Picture Perfect Night Sky

33 ¦ Margaret Fellice

She points out the sign that reads "Push" right in front of me. "What the fuck are you doing?" She laughs hysterically, and she's the one who pushed the door open. She grips my arm and pulls me inside the diner.

I glance around the diner, seeing the interior design of the whole diner. It's like a combination of retro and vintage. With its black and white tiles, the ceiling in light tropical yellow. The chairs and tables are beige with just some black lining on the side. The counter is the same but instead of the black lining, it's a red lining with white outlining. Finally, there's a vacant seat next to the counter.

I pull Nancy towards the vacant seat, picking up the menu from the counter on our way to the vacant seat, and push her down to her chair. "So, what will you have?"

"A drink will be fine and quite a safe choice. I don't want to choke on my food when you are telling a story." She relaxes her whole body down to her chair, smiling at me. "I'd rather choke on something that is liquid than something solid. I also don't think you know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver."

Rolling my eyes at her, crossing my arms in front of me, "I do know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver."

"Yeah, sure, I believe you." Her tone sounds sarcastic and nonchalant. "I'll just have an iced tea."

"Aight!" I glance around to find a waiter, but the sudden fast beating of my heart tells me to stop glancing around. Staring back at Nancy, making sure that she'll understand my facial expression.

She gives me an empathic gaze, and sighs slowly. "You want me to call up the waiter and order?"

I nod slowly, relief gone through my whole soul, "I'm just going to have an iced tea too."

"Aren't you not allowed to drink something that contains a lot of sugar, because of your acid reflux?" She raises an eyebrow at me, her whole facial expression is filled with concern, like a mother to her daughter.

"Eh, I'll be fine. Don't worry." If I die from acid reflux, then that's a bonus for me, but I don't think the surrounding people in my life will agree with that. I don't have any choice, I want iced tea, but it's bad for me. It's really a natural instinct to crave something that's bad for you.

She rolls her eyes at me and raises her hand to call the waiter, still staring at me with her eyes that's filled with disappointment. I just smile innocently at her.

A woman in a waiter suit approaches us with a notepad and pen in hand. "What can I do for you?" She has that smile that the other waitress doesn't have. It's that genuine smile rather than those forced smile. I appreciate about that to minimum wageworkers.

"Can we have two lemon iced tea?" Nancy's sweet tone towards the waitress makes my heart melts for a second.

I love those people who treat waitress and other minimum wageworkers like they're also humans, well in fact, they are humans. Still, I'm confuse about something, "Why lemon iced tea?"

Nancy tears her eyes at the waitress and gaze toward my direction, "Well because the lemon will at least neutralize the acid in your stomach."

Nodding slowly at her. I never thought about that, well I guess no acid reflux for me today. I'll get to live another day.

"Two orders of lemon iced tea," The waitress writes our order down on her notepad. "Anything else?"

Nancy smiles at the waitress, "That would be all, thank you!"

The waitress nods and heads her way to the counter. The world needs more people like that waitress. She really seems happy doing her job. Makes me think if I could just follow what I'm passionate about rather than follow a successful path.