Me & Waitress - The Desire

Me & TheWaitress -02

She was cute and sweet, and the customers liked her. Sometimes they liked her too much. Men hit on her constantly, and unfortunately, her taste in men wasn't good. A string of bad boyfriends left her disillusioned. A couple left her injured. As she approached forty, the problems with her boyfriends interfered with her performance and led her to moving around until she couldn't get any bartending jobs and had to revert to waitressing to make a living.

She lived with a string of boyfriends, each one worse than the last one. By the time she was forty, she was working at a small diner and living with a thug who hit her every time he got drunk, which was often. She didn't know how he made his living, but his money was random and never enough. The apartment was in her name, and she barely made rent.

The diner she worked at now had a nice, open atmosphere. Barry, the old man who owned and operated the diner gave her this job because she was good with the customers and he knew the kind of man she was hooked up with.

She liked the diner. The regulars were nice and tipped well. She could make it with a regular check here, and nobody bothered her much.

Most of her regulars were older men. Some would come in and sit at the counter. Three old men always met there and had breakfast every morning together in one of the booths. There were several businessmen who came in for lunch regularly. She had one man that sat in the back. He started coming in a month ago and stayed pretty much to himself. Right before lunch, he'd order a turkey sandwich with coffee. He'd sit in the back corner, by the door to the kitchen and sit there for a couple of hours. Barry didn't seem to mind, that small booth was almost never used, and he didn't care.

After moving in with Tom and Mary, Ray slowly developed his routine. When he handed Mary money for rent, she nearly cried. He told her he'd pay rent every month he was there. He liked the little diner near that apartment building. He went there every day. He couldn't let Mary feed him all the time, and the people at the diner left him alone. No one seemed to notice him in the back, and the waitress kept his coffee warm with a quiet smile that he appreciated. On the days he went to the VA, he took the bus out front of the diner to the VA. On other days, he'd walk around the city. He especially liked the park behind the apartment building. He'd sit in the park and watch the squirrels and birds. It was peaceful, and it wasn't long before Tom found a job through the VA. Mary was very happy, and she credited everything to Ray. He didn't think so, but he was glad she was happier.

It happened quickly. Ray was in his usual booth. The waitress had just brought him his lunch and refilled his coffee. As he began eating his sandwich, the diner door burst open and a big, hulking man pushed into the diner. Ray saw the waitress freeze the moment he thundered into the diner. He slowly put his fork down. He'd seen enough of these guys in the army. This was a bully, and he didn't like bullies.

He was loud. "Cindy, Cindy. I need a few bucks. Give me a few bucks." Barry had obviously seen this guy before because he came out to intercept him.

"Hector, Hector, please. I've got customers here."

Hector looked around with a sneer. "I don't see much in customers. Maybe they'd like to give me a few bucks. Then I'll leave."

Ray could see "Cindy", the waitress, hiding in the kitchen. She finally had to come out to get Hector to calm down. "Hector, honey, what's the problem?"

Hector ignored Barry and turned to Cindy. "I need some money. I have responsibilities."

She tried to calm him down. "Honey, you know I don't get paid until Friday. I don't have anything now."

Without thinking, Hector hit Cindy hard enough to send her crashing into the counter. She crumpled onto the floor with a scream of pain. There were differing accounts of what happened next. Within a couple of minutes, Hector was on the floor, holding his arm and cursing. Ray stood over him, making it clear he was to stay there. One look at this man looming over him made Hector decide that was probably a good idea.

Ray prepared himself. He knew how this was going to end. It always ends up the same way. The second Hector hit Cindy, Ray was on his feet. In two steps he was beside Hector. He grabbed the arm he had used on the waitress and used Hector's momentum to pull his arm down and around his back. He had the wrist turned back and Hector screamed in pain as the wrist bent in unnatural ways.

Ray bent down and looked into Cindy's eyes. She was in shock. He picked her up, sat down in a chair, and sat her on his lap holding her arm carefully.

Less than three minutes. That's all it took. Barry called for an ambulance, and the police and ambulance were there in a few minutes. By the time the paramedics were there, Cindy was coming around. She looked into Ray's eyes in a daze. Hector was gone.

He whispered into her ear and laid her down on the stretcher. They took her away and the police went looking for Hector.

For the next hour, the police interviewed everyone in the diner. When everyone was gone, Barry came up to Ray. "I haven't seen anything like that since the military. Marines?"

"Army." Barry nodded.

"Hector isn't going to be happy with you." The look in Ray's eyes made Barry nod. "I'm just saying, he's the local thug."

"I think I'll be okay."

Barry nodded. "I want to thank you for protecting Cindy. She's a good woman who can't pick out good men. Hector is a small-time hood around here. I have to close and go see about Cindy."

"Would you mind if I went with you?"

Barry looked at him for a second. "Not after that. Let's go."

It happened to Cindy just like she figured it would. Hector was drunk, and he's always mean when he's drunk. She didn't see what happened. She was on the floor in pain. It seemed like an angel picked her up and held her, holding her arm. Her head cleared enough for her to understand it was the quiet man from the back booth holding her. He put her on the stretcher and whispered in her ear before leaving. "You'll be okay, Little Dove."

What the hell does that mean? Great, another crazy guy.

They found Cindy in a room at the local emergency hospital. The doctor told them nothing was broken; she would just be sore. Cindy was surprised to see Ray with Barry. Barry saw the look. "Don't worry, Cindy. He was just concerned; I was coming anyway."

She just shrugged. "Don't mind me, I'm just tired and sore."

Barry nodded. "They say you can go home. You want me to take you home?"

She looked at Ray and he noticed. "You can drop me off at the diner, if you like, before you take her home. I can walk home from there." Barry nodded.

Ray walked home from the diner. What had he done? He doesn't need any notoriety. Especially with the local gangs. But he couldn't just stand by and let that thug hit Cindy.

The next morning, he was back at the diner. Cindy was not there. "Barry, where's Cindy?"

"She's still sore and called in."

Ray nodded, but something wasn't right. He had his sandwich and coffee, but it wasn't the same. Instead of sitting there, watching the customers and enjoying the day, he went home.

The next day Cindy was still not there. Barry tried not to look at Ray, but he went up to him. "Okay, Barry. What's going on?"

"I don't know for sure, but I think Hector is there."

"Give me her address." It wasn't a request and Barry knew it.

"Look, be careful. He'll hurt her." Ray stared at him until he finally gave Ray the address.

Ray found the address. It was in a okay neighborhood, what they call a transitional neighborhood. Ray found the door and waited. He heard Hector yelling inside the apartment. Ray knocked on the door. From inside the apartment, he heard. "Go the f**k away. I already told you to leave us alone."

Hector opened the door, maybe looking for a neighbor, or something. What he found was a fist in his face that snapped his head back, and he dropped like a sack of flour. Ray stepped in past him, drug him inside and closed the door. Cindy was sitting at the table. She had a black eye and a look of terror.

Ray looked at her. "It's time to take out the trash." He shook Hector until he came around. He pushed him onto the couch. "Big man likes hitting women. Stand up, let's see how you do with a real man?"

Hector was past swagger. He just sat looking at him. "Get up, or I'm going to beat the s**t out of you where you sit. Stand up."

Hector slowly stood up. Ray looked over at Cindy. He was surprised to see something in her eyes. When he finally turned back to Hector, he was quieter. "Here's the deal, Hector. You're moving. Pack up your s**t and get out. You've hurt Cindy for the last time."

Hector looked at Cindy, then back at Ray. Ray stood over him. "That's right, pack up your s**t. When you leave this apartment, you'll forget this address. You understand?" Hector said nothing. "Do you understand?" Hector nodded. "Good. Get you s**t packed up."

Within ten minutes, Hector was gone. Ray stood there, not sure what to do next. Cindy finally looked up. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Because I liked coming to the diner. You let me just sit there, quietly. You took care of everyone else. I thought it was time someone took care of you."

"What did you mean by what you said?"

"Little Dove?" She nodded. "It's a reference to someone I knew in the military. Maybe I'll tell you about her sometime. Let's just say I'm paying it forward. Are you going to be okay?"

"If I can get back to work. I have rent."

Ray looked at Cindy, then. "Is there another way into this building?" Cindy looked at him suspiciously. "I need to walk out the front door. I need everyone to see me leave. But I don't trust Hector. Is there a way to get back into this building quietly?"

"There's a gate for the backyard. It needs a key."

"May I borrow it, please?" She got her purse and handed him her keys. "I'll be right back."

Ray went downstairs and out the front door. He turned left and walked down the street like he had no cares in the world. But he was looking around carefully. He didn't see Hector, but there were a couple of guys standing across the street. When he reached the corner, he turned left and walked on. When he arrived at the alley, he slipped in and walked carefully down the alley. He carefully approached her building, and sure enough, there was a young Mexican man hiding behind the large trash dumpsters. He hadn't been careful enough and Ray knew what he was looking for. It was easy to approach him and make him rest for a while.