The day was cold and wet in the city of New York. Howard looked across the street at the diner, another day to begin. He walked across and entered his usual diner. The smells permeated the room with sweet odors and burning meat. Howard took his seat at his usual table and unfolded his paper for the day to begin reading. A young waitress came up.
“What can I get for you today?” She smiled sweetly.
“The usual. Coffee, and the breakfast platter.” Howard said dryly as he looked back down at his paper.
The waitress said, “Of course, we’ll have that right out for you.” Inside she was thinking, “Man, this guy is cheap. He orders the same food everyday and never tips. Oh well, maybe today will be different.” She bounced away into the kitchen.
Howard thought to himself, “The news just keeps getting worse and worse, I can’t understand how I keep this up day after day. I only work the night shift so I can have my mornings free to relax. The train depot just continues to bore me to death. What can change , I guess nothing.” Howard looked up as another man walked into the diner, he was tall with a long black trench coat and sat down at the counter. Howard continued his thought. “Who is that? I’ve never seen him come in here before? Did he just move into town or is he one of those immigrants from another country. Oh I hope not. That’s all we don’t need.”
The man in the black trench coat got up and sat down next to Howard. “How’s the service here?” the man asked in a chipper mood.
“Why are you sitting here?” Howard asked.
“I thought you might be nice to talk to.” The man continued to smile.
“Well you thought wrong, I want to be alone.”
“You can’t say that, you probably come in here everyday and never talk to anyone unless it’s a new waitress.”
“Can’t argue there. Why are you trying to talk to me? I’m not in the mood.” Howard tried to turn back to his paper.
“Hey can I see the funnies? I love that what’s his name, Hagar the Horrible?”
“Here…Now would you please leave me alone.” Howard became irritated.
“I just asked you for the funnies. That’s all, there ain’t no meanin behind it. What do they have to eat here?”
“I wouldn’t try the French toast. They never have gotten it right.” Howard answered reluctantly.
“What’s wrong with it? Is it filled with muck or something? I come from the south, you know down by Florida. It’s a much shorter journey than traveling over to California.” The man paused as the pretty young waitress came back with Howard’s coffee.
“Oh I didn’t see you sit down. Can I get you something?” She smiled at the man in the trench coat.
“I wanna try your French toast and some orange juice. Can you do that for me, sweet thing?” the man’s southern drawl was starting to come out.
“Sure,” the waitress giggled and hurried back to the kitchen.
“You always sit here like this? Doesn’t this just get boring to you?” the man asked.
“Well, its more interesting than sitting at a train depot for eight hours until midnight.”
“That’s some job, I knew a guy who worked on the rails for eighteen years then he fell off the engine and crushed his legs. Man, some guys just can’t catch a break ya know. Anyway he got workman’s comp. for it and now is sitting behind some desk at a relay station where he gets treated like royalty or somethin. He gets this pretty thing to be his secretary and they do it in the closet every night, or so I’m told. I haven’t found that kind of action yet, still lookin for the right one.” The man rambled on.
“I’m sorry, what was you r name?” Howard asked.
“Oh I’m Neil Gershwin, you know like the jazz guy? What’s your name?” Neil asked.
“I’m Howard, How long have you been in New York?” Howard started to feel like he could talk.
“Oh just a few days really, I haven’t found a place to live so I’ve been in one of those fancy hotels. I think it’s a Hilton or somethin.”
“Neil, what is it that you do?”
“I’m a director of railroad services. I see where people get there products and make sure the systems are runnin right so no one gets short changed. I’ve been from one side of this country to the other and I ain’t never seen so many people hurryin around so much! You come from here, Howard?”
“I work here if that’s what you mean, I live in New Jersey. Its just across the border of the state.
“Where do ya work? This is a big city, much bigger than some I’ve seen.”
Howard sighed, “I work in the train depot, making sure the trains get on the right tracks and monitor the amount of cars that they send here and there.”
“Wow, sounds like you’re an important guy, I could use a man like you. Why so dry though?”
“Dry? Oh, well I just um, don’t get out much, yeah.”
“Don’t get out much? Do ya have a wife or something?”
“I don’t have a wife, she left me a year ago.”
“What happened with that, I know there’s a lot of divorce goin on lately and I’m glad I ain’t in a strong relationship or somethin.”
“She cheated on me here in the city while I was at work one day. I had some time to kill and I walked over to her firm where she was working a para-legal and when I went to her office…She was banging the lawyer who employed her. She didn’t even have the decency to lock the door, they were both completely naked and getting it on. I thought things were going to change after meeting her. I really did.” Howard shook his head.
“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know you had such a hard time. Why’d you marry her in the first place?”
“We worked together at the railroad for two years before we started dating. She would see me every day. Sitting at my desk, I noticed she always was about the work and she kept things very professional with other guys. She never took any flack from guys who wanted to get in her pants and she always respected the managers. One day she was passing by and I just out of the blue, asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner sometime. She said yes and so one thing led to another and she was my wife in under a year. For two more years we struggled because she went back to school to become a para-legal and she wanted more money. We just kind of grew apart and then I saw her in her office and I knew that we were done.”
“I would be too if I saw me a wife that was cheatin on me.”
“I filed for a divorce and of course I won. She got half of what I had, but I was able to keep my place in Jersey. She moved to the city and I’ve never seen her since.” Howard looked down for a moment and then studied Neil’s face. “You’ve asked me so many questions and I’ve really not wanted to talk, but you now are getting me talking. I can’t believe I’m doing this with a complete stranger. This isn’t even like me. I come in here and order coffee and the same meal every day.”
“Well, you’ve said a lot and I know I talk a lot, but in my line of work ya gotta do more to get things done. It helps me in recruitin people for my business stuff.”
“Where do you come from really?”
“Well, like I said, I came from Florida, but I really was from Louisiana. I never settled down though, I just kept up my job and drove a lot; spent a lot of time in motels or on a plane. Never had time to get to know any girl, that’s for sure. There were a few I met, but they were never interested in my work or what I did. They just thought I was a hunk, ya know? Well that’s went on for three years since I got out of college. So here I am in the ‘city that never sleeps’. Who’d a thought, huh?”
“Hmm? Oh right, I was just thinking a minute, man, we should have our food by now.” Howard was starting to get really hungry.
The young waitress came out from the kitchen with red eyes and tears running down her cheeks. She carried the two plates delicately and set them down firmly at their table. “Anything else?”
“What happened? I’ve seen you for two years here and you’ve never lost face coming out of that kitchen. Who hurt you?” Howard stared at the woman.
The waitress just sniffled, “Oh, it’s nothing really. The cook is just a complete jerk and he tried to spit in your coffee again. I stopped him and I even made a new pot for you. The meals should be good. I made sure that the other cook took care of that. He’s the assistant manager and makes sure the customers are well taken care of. The ‘other’ cook, you know, the one that is a jerk? He just got fired and tried to take it out on me. The manager came in and saw him slapping me with his apron and told him to get lost. I didn’t know the manager could do that so easily.” The waitress sighed. “ Anyway things will go better now, I hope. Can I get you anything else?”
“How do you do it? What keeps you so positive about this place?” Howard threw her off guard.
“Oh I guess it’s the people. I love talking with everyone, I’ve even noticed how you are talking this morning. Anyway, I got two or three more hours of work and then I’m off.”
“Yes, this man here, has helped me open up. Did you want to get away for a little while?”
“You want to take a walk in Central Park?”
“After today, yes. I’ll pick you up at Noon, Is that alright?” Howard answered.
“Sure, and thanks.”
“Oh I am sorry I’ve never asked your name.” Howard blerted.
“It’s Mindy, Mindy Soskiwitz. You’re Howard Nable, I know because they talked about you last week on the news, stopping that disaster that could of cluttered up Grand Central? You are amazing…Anyway I’ll go see to my other tables, see you later?”
“Yeah, I’ll leave money for the meal when we’re done.” Howard said. She just smiled and walked off.
“That was mighty nice of you. You do that often? I know I could use someone like you here as a contact in New York. I’ll put in a good word for ya, down at headquarters. You work today?” Neil asked.
Howard was silent for a moment. ‘My life is changing before my eyes, this is so great!’ “Yeah I work today. Do you want to come by the main Grand Central Depot Yard about Four? That’s when I’m starting work. You’d get to talk to my boss and we could be companions from afar.”
“Absolutely, positively. I sure am glad I met you, You brought new meaning to my life today, Howard.” Neil chomped down his food just like Howard was. They both were starving.
Howard laughed out loud. “My day was going so bad before this morning, I’ve really enjoyed talking with you and I hope we can do it again.” Howard pulled out his wallet. “I’ve got this, you have done plenty for me already.”
“Alright, You wanna let me get the tip?” Neil asked.
“No, I’ve got that too.” Howard smiled as the two men finished their meals about the same time. Both stood and shook each other’s hand.
“It was a pleasure eating breakfast with ya, same time tomorrow?” Neil smiled broadly.
“Yeah, I’d like that. You be careful now, here in New York things change everyday. If you need a place to crash for the night, I’ve got plenty of room at my place. Until I can get back on my feet, It’d be nice to have a room mate.” As he said that, Mindy walked by and gave a small wave to Howard. Neil wasn’t shy about pointing it out.
“Looks like things are already lookin up for ya. See ya at four. And don’t forget that date.” Neil smiled at Howard.
“Oh I won’t, see you later, my friend.” Howard and Neil laughed as they walked out the door.
Mindy came over to their table expecting a mess, but everything was piled neatly. As she picked up the dishes, below was the money for both meals as well as a tip of one hundred dollars. She almost lost her composure yet again, but this time for a different reason. She was wrong about Howard, ‘Things do look up from day to day. You just have to find the right person to make it so. I’d better hurry, Howard will be here in two and a half.’ With that she gathered up the tip in her apron and flew about her job, smiling the whole time at how even her life changed in only a few hours.
END
