A Friendly Stranger

The pitter-patter of the rain against the windows created a calm atmosphere in the almost empty café. Bethany was the only waitress working tonight and since there were no customers, she was sitting at an empty table. Dominic, the chef, was in the kitchen and Alex, the cashier, was scrolling on his phone behind the counter. Bethany looked out at the rain and gave a quiet sigh. It had been weeks since she had been feeling sad and numb. Looking out at the gloomy rain and dark sky, she felt more hopeless than ever. She tried to shake the thought.

“Positive thoughts, Bethany.” she whispered to herself. She grabbed her little black notebook and started writing down her thoughts. Whenever she experienced negative emotions, she would transfer them to her tear-stained notebook. All the worries she had about her mother’s cancer and her family’s financial problems were engraved here. For the past few months, the only thing she could think about was how the bills would get paid now that her mother was unable to work. Her father had died the year before and her family had not been the same since, financially or otherwise. She could not bear the thought of losing her mother too.

The front door of the café opened and let the cold breeze in. Behind the door was a tall gentleman, struggling to close his umbrella as the wind whooshed around him. When he finally got the umbrella under control, he walked in and headed straight towards the counter. Bethany watched as Alex took the man’s order of a to-go black coffee, feeling relieved that the gentleman, whose name she had overheard was Russell, would be leaving.

She did not have the energy to play perky waitress tonight.

The relief did not last long. The door opened again, and a young couple, soaked from head to toe, walked in, leaving a puddle of water underneath their feet.

Bethany set her notebook down and stood up to greet the couple.

“Welcome in. Please take a seat anywhere you’d like. I’ll grab some menus.” Bethany smiled.

“Bring us some paper towels to dry off” demanded the young man, in a very unfriendly tone. His dirty blonde hair was so drenched that it almost looked black.

Bethany did her best to ignore the hostile tone. “Of course, I’ll be right back.” She said.

She headed to the bathroom and grabbed a few rolls of paper towels. On her way back she grabbed two menus and walked back to the couple, who was now sitting at the corner table by the windows. “Here you are” Bethany said “you can look over the menu and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Bethany noticed that Russell was now seated a few tables from the couple with his to-go coffee and a newspaper. She walked over and asked if he would like to see a menu.

“No thank you, I’m just waiting out the rain” he said with a smile on his face. His face looked so friendly and warm that she managed a smile back.

She went to the back and grabbed a bucket and mop to clean up the puddle of water the young couple had brought in. As she swept the water, her mind wandered off. She thought about what her mom and her brother were doing right now. They were probably sitting at home, quiet and sad, not quite knowing what to say or how to say it. Her little brother was only 9. He didn’t fully understand what was going on but Bethany could tell that his energy had dulled and the light in his hazel eyes had dimmed.

“Hello!” yelled the drenched gentleman.

Before Bethany got the chance to look over at him, he shouted “two Carmel lattes!”

Bethany set the mop aside and walked over to the couples table, “I’ll get that right out for you. did you get a chance to look over the rest of the menu?” she asked.

“The lattes will be all” he said coldly.

Bethany noticed that the woman with him looked embarrassed and uncomfortable. She wondered what their relationship was. Whatever it was, it didn’t look happy.

In her 7 months at the café, Bethany had dealt with all types of customers. She had learned not to take things personally and not to respond to rude comments.

After the drinks were prepared, Bethany brought them back to the couple. “Here are your Carmel lattes!”

The young man looked at Bethany, disgusted and annoyed. “We wanted iced lattes. Not hot.”

“Oh” responded Bethany “I’m sorry about that, I should have clarified. I’ll take these back and get you two iced Carmel lattes.”

Before Bethany could reach to take the cups back, the young man grabbed his and smashed it to the ground. Coffee and glass splattered everywhere. Bethany was in complete shock and at a loss for words.

The man stood up grabbing his companion by the arms. “We’re out of here! We don’t have time for your shitty service!”

And just like that, they were out the café and back into the pouring rain.

Bethany was on the edge of tears. She felt extremely confused. She had no idea what had triggered the young man so much. She tried to stop her tears from falling.

“What the hell was that idiot’s problem?” Dominic yelled.

Dominic and Alex comforted Bethany and assured her that none of this was her fault. The 3 of them cleaned up the mess together. She liked her co-workers. They were always friendly and polite but never got too personal with her. They had no idea how dark her world had been lately and how she had felt like she’d been living the same day over and over again. It made her wonder if they too had dark thoughts, financial problems, and sad hearts. The thought made her feel more alone. Her eyes watered again.

“Hey there” Russell called out to Bethany as she was walking back to the kitchen.

She really did not want to deal with another customer right now but she managed a smile and walked over to his table.

“Can I get another black coffee please?” He asked.

“Yes of course” Bethany said and made her way back to the kitchen.

Back on the floor, she carried the black coffee back to Russell.

“Thank you so much” he said.

“You’re very welcome” Bethany said, thankful for his friendly demeanor. It was refreshing to have a friendly customer after what she had just experienced, but she still felt like she was living in a nightmare from which there was no escape.

She went back to the table she was sitting at earlier that night. She wanted nothing more than to write in her little black notebook again. She wanted to get her thoughts written out now so she didn’t have to carry them home. She tried her best to always enter her house with a cheerful attitude regardless of how she felt inside. Whatever happiness she could muster, she wanted to display it for her mother and little brother.

Her notebook was not at the table anymore. She looked on the chair, under the table, and around the restaurant. It was nowhere to be seen. “Shit” she thought. If Alex or Dominic had picked it up while cleaning, they might have looked inside. She felt a tinge of shame and embarrassment go through her body. She did not want anyone else to know how she had been feeling. That notebook was hers and her thoughts were not meant for others. She hurried towards the kitchen to ask Alex and Dominic if they had seen her notebook.

Before she reached the counter Russell called out “You deserve way better than this.”

“Huh?” Bethany said.

“You deserve way better than how that jerk treated you.” Russell clarified.

“Yeah, I guess so.” she chuckled awkwardly.

“You deserve better treatment than that and you don’t have to put up with it. Trust me things will get better.” he said.

With tears forming in her eyes, Bethany responded “I kind of do have to put up with it. I need the money right now.” She felt annoyed at his lack of understanding of her situation.

Afterall, she wasn’t waitressing for fun or to deal with angry customers. The notebook was still on her mind and she did not appreciate the small talk even with such a friendly person.

“Well it looks like you guys are closing up, so I’ll get out of your hair” Russell said “Have a good night”

“Thank you. Good night to you as well” Bethany responded, suddenly feeling bad and hoping he had not sensed the annoyance in her tone a few seconds ago.

She locked the café door behind him and flipped around the closed sign so that it was now facing outward. She made her way back to the kitchen. She asked Dominic and Alex If they’d seen a little black notebook. They both said that they had not seen anything. She scoured the entire café, wondering if she’d misplaced it. She checked the bathrooms and the trashcans. No notebook in sight. She wondered what could have happened? Did she leave it somewhere else and was too busy minded to remember? Had one of the customers stolen in? She didn’t know what to do other than cry. She ran to the bathroom and began bawling.

It was all too much. This job. Her mother’s cancer. The pressure she felt to provide for her family. And now her notebook was gone, filled with months of journal entries.

She had hoped to look back at that notebook one day in the future when she was happy again and remember how far she had come. But now the notebook had disappeared, and she felt even more alone and scared.

She wiped her tears and went to clean Russell’s table. She took his coffee cup to the kitchen and grabbed some rags to clean his tables. She went back to the table and picked up his newspaper to throw in the trash. Underneath the newspaper, she saw her little black notebook. Feelings of both joy and confusion overwhelmed her. What was her notebook doing at Russell’s table?

She picked up the notebook and a note fell along with a check. The note read:

The reason I have your notebook is because that jerk customer was trying to read it when you were in the kitchen getting his lattes. I assumed it was none of his business and went to grab it from him. Don’t worry I put him in his place! He was very angry that I embarrassed him. That explains him taking his anger out on you by shattering his coffee cup. Talk about a fragile ego!

I did not mean to read anything you wrote, but he had it open when I grabbed it from him. The word ‘cancer’ caught my eye. I did not want to invade your privacy, so I did not read anything, but I did see that your mother has cancer and you have been struggling.

I am so sorry. I had a daughter who died of cancer 10 years ago. She would have been about your age now.

Unfortunately, I am all too familiar with how you are feeling. I can see the pain in your eyes but want you to know that hope is near. Although there is nothing I can do to mend the pain, I hope this money helps you and your family out.

-A friendly stranger, Russell.

The check read $55,000.00. Rachel wept now, confusion and joy overwhelming her. She looked out at the windows to see if she could see Russell anywhere but he was long gone by now.

Her tears continued to fall down, but finally, after so long, they were tears of happiness and hope.