Our Story, Part 3

The next week or so, I tried to go about my business without making too many waves. But I couldn't help myself. This new guy was cute. And his smile, oh that smile. During lunch service one day, business was a bit slow, and the kitchen staff was doing a lot of standing around waiting for orders to come in. A lot of the waiters were friends who I joked around with, and on slow days, there was a lot of pranking that would go on. On this particular day, someone had sent in some food tickets that were bogus, and I decided it would be a good idea to get back at them by chucking sliced mushrooms at them when no one was looking. Was it immature? Yes, but hey, we were young and bored. What else could we do to pass the time? I waited for an opportunity to launch a fungus. That moment came just as one particular waiter was talking to his table of customers with his back to me. It hit the desired target, and fell at the feet of a customer, who thankfully caught my eye with a smile letting me know she was amused by the hi-jinks. Never one to pass up the opportunity to ham it up, I tossed one at Joel as he hustled past with a bucket of dishes. I've never been a good aim, but for some reason my aim was impeccable that day, and hit him square on the butt. He paused and looked around confusedly. I tried to act like I had no idea what was going on. He nervously smiled and rushed off. I'm pretty sure the fungus launching continued that day, and no one was safe, especially Joel. How I didn't get in trouble with the boss is beyond me. At any rate, as food service was coming to a close, a waitress/friend came back into the kitchen, and pulled me behind the sliding pantry racks to talk girl to girl.

 "You're being awfully friendly with the busser today. Do you think he's cute?!"

 "Sure he is" with a smile. "Aaaand, your point?"

 "I think he likes you too. You should do something about that."

 "Umm, isn't that what I've been doing all day? Besides, isn't it his job to make the next move?"

 Her eyes twinkled and she gave me a knowing grin. "Say no more."

 I remember my heart skipping a beat, and feeling a bit like a school girl who had just passed a tell all note to her best friend at school. I straightened my jacket and turned to leave, and ran smack into Mr. Manager. I hustled off trying to convince myself he hadn't overheard our entire conversation.

Apparently, he did though. For the next week Mr. Manager and my waitress friend put themselves in the role of the matchmakers Yente and Golde from Fiddler on the Roof. And Joel was their pairing for me. :) Good thing I didn't mind. I wish I could remember all of the details, but for the life of me I can't seem to. I do recall that there was a lot of back and forth bantering with the matchmakers, and Joel all the while was timid and sweet. All he had to do was flash the smile, and my knees went weak. The culmination of all of it was an awkward exchange between us that went something like this:

 I was in the rarely used waiter station to make my beverage of choice, lemonade spiked with a mint tea bag and a shot of sprite. It was a bit of a process to make, so I was taking my time enjoying the quiet empty station. All of a sudden Joel appeared, rushing around the corner with a broken coffee pot dribbling hot liquid all over the place. As he was cleaning up the mess it had made, and I tried to get out of his way in the tiny space, we laughed about how odd Mr. Manager and waitress were acting. Then he blurted out "We should hang out sometime!"

 Awkward silence as I processed what he just said. Then I sputtered "I'd like that. I can't tonight, but sometime soon would be great."

 Both look at floor. Awkward silence. he says "Okay. Sometime soon...soooo, tomorrow???"

"Sure. Tomorrow it is then!" Then we both nervously finished up what we were doing and went back to our jobs. Somehow we managed to work out details for our date the next night, and we kept Mr. Manager and waitress in the dark about our plans. Little did any of us know that the rest of the story would be such a whirlwind.