Short Story

This may not be finished yet, but I'll share anyway.

Lizzy just sat there pretending to study the menu, even though she had decided what she was going to eat long before she even glanced down at the words accompanied by the clearly staged pictures of the entrees. She thought that it was funny how the items on the menu always looked so perfect and cheerful in the pictures but upon presentation they always tended to disappoint, never able to fulfill her expectations. Actually she knew what she was going to order before she had even taken her seat at the table. It was quite possible that what she was going to order was decided years in advance.
While she pretended to scrutinize the menu she would listen to the conversations of the people around her. Which for the most part she found to be completely ridiculous, so much so that at times it was impossible for her not to laugh out loud. It was so hard for her to stifle her urge to laugh that on some occasions she would just give in to her inner laughing demon and giggle hysterically for no apparent reason. People often seemed startled by this behavior and stopped and stared for a moment but then quickly tried to ignore her, probably not wanting to seem rude. Elizabeth never worried about being rude, although she would often regret some of her attention drawing actions. She certainly never gave propriety any serious consideration. It is important to note that her intention was never to be purposely obnoxious.
Her attention was diverted from the perfectly boring albeit rather loud conversation going on between two elderly gentlemen by the sound of the restaurant door swinging open. She watched as what was in her opinion one very striking young man walked into the restaurant. She was distracted by him enough to temporarily abandon her eaves dropping ritual. For the entire time that he was waiting to be seated Lizzy's attention was completely focused on him. At first she tried to act as if she was not looking directly at him but rather something near him, her gaze always drifting back to his person and she would draw in little details about him.
He was tall, and she liked tall. His skin was milky white, and seemed too pale for his dark hair and eyes. His eyes were so dark that she could not distinguish where the pupils were. She found that to be very unusual, and to say that she was drawn to the unusual would be something of an understatement. He was not handsome really, but merely memorable. To her it seemed like hours that she stared at him but it was only for but a few minutes. If he noticed that he had caught her eye he acted completely oblivious to it. It might have had something to do with the fact that he did not enter the restaurant alone.
Lizzy completely disregarded the girl on his arm as insignificant. She paid no mind to the presence of the girl as if she were just a person that happened to walk through the door at the same time. Even when they were seated together at a table near hers Lizzy somehow managed to convince herself that he was alone and as she continued to stare at her menu the cogs and wheels in her little mind started spinning, trying to concoct some subtle way to get his attention.
The waitress returned with her large iced tea, very ready to take Lizzy's order as she had declined to give it twice already. She was just about to order her usual and by usual I mean that this was the only thing that she had ever and possibly would ever order. She was very particular when it came to food, but not terribly adventurous. She meant to order her usual but something else popped into her mind and out of her mouth instead.
"I'll have what he is having," she said, as she turned around in her seat and pointed very directly at her striking young man, who still did not notice her.
To that the waitress replied, in a rather fed up tone, "But he hasn't ordered yet." "Well then," said Lizzy, "Will you find out what he's going to have because that's what I want?" Not exactly subtle, but subtle was not something that she did well or even something that she was capable of pulling off.
Without hesitation the waitress scurried to his table, partly because she was a people pleaser but mostly because even though her day had been busy it had not been particularly eventful. When she got to his table she could have just taken his order, as this is what he was expecting, but craving the bit of drama that might ensue the waitress asked, "Excuse me, sir. That young women sitting alone," and she put the emphasis on the word alone, "at that table, would like to know what you'll be ordering, as she intends to order the same thing."
To this he replied, "Well, I'll let her know when she comes over here and sits down next to me." The girl in his company said, "Really Freddy! Must you do that here?"
"Do what?” asked Freddy.
"Do what you're doing."
"What am I doing?"
"You know what you're doing! You are bringing home strange girls."
"Who said anything about bringing her home? I am going to do her in the car lot."
This was apparently a little more drama than the waitress was prepared to witness. She walked away embarrassed and took an order from another table in her section before returning to Lizzy and informing her that he was having a hamburger. Which oddly enough was Lizzy's usual fare. Lizzy sank into her chair and day dreamed that the intriguing young man had invited her to sit with him as she waited for her meal.
When the waitress plopped her plate in front of Lizzy she was disappointed as ever.