Drew

The aluminum screen door slammed shut as Drew walked into the double wide. Dropping his backpack on the table he looked around. It was small, empty and filthy, as always. His Mom hadn’t even bothered to pick up before heading out to work her double. There were dishes in the tiny sink and clothes strewn across most of the surfaces. If he was being honest with himself, his Mom had never really bothered to pick up.

He didn’t blame her though. His story was a typical one. Man runs off on pregnant girlfriend. Leaves single mother alone and penniless never to be heard from again. You know the story. Drew surely did. He knew it every single morning when he woke up and there was no water for a shower, or no food for breakfast. Knew it every time he got made fun of for his ill fitting out of style clothes. Knew it every time he rode his rusty bike home from school to an empty house. Drew had fifteen years of knowledge on deadbeat Dads.

Although the curtains were open, the fading light of the winter evening was already making it difficult to see. The clock on the microwave glowed reminding Drew it was already 5:00. After tidying up a bit, Drew headed down the short hall to his closet of a bedroom. He slumped onto his bed and lay there. The minutes ticked by. He would have to leave soon if he wanted to make it on time. Just thinking about what he was about to do was making him nervous. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to go through with it. A big part of him wanted to stay home, listen to some music, maybe beg Hank next door for a beer or two. But another part of him, a bigger constantly nagging part, had questions that needed answers.

Taking a deep breath, Drew got up grabbed his jacket and slammed the door again on his way out. He didn’t bother to lock it, there was no one around to steal anything, and nothing to steal anyway. The chilly winter wind whipped his hair around his face as he pedaled down the road.

Arrested Development

Gary hadn’t always wanted to own a diner. In fact he still didn’t, when Gary was growing up his dream was to light out and escape the din of the city for something more secluded. However; as the years passed him by his dream of sequestering himself in an old farm house faded forcing him to move through a procession of mediocre jobs. He’d been a gas station attendant until self service took over, he’s tested hair re-growth medicine only to lose his remaining hair, and he’d even invented a machine to put insulation on copper wires just in time to find out that it already existed. Life had been hard on Gary and the haggard lines on his face made no attempt at hiding that.

Gary became the proprietor of Gary’s Din Din entirely by an ugly twist of fate. One evening while walking to the local bakery to steal the unsold cupcakes from the dumpster out back, Gary was struck by a drunken man on a moped. In the ensuing legal battle Gary was awarded eight thousand dollars, with which he promptly purchased a new 1992 Jeep Comanche.

Feeling lucky with his new truck Gary decided to do a little gambling at his favorite miniature horse race track. Things were going good and Gary was upping the ante right until the point his favorite Shetland took a nasty spill. When it came time to pay out Gary discovered he had played the odds a bit recklessly and would not be able to pay his debt. Keith, Gary’s bookie, was livid but being the astute businessman he quickly drew up a couple plans for collecting.

1. Keith breaks Gary’s arm gives him one week etc…

2. Gary takes over the failing, debt riddled diner that Keith had taken as collateral in a previous arrangement.

With options like those Gary made quickly made the decision that would effectively kill his former hopes, dreams, and ambitions.

The earings matched the blouse. That was all Penelope could ask for before she was out the door. Though if she wore her hair down, she skipped the earings, but her bracelets had to match her shoes. It wasn’t easy being a waitress.

“For Gad’s sakes, Carole, will you turn that down?” Penelope whisked to her roommate while crossing the living room. There was no reason to be watching Wheel of Fortune on extra loud. For crying out loud, all the words you needed were written right there on that gigantic screen.

“Bye Penny, have fun at work,” Carole replied. Her voice was airy and good-natured, and she smiled like she meant it.

Penelope hated being called Penny. She slammed the door shut behind her.

Gary’s Din-Din was just around the corner from Penelope’s apartment, but she climbed into her rusty Isuzu Trooper and drove anyway. She didn’t like the thought of being heckled by hoodlums and youths while walking. Gary’s Din-Din had gotten it’s namesake in a roundabout fashion. While the owner Gary wanted the name ‘Gary’s Diner,’ that name in town had already been taken. So instead, he had settled on ‘Gary’s Dine-in.’ Unfortunately, the workers hired to make his sign had made a mistake while fastening the letters and had set the hyphen one letter early before realizing their mistake. And so, the small restaurant became Gary’s Din-Din. People repeatedly alerted the workers on how ridiculous they thought the name sounded But at least Gary had gotten a free sign out of the frustrating ordeal.

“Hi there, Penny.” Gary was standing by the sink with his hands on his hips, smiling at Penelope like he had all the time in the world.

“Gary,” Penelope responded. She threw her purse on the back counter and snatched an apron from the clean laundry bin. Glancing through the order-up window, she could see several people at the bar and a few in booths, but didn’t hear anybody talking. They all sat glumly, eating and drinking their regulars, wearing their regular garb, sitting with their regular buddies. There was only one face she did not recognize, and he looked apprehensive as hell. Penelope grabbed a menu and headed his way.

“Welcome to Gary’s Din-Din. My name is Penelope, I’ll be your server. Can I grab a drink for ya to start out?” The man looked up at her from his long gaze out the window.

“Oh, I’ll just have a coffee.”

She placed the menu on the table and headed back to the kitchen. Gary was busying himself over a large pot on the stove. Its insides spewed with cabbage and maroon mush. “Special of the day, Gary’s Beet Surprise,” he said, catching her staring at the mass as she poured coffee.

“It looks disgusting.”

Penelope walked back to the table and set the coffee down. “So what will it be? Special of the day is Gary’s Beet Surprise.”

“Oh, uh, just the coffee, actually.” The man inched the menu timidly back across the table towards her, though it still lay where she had set it. She smiled sweetly at him.

He smiled back “Thanks Penny.”

Penelope walked briskly back to the kitchen, drawing her cigarettes from her purse before reaching for the back door. “I’m taking a break.” She was out the door before Gary could muster out a solemn “Already?”

The Note

Rusty gazed out the window of the diner as another car sped past. His coffee had grown lukewarm, a result of nursing it over the past half hour. He finally looked away from the window and noticed the bill on the table. He didn't recall the waitress stopping by, but maybe she had. With a grimace, he downed the last of the coffee and set the mug down.

Reaching into his pocket for some change, his fingers felt the crumpled piece of paper that had brought him here. Rusty pulled it out and studied it. He'd found the note stuck under the wiper of his truck when he left for work three days ago. It was terse, almost cryptic - just his name, the name and address of the diner, today's date, the time 6PM and a message: "Be there, we need to talk. D."

Rusty had almost ignored the note. He knew a few people whose names began with D, but none were the type who would leave such a note. He resolved to ignore the note. Still, he couldn't stop thinking about it and somehow found himself driving to the diner. He'd arrived at 5:45, ordered coffee and waited. Penelope, his waitress, seemed intent to ensure that he ate something and Rusty finally ordered some food just to get her to leave him alone. He went with the special, Gary's Beet Surprise, an unremarkable dish suffering from an identity complex - it didn't know if it was a sandwich or a salad. In the end, it managed to encompass the worst qualities of each. He picked at his food, much to Penelope's distress. After repeatedly assuring her that the food was fine he finally just began ignoring her and staring out the window. Eventually, she left him alone.

Rusty looked around the diner again. He felt a little foolish and wondered if maybe one of his buddies had left the note as a prank. He was just sliding out of the booth when he heard the jingle of the diner door opening. A woman entered and immediately made eye contact with him. Rusty settled back into the booth and waited.