Encounter

        A short story by Mary M. Isaacs

     Fran watched the rain falling in the street outside as she leaned idly on the counter. There would be little business today, she knew, not on a rainy Sunday morning. This wasn’t her usual shift in the café, but another of the waitresses had been sick and Fran had volunteered to take her place. It meant missing church, but she didn’t mind doing a good turn for a friend. Besides, it would be a change. Sunday mornings were so often all the same.

    So far, there had been only some early orders for coffee and doughnuts, mostly to go. The cook wasn’t due in for another half hour, when full breakfasts were offered. All the booths had their original place settings from when she had set them up at 7:30. Saturday’s daisies still looked fresh and new. The coffee urn gave off a faint hissing sound and an aroma of institutional coffee. Everything was ready—but no customers. A few people walked past, under their umbrellas--some in a hurry in their Sunday clothes, some just idly strolling by. A few of the usual bums passed the café, glancing hopefully inside. Fran recognized them from her regular shift, weekdays at lunchtimes. Then, when it was so busy and crowded with office workers, the bums hung around outside, waiting for the opportunity to ask for handouts. Funny, she thought, maybe the fact that it’s Sunday is why they’re behaving themselves. She laughed at the thought.

    She lit a cigarette as she stood there. The owner allowed the staff to smoke if there was no one else in the café. Otherwise, ashtrays were just for customer use. She’d wipe this one clean when she finished.

    Her mind wandered a little. Was it this afternoon that she had promised to go shopping for her elderly neighbor? No, couldn’t have been…she herself didn’t need to go to the store for at least another week. She would have promised to go then, when it was convenient. But, yes, there was something to remember...

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Copyright 2024 by Mary M. Isaacs  

Complete story will appear in a forthcoming book.

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