my two best friends. Hank, who’s behind the bar right now. And Phillip who moved out of town a few months ago to get closer to his wife’s family.”

“And what about you? You have a wife?” She couldn’t look at him straight on because she could feel the heat in her cheeks. Why did she wish he would say no? This was her first time meeting this man. She’d been married for so long; is this what it felt like to actually flirt again?

“No, no wife. Came close a couple of times.” He gave a hearty laugh. “What about you? Family?”

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