The Little Black Book

Sally spent her days working at the local diner, trying to make ends meet.

She happily greeted customers, took orders, shared stories and became a face for others to look forward to.

She had her regulars, the kids after school and the more transient, vicarious souls whom she often wondered about.

One evening Sally was cleaning up after a fairly large crowd, they dined in, consumed, and luckily settled their tab before vanishing into the night.

Sally didn't mind if customers couldn't afford to tip.

After all, deep down inside she knew -

Kindness didn't cost a thing.

It was a quiet and rainy, Wednesday afternoon, Sally wasn't expecting much in the way of visitors which gave her the opportunity to catch up on some reading.

She had just visited her local library and picked up a book by one of her favorite authors, Agatha Christie.

Sally loved a good mystery and often caught herself daydreaming about different scenarios in which she had read.

She started to dive in and quickly became submerged into the characters and surroundings of the book when subtly, the chimes of the bells on the door and squeaking of wet feet brought her back, softly to reality.

Embarrassed, Sally primed her apron and placed the book behind her on the counter. With rosy cheeks and a smile she says,

"Hi, how are you today?"

The man sits down and says nothing.

"Coffee?" She asks.

"Yes, please." The gentleman responds.

Without asking, Sally instinctively knew how the man took his beverage.

Upon placing the fresh coffee, milk and two sugar cubes onto the table she observed him.

He was more unique than most and seemed to be a very modern cowboy.

As unusual as he appeared, she felt a familiar presence from him.

"Are you hungry?" She asks.

The man did not respond and continued to read the newspaper while sipping his coffee.

Sally picked up her book once again and suggested to the man that if he should need anything to let her know.

Of course, she thought that it was silly to say such a thing although I think subconsciously that is what allowed her to fall back into her book without feeling guilty.

As she turned the page to the next chapter, the telephone rang..

It was her boss, he needed her to stay late and gave her an extensive list of tasks to complete before closing.

As she hangs up the phone, she turns to ask the gentleman if he would like a refill and sees that the man has left.

Sally hopes that he will return again. Next time more conversational.

After a long day and completion of the assigned tasks, Sally locks up the diner.

As she is leaving, the rain subsides and a clearing of the moon emerges from the sky - illuminating her walk home.

Sally lived a short distance from work, which made her happy.

She resides in a small bungalow style apartment complex, with her two cats and jungle house plants.

After dinner Sally runs herself a warm bath. She puts on a movie and slips into bed.

Her dreams slowly becoming reality and her waking mind asleep.

The next day she awakens, says good morning to her animals, stretches and opens her blinds.

It's a beautiful day compared to the last, she puts in her headphones and gallivants delightfully down the road while listening to her favorite lo-fi station.

'Today is going to be a great day!'

She thinks to herself as she arrives at work.

Sally greets her co-worker Andre, the chef, as he fires up the grill and preps for another day.

She brews a fresh pot of coffee and pours herself a cup of green tea with delicious raw honey from a local beekeeper.

Her first visitor is one of Sally's regulars who orders breakfast and coffee and chats with Sally about her dreams.

The diner becomes busy with brunch rush.

As Sally heads to the kitchen, the man from yesterday returns and sits at the booth second from the exit.

Sally says her hello and takes his order.

Looking at the time she realizes that it is now her first break. She brings him his order and politely asks if she may join him.

The man nods his head in acceptance. Sally sips her tea and notices a beautiful brooch on the left side of his jacket.

"Wow, your brooch must be antique." She pauses.

"I haven't saw one like that since I was home."

She stares in awe at the brilliant shimmering diamonds, encompassing the sapphire gemstone.

Surprised, the man agrees that it is antique.

"What is your name?" She asks.

"Bryon." He responds.

"I'm Sally, nice to meet you."

Bryon looks at the time, passes Sally a $20 bill and thanks her for joining him.

"I must go." He says.

'Thank you, I hope to see you again!" Sally replies as the man leaves.

'He is quite pleasant, strange, but pleasant nonetheless' She thinks to herself while clearing tables.

Sally lifts the newspaper from where he was sitting and notices a little black book.

'Uh-oh,' She thinks. He forgot his book!

Sally runs to the door and looks outside, however the man is long gone.

She placed the book in her apron and carried on.

It was closing time and Sally didn't have much to go on to track him down asides from a first name, she wondered if she should leave the book at the diner in case he came back for it while she was on her days off.

As she hung up her apron ready to go home, she decided it was best to leave it where it was and place a note in the register for the next server if he so happened to return.

As she locked the door a voice inside her head suggested she take it with her.

She phoned her boss to let him know why she had re-entered the diner, after grabbing the book she locked the doors and walked home.

She fed her cats, watered her plants and lied down on the couch.

Scrolling through her phone she began to search, starting with his first name she surfed the web in hopes of finding him.

Nothing appeared and so she researched the brooch.

It traced back to a heritage house in her hometown.

Immediately she phoned her mom, planning a trip to the island the following day.

As the ferry arrived on the island she glanced out the window to see her mom and sister, Sarah.

With open arms they welcomed her.

"So, what brings you back?" Sarah asked as they sat in the car.

"I wanted to see you silly." Sally replied.

Her sister didn't buy it, they had bee estranged for quite some time after Sally found out that her family had a dark secret.

You see, Sally and Sarah were sisters and they were close - However Sally always felt different. As if she didn't belong.

On her 21st birthday after a terrible divorce between her parents, her mother broke down and told Sally the astonishing news.

Her real father abandoned Sally when she was an infant. Or so her mother told her.

Sally settled in to her mothers and told her sister about the secret mission she was on, the real reason why she had come home.

"This man visited the diner, and he left this book behind." Sally explained.

"Have you opened it?" Her sister asked intrigued.

"No, I'm too afraid." Sally whispered.

After dinner the girls put on a movie and started dosing off.

Sally began to dream of the man at the diner, the atmosphere was fuzzy and as she moved closer to hand him the book he said,

"Open it."

Sally awoke from her dream, in a cold sweat.

The next day she told her sister about the estate. Her sister offered to take her and off they went in search of the mysterious man.

Upon arriving gates that neared the sky enclosed the mansion, Sally pressed the speaker button and a woman answered,

"How may I help you?"

Sally mentioned the man and the brooch.

The women then opened the gates and welcomed them inside.

"Tea?" She offered.

"No thank you," Responded the sisters in synch.

"So, the brooch. Is there anything specific you can tell us?" Sarah asked.

"It was purchased by a man at an estate sale we had for my late mother. That is about all that I can tell you." She replied.

Disheartened and on the verge of giving up, Sally thanked the woman for her time.

Sally and Sarah got into the car and Sarah asked to see the book.

"Do you want me to open it?" She asked.

"Sure.." Sally replied hesitantly, passing her the book.

"Sally!" Her sister cried.

"This book belongs to you, your name is right here!"

Sally's eyes were wide open and in disbelief she grabbed the book.

"..How?" She asked puzzled.

"There's an address." She responded.

"Lets search it!" Sarah replied.

The address belonged to an antique shop.

The girls drove to the antique shop and brought the book inside.

A young man greeted them as they entered asking,

"What can I do for you ladies?"

"I have this book, it was left behind at my work but it has my name in it?" Sally exclaimed.

"Let's have a look shall we?" The clerk asked.

Sally handed him the book, immediately he opens the book and a piece of paper falls out.

"It's an inventory slip," He said.

"Does it belong to this shop?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, it does." Confused the clerk heads to the back.

"It belongs to this," He shows the girls a small package.

"Before I open it, perhaps you should take a second look through the book." He suggested.

"It's empty." Sally replied.

"The gentleman hands Sally the package and slowly she opens it.

Inside is a medium sized Ruby with a note that reads:

"Dear Sally,

I am sorry that I was not able to be in your life. I hope that this will make up for lost times. If I had it my way, I would have never left. You will always be my shining star.

Love,

Dad."

Sally's eyes welled up in tears, her sister gasping.

"How much is this worth?" Sarah asks.

In response the clerk replies, "$20,000."

Sally always dreamed of traveling to Italy and opening an animal sanctuary for abandoned pets.

It was finally time for her dreams to become reality.

Although Sally searched to the ends of the earth, her father was never seen again.

This story is based in fiction and is in honor of my late father, Bryon. Who guides me on my endless journey in life.