Foggy nights

The diner was bustling with teenagers. Their laughter roared over the sound of toasters going off and eggs sizzling on the grill. Dina sat in her usual corner booth, sipping on a hot cocoa, observing the chaos. This was the fifth night in a row she’d been perched in this booth, eating the same meal. Biscuits and gravy with a side of bacon. She loved having breakfast for dinner — a very, very late dinner in this case. It was almost midnight when she’d nestled in at her booth. She’d brought a book, a newspaper, and a blanket. She planned to stay a while.

For the past five days, Dina hadn’t been able to sleep. She’d done all her nightly routines — a warm shower, journaling, a sleep meditation, and thirty minutes of reading. But sleep had evaded her each and every time. After tossing and turning for two hours, she’d eventually given up, slowly packing her bag and accepting that sleep wasn’t in the cards for that night.

But now, after five days without sleep, Dina was starting to lose it.

She took a few bites of her biscuits and gravy, watching as a teenage boy failed to flirt with a girl a few booths down. Teenagers were so funny, she thought. At thirty four, she often found herself yearning for her teenage years. No responsibilities. Her whole future laid out before her just waiting to unfold.

She’d been so naive then. She’d thought she was going to marry the first guy she met out of high school, have kids by twenty-three, own a house at twenty-five and be making the big bucks as a magazine editor.

Well, she’d been a little bit off. No husband. No kids. Definitely no house. But she was working as a photographer for a fashion magazine, so there was that.

A big burst of laughter erupted from across the diner. A group of teens had formed around someone telling a story, clearly working the crowd. The girls twirled their hair, leaning in, trying to catch the storyteller’s attention. She couldn’t make out his face but his voice sounded oddly familiar.

She looked back down at her biscuits and gravy. They seemed a little less exciting today than they had the last four days she’d ordered them. She flagged down the waitress and ordered some loaded fries. That’d do the trick.

Outside, the night was foggy, the parking lot full of beat up trucks and sedans. Every few minutes, a big truck whizzed by, horn blaring. The diner was right on the side of the highway, a few miles out of town. Her mind had started to wander to her deadline for work when the waitress came by with the loaded fries.

“On the house. You look like you need it, honey,” she said and hurried off.

Dina pulled out her phone and checked her reflection in the black screen. She really did look bad. Dark circles had formed under her eyes. Her hair was a mess. She was wearing the same sweat pants and worn out hoodie she’d had on for three days.

There was another burst of laughter from across the room and she looked up to see the group taking their seats, revealing the mystery storyteller who’d been keeping them entertained.

She blinked once, then twice.

“Ben?” she said, to herself.

It was him. Her high school boyfriend. She hadn’t seen him since junior year, when he’d moved away to Ohio to be with his mother after his father remarried. He looked exactly the same. He was even dressed the same. Dark blue jeans. Button up shirt. Baseball cap. She stood up to walk over and say hi when her phone started to ring. It was her manager, Carla. She rejected the call and focused on fixing her hair. After quickly spraying herself with body mist, she headed over to say hello.

As she approached, Ben looked up from his conversation, making eye contact. Did he remember her? She definitely didn’t look the same as the last time he’d seen her. Time hadn’t been quite as kind to her.

“Ben! Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s you! You look exactly the same. You haven’t aged a day.”

“Oh um.. Thanks? And you are?”

Oof. Cringe. He didn’t remember. She pressed on, a forced smile making her cheeks ache.

“It’s Dina! From high school.. We um, dated.. junior year?”

He looked around at his friends who were glancing at one another, wide-eyed. There was an awkward pause before Ben slowly responded.

“I’m sorry.. I think you have the wrong person. I’m a sophomore. And my name is Frank.”

Dina could feel her whole body flush red, all the way down to her toes.

“Oh my gosh, my bad! So sorry about that. You look so much like someone I know. I mean knew. Someone I knew. Anyway, bye!”

She turned on her heel and rushed toward her booth without looking back. That was it. She needed to go home and get some sleep. This was not okay. She was not going to be the crazy lady who hit on teenagers in the middle of the night.

She inhaled her loaded fries and started messily stuffing things back into her bag, almost knocking over her hot cocoa in the process. As she stepped out into the cool night air, she finally felt a sense of sleepiness wash over her. She was sure she’d sleep that night. And tomorrow night. And the night after that. No more biscuits and gravy.

She fished around in her bag for her keys, then pulled them out, beeping her car open. Before getting in, she glanced back at the diner one last time. Through the fog, she could still see the teenagers chattering away in their booth. And sitting beside them, laughing, was Ben.

And she could swear she saw him wave to her as she got into her car and drove away.

Related posts:

Processing personal data in a compliant manner requires that you clearly define why you need the data, as well as knowing on what legal grounds your processing will be based. These legal grounds are…

bibit jeruk limau tanaman // sambal sudah berbuah berbentuk tanaman hidup sudah berbunga dan berbuah tinggi tanaman : 75 cm s/d 1 meter up Tanaman jeruk limo merupakan tanaman perdu atau pohon kecil…

Oh what a wild and wacky ride 2020 has been! The memes about this year being “the worst year ever” seem to never end — just like the year itself. However, for as disruptive, disjointed, disagreeable…