Cindy’s story

Chapter 2 diner and a movie

Cindy woke up the next morning after a long night of odd dreams. As she awoke Cindy remembered they were unusual, but all of the details were forgotten but one. Each dream began the same way, Cindy was back at the Early Bird Café. Cindy shook her head, trying to forget about the dreams. She got up and went to her kitchen where she got an English muffin and a butter knife, Cindy stared at them for a solid five minutes before putting them away, “Hell, spending time eating with friends and family was the one part of my birthday that was actually happy.” She said to herself. Then Cindy had a thought. Maybe she could recreate that happiness. But Cathy would be at work right now, and so would Cindy’s parents. Cindy was the only one she knew who was unemployed or home right now. Her parents and Cathy had all taken time off or had schedules changed to see her on her birthday. “Well, screw it. A good breakfast sounds worth the money regardless.” Cindy said as she went out to her car.

Cindy soon found herself at The Early Bird Café. Going in and getting a seat was completely uneventful, then Cindy saw her waiter. “Oh dear God.” She silently mouthed to herself as she realized who it was. A tall man with short brown hair and brown eyes a bit older than Cindy herself. His hair was short, a bit longer than a buzzcut, but not by much. Cindy hadn’t looked at the guy very closely before. But now that she looked closer he was actually pretty cute. He had an angular jaw and a bright smile that made him look like he’d be at home as an actor of some sort. He had a short beard and mustache that was neatly trimmed in a nondescript style. He was no bodybuilder, but you could tell he was fairly muscular even in this uniform that wasn’t exactly revealing. Based on the look of recognition on his face he remembered Cindy too.




The man walked up to Cindy and said “Hello, and welcome back to The Early Bird Café.” Then he smiled and said “The lumberjack breakfast again?” Cindy nodded silently and the waiter did the same as he said “Three for three, you must really like that one.” Cindy gave an awkward smile and said “Yes, it’s a great meal.” The waiter, whose name tag read “Fredrick” nodded and said “It’s the most popular item on the menu for a reason,” with a smile “and there’s enough food to make a second meal of the leftovers if you’d like.” Cindy muttered “If you have any anyway.” With a blush and a guilty look on her face. There wasn’t anything left even after her second breakfast the day before, Cindy didn’t expect any this time either. She wasn’t really the type for leftovers anyway. Cindy had always cleaned her plate since she was a child. Fredrick smiled and said “It’s better fresh anyway.” With a wink before going off to get Cindy her order. “What was that about?” Cindy asked herself when the waiter was out of earshot. The guy was cute, but awkward, Cindy didn’t know what to tell him. A short time later her food arrived and Cindy smiled at him wordlessly.

Fredrick (who normally went by Fred) had wanted to say something showing he was interested, but was far too embarrassed to try. He’d been thinking of Cindy since she’d come here the day before. Fred didn’t know why, but he just couldn’t stop thinking of her. When there was a moment with nobody coming in he leaned against a wall and said to himself “What the hell is going on?” Fred had never really felt this Way about a woman before. Hell, he’d never felt any way about anyone, Fred thought that he was asexual at this point, he was almost 30 and had never once felt attracted to a person. But this woman, this girl, for some reason he just wanted to be around her, wanted her to look at him, and wanted her to be happy. He felt nervous around her though. So much so that he couldn’t even bring himself to say anything but his default greeting when she’d given him a surprise and showed up a second time the prior day. He had to think, “Okay,” he said to himself aloud, “what did she get last time?” the same thing that she’d just ordered. A lumberjack breakfast. But she did one thing differently! Last time Cindy had come she’d gotten chocolate milk with it, hell, that’s how Frank had learned her name. Her friend had laughed and said “Oh my God Cindy, I haven’t had one of those since I was a kid.” But this time the woman had just ordered water. So, the next time Frank checked up on her table he’d bring her some chocolate milk, free of charge of course, it wasn’t asked for after all. He’d just pay for it himself out of his tips for the day.

Cindy wasn’t even halfway through her breakfast when the waiter returned and asked her if she was enjoying her meal. Shortly after that he brought her some chocolate milk, saying “On the house of course. You just seemed like you enjoyed it so much last time you came that I thought you’d like some more.” Cindy thanked him and, after he’d left, said to herself “Huh, he’s being awfully nice, nut he seems nervous. I bet he. . .” then shook her head, “No, I just broke up with Craig I don’t want to read into this too much while I’m still emotional.” Then, as she absentmindedly poked at her eggs, Cindy had a thought. She’d known that Craig and her weren’t working for some time, she had kind of like, preemptively mourned their relationship. So it’s practically like she’s waited longer. Besides, Cindy didn’t really see any problems in going after a guy quickly. She was just going off of advice she heard that she should slow down after one relationship dies. “Maybe I should ask him out. I mean, he seems like a giant change from Craig.” She said out loud, before taking a sip of chocolate milk through her straw.

Frank overheard the line while refilling a drink for a customer across from Cindy. He had no idea who this Craig was, but was walking on air. Filled with excitement and hope Frank wondered how she would ask him out, all he knew is that he would say “yes” unless she did something truly awful, and he doubted that she would. Hell, if she’d asked him for help planning a murder he’d. . Fred shook his head and said “Why am I so into this so fast?” then thought about it. Was it because he’d never met a girl he really liked before? Was this why kids were so stupid when they got a crush on somebody? Then suddenly a bolt of pure terror went down Fred’s spine. What if she didn’t ask him at all? How would he ask her? He couldn’t just let this woman slip through his fingers! Wait, was this being possessive? Would she hate him for it? Fred took a deep breath and said “Just relax.” To himself. “Hell, all I really know about her is her favorite breakfast here. If she’s even tried another one before. I’ll just play it cool. Just be the chill waiter guy until she shows interest,” then he mumbled under his breath, “or tries to leave without saying anything.” And sighed deeply before going back to work.

When Cindy finished eating she asked for her check, as promised there was no charge for the chocolate milk, which made her smile. It was such a little thing, but the act of kindness made Cindy feel so much better about asking this Fredrick guy out. But wait, is this being too forward? Aren’t guys supposed to ask first? After Cindy paid her check the waiter stood over her for just a bit longer than she would have expected, he was looking at her expectantly, like he was waiting for something. Then after a long enough time to feel uncomfortable he finally spoke. “Umm, hey, I was wondering,” Cindy felt her heart racing already, was this it? He continued, “Would you like to catch a movie with me after my shift ends?” Cindy nodded vigorously as she said “Yes, of course!” then she thought to herself. No, that’s too excited, I don’t want to scare him off, “I mean, sure, where and when?” so Fred suggested “The Regal Cinema,” pointing in its general direction, “At six-ish. Do you have any movies in particular you’d like to see?” Cindy was tempted to say ‘anything with you ‘ or something corny like that. But she decided to try and play it a little cool at least and said “No strong preferences, I’ll meet you there at five forty, that way we’ll have time to hit a six o’ clock movie.” Fred would have preferred to plan something out in advance a bit more, but whatever, he sure as hell wasn’t going to say no now. So, “Sounds great. See you there.” Was the best he could think to say. Fred didn’t even remember saying goodbye in a more proper way, and he spent the rest of his shift in a state of optimistic excitement for the evening.


When Cindy got to the movies at 5:40 she found Fred waiting out front. He said “Great timing! I just got here myself, looks like they’ve got a few flicks setup at six O’ clock on the dot.” While pointing at the film list. They stood in a short line and got tickets for some romance. Fred didn’t even bother checking the name closely. Neither did Cindy, though neither knew that the other just wanted an excuse to spend time with them, doing something sweet together. The two went into the theater and noticed there was no line at the concessions counter. So Fred offered to get some snacks for them both while Cindy got them drinks. A few minutes later Fred was buying popcorn, then he thought back to the diner and, remembering that Cindy liked chocolate got her some Buncha Crunch. Then some Reese’s peanut butter cups I’m case she didn’t like those, then. . . A few minutes later Fred stepped away from the concession stand with an empty bank account and an armful of stupidly overpriced treats of various sorts. Cindy met him outside the theatre room door, she raised an eyebrow at the mountain of snacks that Fred struggled to carry, but said nothing.

During the previews a woman’s voice reminded everyone to make sure they had enough food for the movie. Cindy looked over to Fred and his pile of snacks and said “I think you have that covered.” Before laughing playfully. And grabbed a box of Buncha Crunch. Fred silently lamented buying so much when Cindy seemed happy with the first thing he’d gotten anyway. As the previews ended and the movie began Fred hardly even noticed the change which was only in his mind at all because the lights got low and the sound grew louder, his eyes were on Cindy and Cindy alone. As Fred watched her eat he felt, excited in ways he never had before, and had an odd desire. Fred hoped that Cindy would finish the candy he had gotten her, and not just the first box. So much that, when she reached for a second box of candies all that Fred could think was. Well, that’s one down, onto box two of, I think fourteen? While she didn’t eat all of the snacks that Fred had gotten her, Cindy did eat far, far more than she would have expected beforehand. Stranger still, after eight boxes of candy and half a tub of popcorn, she wanted more. Cindy controlled herself there and stopped. Her stomach already hurt from fullness, and she didn’t want to make this a bad first date with Fred.

When the movie ended Fred had almost no memory of the film itself. His mind was filled with images of Cindy’s face blanketed in the light of the scree as she munched away on chocolate or popcorn with a contented smile. Fred couldn’t help but wish he had gotten more snacks for her. He just wanted to watch Cindy eating forever. He never even stopped to think about why or what that might mean. When the film ended Fred sighed wistfully as he looked at Cindy, who heard him and said “Yeah, the movie was so romantic. It’s a shame things had to end for them.” Fred thought to himself. Fuck, what were their names again? Whatever, just play it cool. He nodded and said “Yeah, it is, but they don’t have to end like that for us.” And leaned in to give Cindy a hug. It started out awkward and unnatural for Fred, who’d never been in a relationship before. But Cindy returned the embrace wholeheartedly and Fred loved how soft and warm it felt. After a moment in each other’s arms the two could each feel the awkwardness and tension draining from their bodies as they held one another. Fred never wanted this to end, and neither did Cindy.

Unfortunately for the lovebirds though, it did end. Even worse, it’s end spelled the end of the date as well. The two went out to the parking lot to leave while talking. Fred felt oddly tempted to buy Cindy more treats despite how stupidly expensive they were at the movies. Instead he compromised in the parking lot, and handed Cindy the uneaten sweets. When she began to protest Fred said “I’m not a big fan of sweets anyway, and the popcorn is all gone anyway.” He then smiled warmly, adding “Besides, I want you to enjoy them. Think of it as a memento of our date.”

Cindy felt high on emotion after going on a date. She knew she spent fifteen minutes or so with Fred in the parking lot before saykng goodbye, but Cindy could hardly remember a word of what was said. She’d forgotten how nice it felt to be with someone supportive. Fred had even gave her more snacks to bring home after the movie had ended. It felt incredibly sweet of him and made Cindy want to eat every bite of the candy because it was from Fred. She’d had a similar movie date when she first met Craig, they had even made the same deal where he got snacks and she got drinks. As she drove home Cindy couldn’t help but compare the two in her mind. Where Fred had freely gotten her everything he could, Craig had only gotten a single box of milk duds, and had counted them out to make sure that Cindy got exactly half of the box and no more. Then he complained about how much he’d paid for the candy, telling Cindy that it was a rip-off as if she didn’t know how overpriced everything was at the movies. Cindy didn’t even notice that she was eating candies on autopilot as she drove. When she got home Cindy resolved to pay attention to and enjoy every last piece of the rest of it.