Time In A Bottle

If Annabelle was gonna get something put on her headstone, she imagined that it would read: “here lies one underappreciated waitress”. It just so happened that today was the 40th day in a row with bad tips. She had enough stored up to make this month’s month, but she had no idea what she was gonna do if this kept up.

Around 3 o’clock in the morning, Ezra walked in. She’d seen him thousands of times before, Grandma’s attic was just a couple of blocks away on Maple, and nobody else was open this late.

Adorned in her dreadful mustard and purple uniform, Annabelle recited, “Welcome to Dan’s Diner, where the food fights back”. Then more casually, “Hey Ezra, how you been?”

Ezra peered over the menu, which he held perpendicular to the table like a child. His eyes flickered like the fluorescent light bulb in the bathroom. Annabelle fumbled with her order booklet and a pen for a second before glancing to meet his eyes. Taken aback by his stare, Annabelle jumped out of her skin and seemingly into a different planet. She was still in Dan’s diner, but the booths weren’t cracked and fading, and the diner glowed yellow from filament bulbs.

Jim Croce played on the jukebox, and Ezra, the electricity gone from his eyes, looked around jaw agape, completely dumbstruck.

We’re in the 70s, he thought.

Annabelle slid into the spot across from him at the booth. Though she looked much younger, she still sported her iconic pink lipstick. Ezra had a box in his lap that had not been there before, and he began nervously fidgeting with the cream colored twine with which it was tied. With haste, Ezra thrust the package into Annabelle’s lap.

Once again, bacon scented words seemed to float to Annabelle, take good care of it. It’ll show you what you need to know. Annabelle looked down at the package, which had her name written across it in a cramped script. When she looked up to protest, Ezra was already hurrying out of Dan’s diner into the pale city night. The box had mysteriously disappeared from her lap. Annabelle wasn’t worried though. She thought she had seen it in the back of her closet with a couple of hat boxes not too long ago.