Table for One, Please

“Good afternoon, how many?” the hostess at one of my favorite restaurants says reaching for the menus the moment I walk in.

“Just one today,” I smile with confidence. Even as I scan the restaurant and notice that everyone or at least the vast majority of those seated are two or more people. There doesn't seem to be a lone diner in sight.

Until now.

I take my seat, a table for one at a table for two (or more) settling myself and my belongings next to me.

I am alone and at the same time, I am not. All around, there is a diverse company of people - a young couple at a booth across from me, an older couple behind them, and a small family with young children right behind me. Their conversations among each other and the music playing blend together giving off an energetic and inviting atmosphere.

Do I wish I had someone to talk to as I dined? Sometimes, yes. Do I feel awkward or lonely sitting amongst those that have company? No, not really. I am able to immerse myself in the atmosphere. To blend in. Sure, I’m the only one at the restaurant that is seated by themselves. That is obvious as I observe my surroundings. At the same time, I don’t really notice it and I'm sure the other diners barely take notice at my table for one.

My mind is usually distracted by what's going around me. I am a people watcher. An observer. The kind of person who just enjoys watching the people pass by.

Do those who notice me think, Look at her sitting all alone. She must be lonely?

I highly doubt it.

However, I can't say that statement is 100% accurate. To my slight amusement and sometimes annoyance, there have been some who have noticed me sitting all alone.

I must give off a warm and inviting attitude. I've had incidences in which someone would take a seat across from me while I'm in the midst of enjoying my own company.

Once when I was on my lunch break dining at a fast-food restaurant, another customer recognized me and excitedly came over and sat down at the same table at the booth right across from me.

Great.

For context, this particular person is the kind of person that drones on and on occasionally throwing in some kind of corny joke.

"I've not seen you in a while!"

I finished chewing my burger taking a slow breath of annoyance but being mindful not to show it.

"Oh, I've been around."

This person continues to fill me in on his life updates.

"Oh! I'm a personal trainer now."

"Oh. Okay, that's cool."

Or the fellow diner at a table next to me at a local bar restaurant who wouldn't stop talking and thought I looked bored and needed someone to talk to. Luckily for me, a small group of people that he apparently knew came in and he shifted his conversation to them.

These incidences aren't all annoying. Some have even brought a smile to my day.

There was one time in which an elderly lady asked if she could sit at the same booth as me as she waited for her family to pay. I remember it was winter only because she talked about how much she was ready for the cold and snow to be over and the arrival of spring and warmer weather.

It was a brief and pleasant conversation, and I was happy to give her a place to rest.

There was also a time when a lively three-year-old, as most three-year-olds are, decided to climb into the same booth as me. They smiled wide full of energy and only sitting in the booth for no more than a few seconds before their mom laughed asking what they were doing in an amusement that matched mine.

Some alone time is also a great opportunity to work on some of my writing and do some much needed catch up my reading.

Depending on the atmosphere of the restaurant and the mood I'm feeling that day, I'll bring my writing journal and a pen with me to work on some plotting and jot down any potential story ideas.

Even though most of the tables are going to have two or more people seated at them, having a meal at a restaurant alone isn’t the least bit uncommon.

I am here to treat myself to a good meal and engage in some well-deserved "me time". Alone at a table doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable. If anything it makes me feel peaceful and confident. I can leave when I’m ready. No waiting for others and their conversations to fizzle out - their plates being long finished. I also don’t have to hurry while others are ready to leave. I can savor my dessert in peace. No rush.

Let me be clear that I very much enjoy sharing great conversations and a meal with others. However, there is just something about having a meal alone and fully enjoying one's own company. I can daydream, speculate, and just take in the world around me.