Eye Contact

Marge's diner was unusually full this morning, and the smell of eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes nearly overpowered the normally ruling scent of coffee. Cups clinked in the washing trays, Stella called out orders in the incomprehensible diner code she loved to use, and Ron, in his old cardigan, stood by the front door pretending to read a newspaper while waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim to declare the downfalls of the up-and-coming generation of impertinent youngsters.

Danielle sat in her booth trying to hide. Normally when she came to Marge's, she felt invisible, and once or twice it had bothered her. Not today though. Today she wanted nothing more than to be invisible. Ryan hadn't meant to be rude, but though she loved her bother, he could be an absolute blockhead sometimes. He hadn't realized she was within earshot, but that made his cruel words even more poignant. His declarations of the improbability of her ever finding a man stung. He had derided her clothes, make-up, style, everything. She had slipped out the front door without them knowing.

She used her napkin to dab up her tears. Lois, overweight and over-concerned for everyone else's business, walked up to Danielle with a pot of coffee in her hand.

"Sweetie? You all right?" she asked in her southern twang.

Danielle forced an unconvincing smile and nodded.

"I'll be fine - just having one of those mornings," Danielle managed.

"Lemme know if you need anything, mmkay, Pumpkin?"

"Thanks."

Then he walked in. Not Ryan, heavens no. Not Ryan. Sam, Danielle's classmate all the way from kindergarten to twelfth grade, walked in. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days, but that was no indicator of his attire. Had he become a lawyer without Danielle knowing? His suit looked great, but no matter how fine the tailoring job was, it couldn't keep up with his smile. Ron accosted him, making accusations and judgments, and Sam smiled widely at him, put his hands up in the air, and declared himself to be guilty. He then asked Ron if he wanted a cup of coffee. Ron, dismantled by his generosity, accepted and found a booth to finally read his newspaper.

Danielle begged the fates to allow Sam to sit somewhere she could see him, but as he began to walk in through the diner, he headed towards a booth on the far side. The booths must have all been filled though since he headed back her way a few seconds later.

Danielle panicked. All of the words Ryan had said earlier came crashing back into her mind. She desperately wanted to be invisible in this moment. She looked terrible! Even more terrible than usual.  In her flight from the house, she hadn't finished putting on her eyeliner or lipstick. She probably looked like some drunken clown at this point.

She began to slide down into the booth until she realized that would only make things worse. Grabbing one of the advertising menus from the side of the table, she propped it up in front of her for protection.

After a few seconds, she ventured a peek over the menu and saw Sam sitting a few tables away. He was alone for a few moments, but soon he looked out of his booth and smiled at his parents approaching his booth. That smile was truly a gift - every time.

Danielle let down her guard for a moment and didn't immediately duck under her menu as he turned back around, his eyes finding her. Danielle's eyes widened like ye olde deer in the headlights, but she didn't look away -- dreading his inevitable facial expression of disgust.

But instead, he smiled at her. Not the 'I'm-so-sorry-you're-having-a-bad-morning' smile either. It was a genuine smile as though he were genuinely happy to see her. He didn't look away quickly either. In fact, it took his parents sitting in the booth across from him to draw his eyes away, but before he did, he gave Danielle a quick wink.

And all of Ryan's words melted away.