Alex said in a tone as if she was holding her cool, “Okay, well, I’ll be back in a little bit to check up on you.” Alex turned and walked away while carrying the empty tray. She walked up to another one of her tables with five customers and as she collected the empty glasses she asked, “Can I get anyone anything else?”
They each said one at a time, “You can bring me another drink.”
“I’ll be back.”
As Alex was walking up to the bar for their drinks, Doug recognized a woman who entered Little Bucks. The woman’s name was Bonnie in Doug’s reality; however, in the present reality her name was Catherine. “Liz, I’m going to talk to Alex for a minute.”
Liz nodded while saying, “Okay.”
Alex’s back was turned towards Doug as Doug walked up to her and tapped her on her shoulder.
Alex turned to look and when she saw who it was, she asked, “What’s going on?”
“Your fiancée just walked in.”
Alex gave Doug a confused look and asked, “What are you talking about?”
“Bonnie just walked in.” Alex turned to look as Doug continued to whisper, “We have only been in this reality for two days and you have already forgotten about your fiancée in our reality.”
Alex stared at Catherine while saying, “So much has happened these past two days, Bonnie never even entered my mind.”
Bryon got Alex’s attention as he said, “Here are your drinks, Alex.”
Alex faced Bryon before saying, “Thanks.” Alex picked up the tray of drinks before facing Doug again and whispering, “Well, in this reality, Bonnie would be nothing more than a friend to me… if she’s even that.”
“I just thought you might want to know that she’s here.”
“I do; thanks.” Alex then walked away with the tray of drinks.
Doug stayed at the bar and bought a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Before Alex was able to get to the table with the drinks, Catherine stepped up to Alex and said in a slightly amused tone, “Alex, don’t tell me that you’re working here.”
Alex stopped walking and said, “Hey, Bonnie. And yes; I am working here.”
“Bonnie? Why did you call me Bonnie?”
Catherine saw Alex thinking of a response before she answered with, “Oh my god. I can’t believe I called you by that name. Bonnie is this woman who came in earlier who caused a slight scene. I guess my mind is still on her.”
“Ah; well you better serve your drinks. I’ll find a seat at the bar.”
Alex nodded before continuing towards the table with the drinks. Catherine stepped up to Doug and tapped him on the shoulder.
Doug was checking to see if he was a winner, and before Doug had a chance to see who tapped him, Bryon said, “Hi, Catherine. Can I get you your usual?”
Doug looked at Catherine as she answered, “That would be good; thanks.” She then saw the confused look that Doug was giving her. “What’s wrong, Doug?”
As Doug crumbled the lottery ticket, he said, “Oh, nothing. So, Catherine, what brings you here?”
As Doug tossed the crumbled ticket onto the bar, Catherine said, “This place is my hangout. Of course I’m not usually here before ten, but Becky wanted me to meet her here around eight for some reason.”
“You’re friends with Becky?”
“Of course I’m friends with Becky. What kind of question was that?”
“I just thought you were friends with Alex.”
“Just because Alex and Becky are not on good terms doesn’t mean I have to choose one of them to be friends with over the other. I’m remaining friends to both of them.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“You know this anyway, so why were you questioning me about it?”
“I just went temporarily brain dead.”
Catherine slightly laughed before saying, “Okay that was too easy of a set up, so I’m not going to comment on that statement.”
Doug slightly laughed before saying, “Yeah, I guess I did set myself up with my last statement.” Doug then gestured towards Liz. “Well, I better get back to my date.”
Catherine looked in Liz’s direction and said, “So you did get a second date with Liz.”
Doug gave Catherine a slightly surprised look before grinning and saying, “Of course. Well, I’ll see you around.” When Catherine nodded, Doug walked away.
Alex, while holding an empty drink tray, had walked up to Liz and was talking to her before Doug walked up. Before Doug took his seat he whispered in Alex’s ear, “Bonnie’s name in this reality is Catherine, and I’m willing to bet that she is the Catherine Weis who you read about from your diary.”
As Doug was taking his seat, Alex said, “Thanks for the information.”
“No problem. Oh and, uh, Becky will be here in thirty minutes.”
“Okay; now thanks for the warning.” Liz gave Alex a confused look while Doug just grinned. “Well, I better get back to work.”
“See you around,” Liz said. Alex nodded before walking away. “So, Doug, what were you and Alex going on about?”
“Oh, uh… well, most likely you know that Alex and Becky don’t get a long,” Doug said. Liz just nodded. “Okay, well, Becky will be here shortly and I was just telling Alex that so she can prepare for the unpleasantness.”
Liz gave Doug a skeptical stare before saying in an uncertain tone, “Okay.”
Alex walked up to a table that was seating an adult couple and two pre-teenaged boys. The family paused from eating when Alex asked, “Can I get anyone anything else?”
“We’re good for now; thanks,” the man said.
“You’re welcome,” Alex said before she turned and walked towards the bar.
Catherine was sitting at the bar next to where Alex and Sylvia would be served by Bryon. After Alex stepped up, Catherine asked, “So, Alex, how long have you been working here?”
“This is my first night,” Alex said while picking up a watered down soda with little ice.
Alex was taking a drink when Catherine asked, “So why did you take a job here?”
Alex swallowed the mouth full of soda that she had and as she was putting her drink back down on the bar, she said, “I need the money.”
“Why don’t you just ask your parents for it?”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a personal matter that I can’t involve my parents or anyone else.”
“You can at least tell me about it, can’t you?”
“Sorry, Catherine, I won’t involve you either.”
“Alex, we’re friends.”
“And that’s the reason that I’m not involving you.”
“It’s not anything illegal, is it?”
“No; of course not,” Alex quickly answered. “It’s just a very personal matter to me that’s all.”
“All right, I won’t ask again, but if you ever decide to share, I’ll be around to listen.”
Alex grinned before saying, “Thanks.” She then gestured towards the tables. “Well, I better see if anyone wants anything.”
As Alex was walking away while carrying an empty tray, a man with a vase of assorted flowers walked in. Alex saw the man with the flowers coming towards her and didn’t think anything about it as she and the man passed each other.
The man with the flowers walked up to the bar. When Bryon faced the man the man asked, “Is there an Alexandra Larson working here?”
Catherine turned to look as Bryon pointed towards Alex and said, “Yeah, she is the red head who is waiting tables. You can wait here. She’ll be back in a minute or two.”
Catherine saw a card attached to the flowers.
Five minutes later, Alex walked back up to the bar with dirty glasses on her tray. Alex saw that Catherine was smiling at her as she walked up. She then gave Catherine a curious look before asking, “Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?”
“In two seconds you will be sm
iling too.”
“What are you talking about?”
Catherine pointed to the man with the flowers before saying, “That man is here to see you.”
As Alex faced the man the man asked, “Are you Alexandra Larson?”
Alex looked at the flowers and said cautiously, “Yeah, that’s me.”
The man held out the flowers for Alex to take and said, “These flowers are for you.”
Alex slightly held up the tray of dirty glasses while saying, “Just one second.” Alex put the tray on the bar and told Bryon, “I need five beers.”
“Okay,” Bryon said.
Alex turned towards the man with the flowers and as she took the flowers the man said, “Have a nice evening, Ms. Larson.”
“Thank you; you too,” Alex said before the man could walk away.
As Alex was setting the flowers on the bar, Catherine said, “Read the card.” Alex smelled the flowers before picking up the card. After she opened the card she began silently reading it. “Read it aloud.” Alex looked at Catherine for a second before reading what was on the card, which was a short romantic poem that brought a pleasant grin across Catherine’s face as well as Alex’s. “So who sent you the flowers?”
Alex looked at all sides of the card before saying, “I don’t know. It’s not signed.”
Catherine smiled before saying, “You have a secret admirer. That’s so romantic.”
Bryon put the last of the five beers on the tray before saying, “Alex, here are the beers you ordered.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“And I’m going to put your flowers behind the bar and out of the way of serving drinks,” Bryon said.
“That’s fine.”
As Alex picked up the tray of drinks, Catherine asked, “So who do you think your secret admirer is?”
“I can’t think of anyone who would send me flowers,” Alex said before walking away with the drinks.
Alex was gone for a few minutes from the bar and when she returned with some dirty glasses, a guest check and the money, Catherine gestured towards an attractive man who was sitting at the other end of the bar while saying, “I would love to get flowers from that guy.” Alex looked at the man who Catherine was talking about. “Don’t you think he’s handsome?”
Alex quickly said without thinking, “Oh, yeah; he’s very handsome.” Alex suddenly realized of what she had said and mouthed out the words to herself, “Oh, yeah; he’s very handsome?” Alex then slightly cringed in disbelief.
Alex stepped up to the bar and as she was putting down the tray, Catherine said, “Well, unfortunately he’s married.”
Alex handed Bryon the guest check and the money before facing Catherine and asking, “You know who he is?”
“I don’t know his name, but I’ve seen him in here before with his wife.”
Bryon placed the change on Alex’s tray and said, “His name is Gary and he’s married to my sister Jessica. So you two can leer in another direction.”
“I wasn’t the one leering,” Alex insisted.
“Come on, Alex,” Bryon said. “I saw how you were watching Gary when he walked in forty minutes ago.”
“I was just watching him to see where he was going to sit,” Alex quickly retorted. She then picked up the change and walked away.
Catherine looked at Bryon before saying, “Okay, someone is very defensive.”
“Actually she seemed to have been more embarrassed than defensive,” Bryon said as Stephen was stepping out from the kitchen.
Before Catherine was able to respond, Stephen stepped up to Bryon and said, “Hey let Alex know that one of her food orders is done.”
“Will do,” Bryon said.
“Hey, Stephen,” Catherine said.
“Hi, Catherine,” Stephen said before turning and walking away.
Catherine faced Bryon again before saying, “I’ve seen Jessica in here many times, and I didn’t know she was your sister.”
“The subject never came up before,” Bryon said. He then stepped away to wait on another customer at the bar.
Alex was gone for a couple of minutes and when she was returning to the bar, Bryon saw her stepping up. “Hey, Alex, one of your orders is up.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Before Alex was able to walk away, Catherine asked, “Alex, getting back to your secret admirer; is there someone who you hope that the flowers are from?”
Alex grinned long enough for Catherine to see it. She then tried to keep a straight face while saying, “Not at all.”
“There is a guy,” Catherine said.
“I swear there’s not.”
“If you didn’t grin before you answered I might’ve believed you.”
“I have food to serve, so I can’t stand here debating this,” Alex said before turning and walking away.
Catherine watched Bryon as he stepped up and said, “I think you’re right about Alex liking someone.”
“I wonder if the guy who sent Alex the flowers is the same guy who Alex likes.”
“Good question,” Bryon said before Sylvia stepped up to order a few drinks.
Four minutes later, Alex was serving food to the three men near the entrance. When she put the last plate down, she asked, “Is anyone ready for another drink?”
One of the men gestured for Alex to wait before gulping down the little that he had in his glass. He then held it out for Alex to take while saying, “I’ll take another one.”
As Alex took the glass and placed it on the tray the other two men also said, “I’ll take another drink.”
Alex slightly grinned and said, “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes with your drinks.”
Bryon was waiting on a customer at the other end of the bar as Alex was walking towards the bar.
When Catherine saw Alex stepping up Catherine asked, “So, Alex, who’s the guy who you like?”
“Catherine, I’m not interested in anyone, honest,” Alex said before putting the tray on the bar.
“Then, if what you say is true, I know this guy who would be perfect for you.”
“I can get my own dates, thank you very much.”
“Oh, I know you can, but I met this guy last night, and I was thinking that he would be a great date for you.”
“Catherine, I’m not interested in being fixed up on a date.”
“This guy is a real catch.”
“If he’s a catch then why don’t you date him?”
Catherine said sarcastically, “I’m dating Dale.”
Alex thought for a second before asking, “You’re dating Dale Hathaway?”
“Yeah. You know this, so why do you look shocked?”
“It’s not that I’m shocked.” Bryon was walking up as Alex continued to say, “I just think that you can do better than Dale.”
“Alex, you told me that you would stop putting Dale down.”
“You’re right. You date whoever you want and I’ll date whoever I want, and I don’t want any blind dates.”
“Okay, Alex. You made your point.”
Alex saw Bryon pointing at her before telling him, “I need three beers.”
As the evening progressed, and when Alex was at the bar, Alex and Catherine casually talked. When Becky came in she sat next to Catherine. Becky would talk to Alex in a civil manner as she, Alex and Catherine talked. Doug and Liz stayed long enough to eat and then left. When the kitchen closed for the night Stephen joined Becky at the bar.
Little Bucks closed at 1:00 A.M., however, Alex, Sylvia and Bryon stayed thirty minutes longer to clean up. When Alex left the bar she took her flowers.
Sunday, October 24 at 8:00 A.M., Trudy walked out of her bedroom and noticed the flowers along with the card on the coffee table. She picked up the card and read it. A grin came across her face before she said above a whisper, “Someone has a crush on Alex.” Trudy put the card back, grabbed her purse and walked out.
Ten minutes later, Trudy was joining Miles with her breakfast in the lunchroom; howe
ver, Miles was just finishing his meal. Once Trudy had sat down, Miles asked, “So where’s Alex?”
“She’s still sleeping,” Trudy said before taking a bite.
“I should go and wake her up.”
Trudy swallowed the bite before saying, “I doubt she’s been sleeping all that long, so she might get mad at you if you wake her.”
“I’ll take my chances. Can I get your key?”
Trudy pulled out her key from her purse and as she was handing it to Miles she said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Miles stood up and said, “I won’t.” He then picked up his tray.
“And bring back my key.”
Miles just waved as he walked away. Before leaving the lunchroom he dumped the trash into the trash bin and placed his tray on top of the bin to be collected by the worker. Five minutes later, he was gently shaking Alex to wake up.
When Alex saw who was shaking her awake she asked, “Why are you in my room?”
“Chad invited you and me to see the sights of Boston with him and his fiancée and I was hoping that I can talk you into it.”
Alex gave Miles a curious look while asking, “When did he invite us?”
“At the hospital yesterday, just after you and Linda left to go to the restroom.”
“And you waited until now to tell me this?”
“I had planned to tell you about it after we left the hospital and it slipped my mind. I thought about it again after I woke up this morning. So can I talk you into going?”
“What time is it?”
“It’s about 8:20 A.M.”
“I should shoot you for waking me up this early on a Sunday.”
“Lucky for me, security doesn’t allow guns on campus.” Alex just gave him a smirk. “So how about it?”
“I have to be at work at 4:00 P.M.”
“No problem. We’ll be back in plenty of time.”
“Fine, I’ll go with you, but I want to be back around 3:00 P.M. to take a shower.”
“Again, no problem.”
“Wait in the common room and I’ll be right out once I’m dressed.”
Miles just nodded and walked out.
Miles was sitting on the couch for ten minutes before Alex walked out. Miles stood up and gestured towards the flowers before asking, “So does Trudy have someone special in her life?”
Alex gave Miles a curious look before saying, “Actually someone sent those to me last night while I was at work. I was actually thinking that you might have sent them to me.”
A Crossed Reality Page 12