Waiting on Love

Chapter 1-3

“I don’t know,” she finally said as she finished with the counter. “Maybe.” She suddenly realized she hadn’t taken Mr. Nelson his check, and before Joe could say anything else, she grabbed it and hurried off to his table.

If he had been waiting for it, she couldn’t tell as he was still staring out the window, that far off expression in his eyes. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything else, hon?” she asked, holding the check in her hand.

Once again, Mr. Nelson seemed a bit startled. “No, dear. Just the check.” He smiled, but it didn’t meet his eyes, and Valerie couldn’t help but feel a bit depressed as she slid the check to him. She knew what it was like to lose a loved one, but she had been able to find the strength to go on with her life after her mother passed. It didn’t appear as if Mr. Nelson had ever found that. He pulled out his wallet and handed her enough cash to cover the bill.

“I’ll get you some change.”

“No need, Valerie. Thank you, dear.”

They had this same conversation almost every evening. “Thank you, Mr. Nelson,” she said smiling fondly at him. “You have a nice evening.”

“You, too, dear.”

She turned to walk back to the counter, wishing there were something she could do to help him. If only there were a way to help him meet some people his age, maybe he wouldn’t be so overwhelmingly sad about the passing of his wife. She knew it had to be so very difficult to be with someone everyday for so many years and then just have them gone, but she feared that, if Mr. Nelson didn’t find some form of companionship soon, he might also fade away.

Valerie surveyed her customers and saw that everyone seemed to have everything they needed, though a gentleman in a booth on the other side of the diner would need a refill soon. She decided to bring him a drink and waited on Wanda to finish at the soda fountain.

“It’s a shame isn’t it?” the older waitress asked in a hushed tone.

At first, Valerie wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but when she gestured at Mr. Nelson as he made his way out the door, she realized Wanda meant her older friend. “It really is,” she nodded.

“After his wife died of pneumonia a few winters ago, he was just never the same. The ‘lectric company eventually made him take earlier retirement. He just couldn’t focus on his job anymore.”

“Really? That’s so sad,” Valerie said, but then, at least they hadn’t fired him.

“And his son is no help.” The way she said it made Valerie think perhaps she knew him, and the questioning expression on her face must have been enough to cause Wanda to continue. “I used to watch him some when I was in high school. Such an ungrateful child. I hear he grew up to be about the same.”

“That really is too bad,” Valerie agreed. “Well, I wish Mr. Nelson would take my invitation to come to church with me. I think Mrs. Gregory and some of the other ladies would help him find some friends, if he’d let them.”

“How nice of you,” Wanda smiled as she finished with her drinks. “Sadly, I don’t think he’ll ever do it. It really is a shame.” She skittered off with a full tray of drinks, and Valerie realized their conversation ended the same way it had started, with the proclamation that Mr. Horace Nelson’s life had become nothing but a shame, but Valerie wanted to do whatever she could to change that.

“You okay?” Joe asked as she crossed back over to the counter after delivering the soda refill.

“Oh, I was just thinking about Mr. Nelson,” she replied. She glanced at his plate and saw that he was almost finished. His glass wasn’t quite half empty, but she decided to refill it anyway, so she turned to grab the pitcher of sweet tea.

“Is that the older guy who always sits in the back by himself?”

“That’s him,” she nodded as she topped off his drink.

“Yeah, I always wonder if maybe I should sit with him. At least then, neither one of us would have to eat alone.”

Valerie felt sad for Joe, too, now. “You’re not alone,” she reminded him. “I’m here.”

He smirked. “That’s hardly the same thing as actually eating dinner with someone, though, now, isn’t it?”

She knew he had a point, and yet, she didn’t want to agree. She didn’t need a reminder that another one of her friends and customers was also alone. “Well, maybe you should sit with him tomorrow.”

“I don’t know. Might be weird.” He shrugged, and the look in his eyes made her think he wished he hadn’t ever brought it up. He wiped his hands on his napkin and then dropped it on his plate.

“Can I get you anything else?” she asked, assuming that meant he was done.

“Nah, just the check,” Joe replied as he dug in his back pocket for his wallet.

Valerie slid it face down across the counter to him, and he handed it back to her along with his credit card, which she crossed to the cash register to run. “Well, it was nice to see you.” She smiled and handed him his card and the receipt for him to sign, along with a pen.

“It is always nice to see you, too.” He took the credit card and slid it back into his wallet, still smiling at her as he dropped a few bills on the counter as a tip, like he did every evening.

“Thank you,” she said, gesturing at the money, but not taking it yet. “See you tomorrow.”

“Have good night, Valerie,” Joe said as he turned and walked out the door.

Valerie saw that he tipped her a lot higher tonight than usual, which she thought was odd. She knew he didn’t make much more than she did at the vet clinic. It was a nice gesture, though, and as she slipped the money into her pocket, she began to think slightly differently of Joe. Maybe he wasn’t the phone obsessed loner she’d always taken him to be. With a shrug, she turned to go check on the rest of her customers, thoughts of Joe fading as she found her mind returning to Mr. Nelson. There had to be something she could do.