A COSTUMER waving and smiling at her made Claire puzzled, one day while she’s working in the café. She didn’t know if she should smile back or pretend not to notice yet she chose the former before returning to the counter.
“So handsome,” Liza, her friend and co-worker in the café, said dreamingly.
“Is he always here?” she whispered to the café’s cashier.
“Once or twice a week. You don’t get to see him because of your shift,” Liza explained and she understood. She worked part-time in the cafe because she had a morning class and she also had other part-time job so it’s not surprising why the smiling costumer wasn’t familiar to her.
“Does he wave at anyone?”
“Actually, this is the first. Whenever he comes, he just silently observes and sips a cup of coffee then leaves. Looks like he likes you,” her friend teased which made her suspicious. “Did you know that almost all of the waitresses here are almost fighting to serve his orders?”
“Really?” she was a bit surprised then gazed at the costumer’s direction again who happened to also looked at her direction and smiled. Instead of appreciation, her chest fearfully pounded. “Isn’t that dangerous? He might be a stalker for all we know,” she worriedly said.
“I wish all have a stalker like him.”
“You’re crazy.”
“I think he has an order,” Liza noticed then signalled the nearest waitress to take the man’s order. After few minutes, the waitress went to the counter with the order. “He ordered a cheesecake milk tea for takeout. Looks like he’s leaving,” the cashier said who seemed familiar with the man’s routine.
“Give it to him,” the waitress told Claire.
“Why me?”
“Aren’t you curious?” her co-worker teased but she wasn’t happy about it because she didn’t know who the man really was.
“C’mon, Claire. Go,” Liza cheered after giving her the customer’s order as well as his change. She wasn’t able to refuse so she went to the smiling customer who was sitting comfortably while sipping his coffee.
“Here’s your order and change, Sir,” she casually said as she put his order and money on the table. She noticed his cellphone which was on the table and she’s sure it’s the latest model from a big and famous cellphone company. She glanced at his watch and although it looked old, its brand told her its real worth. She stared at his hands which were a bit calloused but had a nice shape. The clothes that he wore were simple but surely of well-known brands.
“Thank you, Claire.”
She had goosebumps when she heard his full and deep voice. She blinked when she thought why the man knew her name but scolded herself silently when she remembered the name tag on her chest.
“You’re welcome, Sir. Have a nice day,” she forced a smile but was almost enchanted when he smiled back at her.
“Have a nice day too, Claire,” he said as he collected all his things and stood. He waved at her before leaving. She was in awe especially the way he uttered her name as if he had known her for a long time. Her gazes followed the man who crossed the road like a ramp model on a catwalk.
“Okay ladies, kindly get all the jaws you dropped now!” Kring, the owner of the café, entered and laughed heartily. It seemed the woman also knew about that customer and admired him. There were laughs and chuckles from the other lady customers who also saw the guy. “Claire, you must be feeling so beautiful, my dear,” she teased and laughed again.
But she didn’t feel beautiful at all. “Am I the only one thinking that the guy must be a stalker or some sort of weirdo?”
“She’s working nearby, Miss,” answered one of the lady customers who was a medical student and was studying in the nearby university. “I saw many time going in and out from a business building not far from whenever I pass by there,” the med school student giggled.
“Isn’t he handsome?” the other med school student asked then giggled.
“So that’s the reason why you choose to have your group study here, to see that handsome,” Miss Kring said. Since the students were their regular customers and majority of their customers were from different universities nearby, most of them were known by the owner. Miss Kring was in her mid-30s and she usually became an instant sister or aunt to the students.
“That’s not true, Miss Kring,” the students countered.
“Just focus on your studies because someone already got Mr. Mysterious’ affection,” the owner told them then looked at Claire so the teasing continued.
“It just happened that he talked to me. He’s just being silly,” she said.
“I told you, he only waved at you,” Liza told her. “And this is the first time he saw you ever since he became a regular customer for three months now.”
“Should we ask him his name, Miss Kring?” one of the waitresses suggested.
“Nope. We won’t do that. We’re proud Filipinas here,” the owner shook her head and went serious. “If his intentions for Claire were true, he would be the one to introduce himself. The man might be playing some silly games on our lady here and I don’t like that but if we’re wrong and that he really likes our Claire, well, let’s support them and be happy.”
“That escalated quickly but no way,” Claire shook her head as she took of her apron and hairnet which were her uniform. Her shift ended for that day. Another worker should be the one working on that shift but it happened that that employee was also a student and had a class schedule on afternoons. Among all the waitresses, she’s the only one who didn’t have a class schedule on afternoon that semester so she volunteered to work on that time.
“I’m going. Bye for now,” she waved goodbye to everyone after getting all her things.
“Take care, Claire!” Liza said.
That was a weird moment but she’s too busy to even mind that silliness. She’d been juggling many things in her hands and there’s no time for playing. She still had another work to go to and that’s more important than thinking about some weird, smiling and waving guy.