"Good," Mike thought, glancing at his watch as he rushed through the door. It was 11:17 am. Lunch was always crowded at the Chic-Fil-A. Arriving after 11:20 would ensure that there would be no place to sit. He enjoyed eating here and did so often. The food was good, and it was nice to get out of the office for a little while. The people there would dive him crazy if he didn't get some time away from them.
Mike stood in line, waiting to order his food and attempting to let the thoughts clear out of his head, but not quite succeeding. He needed a less stressful job. But who didn't? And it wasn't like there were a lot of jobs available these days. And even though the people at work drove him nuts, they were his friends and he liked them.
"Take your order sir?" said a voice, interrupting his soul searching.
"Number one combo with a diet coke," Mike answered out of habit. He always got the same thing. He liked it and not having to choose was nice.
Mike took his lunch and found one of the smaller, two seat tables. He unwrapped his sandwich and started opening packs of ketchup for his waffle fries. He needed about 8 packs, which was a little annoying. He wished they would just put a bottle of ketchup on the table so he wouldn't have to fuss with all the little packets. Mike wondered if requiring you to open a new packet for every other fry was their way of reducing ketchup consumption. Mike laughed at himself. Ketchup packaging really wasn't such a big deal in the grand scheme of life.
As Mike finished his preparations, he looked up and noticed a woman walking by. She was pretty, short and a bit plump, just as he liked. She was looking around for a place to sit, but even with out looking, he knew she wasn't going to find one. He toyed with the idea of asking her to sit down. It was a gamble. He really enjoyed his lunches alone. It was his only chance to escape the insanity at work and have a little 'alone time.' If he asked her and she turned out to be difficult to talk to he would regret it, no matter how pretty she was. Mike debated the pros and cons as she passed his table. Wow! What an ass she had on her. "Excuse me, are you looking for a place to sit?"
"Oh thank you!" she replied, turning back around to face him. She had answered before she had really looked at him. Now she was sizing him up. She seemed to like what she saw. "Hi, my name is Marie," she said as she extended her hand. Mike stood up as he took it.
"It's nice to have some company." Mike answered, hoping he was right. "Besides, I hate to see people with no place to sit. I don't think I have ever seen you in here have I?"
"No, I'm driving down to Atlanta to see my parents. I just got hungry and decided to stop. I take it you are a regular here?"
Mike was pleased. He enjoyed good conversation, but he couldn't have one with just anyone. He had often wished he were one of those people who seemed to be able to have lively chats with brick walls, but he was not. He needed someone who could carry their end of things. Marie did that well. It made talking to her a delight rather than a chore. This was definitely better than eating alone.
Marie finished her sandwich and she had not ordered any fries. Mike had been too involved with listening to her to eat many of his. "Want some fries?" he asked her. She nodded and reached for one of his fries. He reached into the fries first, which kept Marie from getting any. She looked confused like she thought she had misunderstood the offer. "Do you like ketchup?" Mike asked. She nodded, but still looked confused. Mike took a fry and dipped it into his ketchup, and raised it to her mouth.
