Up & Out - Ariella Papa [103]
“No, we don’t, but I’ll give you one of mine.”
“Oh, you don’t have to.” He reaches into his pocket and offers me his pack. “I couldn’t, not in this city. It’s just not cool.”
“It’s okay. I bought two cases in New Hampshire. Real cheap. I can give them away. Besides, I keep trying to quit.” He lights my cigarette and one for him.
“Ben, fish and chips,” the bartender yells from the other side of the bar.
“Well, duty calls. I’m the cook. See you in a bit?” I nod. He has smiling eyes. “We’ve got great fish and chips, I hear. I don’t eat fish, but I know how to make it.”
“Okay.” He goes back behind the door again. He’s left his cigarette burning in my ashtray. That means he’ll come back. I go to the jukebox and put on some tunes. The girls are singing happy birthday to one of them. I smile and raise my drink.
“How old are you?” I say to the birthday girl.
“Thirty.” So maybe there’s hope for me and my friends. I go back to my stool. I stub out my cigarette. Ben’s is one big ugly ash. He comes out and puts a piece of chocolate cake in front of me. He walks down to the other end of the bar and puts a place setting in front of one of the guys. Ben watches him take the first bite. So do I. The guy smiles and exchanges some words with Ben. I’m hungry and I want Ben to come back. I guess this cake is for me, but I’m not going to touch it until I get the okay.
“What, you don’t like chocolate? It’s on the house.”
“Thank you. I haven’t even had dinner yet.”
“Nothing says you’ve got to play by the rules.” He is so cute. There is something about him that feels familiar to me. “Do you want another beer?”
“I guess. If it goes with chocolate cake.”
“C’mon,” he says. “What doesn’t go with beer and chocolate?”
“This is great,” I say, chewing my cake. My spirits are rising. I don’t want anyone else to order anything. I’m desperate for him to cook something for me, but I don’t want him to leave.
“Ben,” he says.
“Rebecca.” I hold out my hand. He wipes his on his pants and shakes. I have no idea what to say to him. I feel a bit overwhelmed. “This place is great.”
“Oh, yeah. I love it.”
“Do you own it?”
“No, I wish. The owner’s a good friend.”
“How is it doing?” I check out his hand for a wedding ring. He seems older than me.
“So far, so good. It’s only the first week.”
“It must be your fish and chips. So how come you don’t like fish?”
“Ben, two shepherd’s pies,” the once-cute, now-evil bartender calls.
“This won’t take long. I just got to heat it up.” He holds my eye. “Rebecca, will you stay?”
“Okay.” I like how he says my name. If I stay, he might say it again.
My songs come on. I sip my beer. For the first time in a long time I don’t feel like going anywhere. I’m not anxious or sad or in a rush. What was in that chocolate cake?
He smiles when he comes back out, like he wasn’t sure I would be here. He gives me a plate of fish and chips and brings the other food to the table the bartender points out. He comes back and smiles at his burned cigarette.
“We don’t have a waitress yet. Know anyone who needs a job?”
“I do,” I say, raising my hand. “But I think I’d be a shit waitress. I’m not very nice to strangers.”
“I can’t believe that,” he teases. How is he so comfortable with me already?
“Thanks for this.” I start to take a fry.
“Careful, it’s hot.”
“Okay. Besides, I don’t think the food would ever make it to the table. I’d probably eat it on the way.” We smile at each other. Damn! I’m starting to feel nervous about something. I don’t know what to do, so I pick up a chip and eat it. It is hot, but crispy and perfect. I open my mouth to let some air in to cool off. “Issh delicioushh.”
“Thank you. I’ll get you some water and another beer.” He does both. He is now my bartender, waiter and chef. What more can he be?
“So, you asked why I didn’t eat fish?” Like a million minutes ago, but he was listening to me. “I’m a vegetarian.”
“Really,” I say, as if he just told me he had six toes. “It’s funny that you make so much of the stuff you don’t eat. I imagine the pub menu is full of meat.”
“It is. I am almost a vegan,