The Waiter

by Bradleigh Collins

  “These are actually for you,” I’d said to George as I tossed Dalton’s card into the garbage. I knew George had already read the card. He knew they were from Dalton. I took out a post-it note and wrote a little love note: To George, you complete me. Then I stuck it on the vase and handed the flowers back to him.

  “Thanks, Ginger Spice,” George said as he walked back to his desk, carrying the white roses like he was a pageant winner. I never told Dominic about that.

  I ordered another martini.

  “How’s Dana?” Dalton asked.

  “She’s great! She just got a job at Time Out New York and she and Simon are moving up here on Friday.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah! Her mom is totally going to kill me.”

  “What about Simon? Does he have a job up here?”

  “Not yet. But he’s a really good graphic designer. He’ll land something in no time.”

  “Where are they going to live?”

  “Downtown. In the financial district. They found a one-bedroom near Battery Park.”

  “And where are you living?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “Why? Are you living with him?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” It was kind of the truth. There was no way I was going to tell him about mine and Dominic’s bi-coastal status. If Dalton sensed any kind of weakness in the relationship, he’d move in for the kill.

  “How long have you been living with him?”

  “Also none of your business.”

  I could see him getting agitated.

  “You ran right to him that night, didn’t you?”

  “Does it even matter, Dalton? We’re done. And you’re leaving. What’s the point?”

  He sat there, staring at his drink.

  “Can we just talk about something else? Tell me about your next gig. Do you have a new assignment or are you going back to Atlanta for a while?”

  “No, they already gave me my new assignment. It’s for twelve months. I start Monday, April third.”

  “Wow, your new assignment is for a year?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Hoboken,” he said. And then he smiled.

  I felt like someone had just jammed a needle full of adrenaline into my chest, like that scene from Pulp Fiction.

  “Hoboken? New Jersey? Like, right across the Hudson River Hoboken?”

  “Yes, Sam, that Hoboken.”

  “So, you’re not leaving New York?”

  “I’m not even leaving my apartment,” he said, taking a swig of his Scotch. “I kinda like this neighborhood. I’ll just take the PATH train to work every day.”

  I had nothing. No response. I just sat there on the barstool shaking my head, thinking about the fact that Central Park was the only thing separating Dalton and me for the next year. I looked at him. He smiled at me and downed his drink.

  Dalton had just checkmated me. And he fucking knew it.

  CHAPTER 40

  ◆◆◆

  “Reservation for nine,” Katie said. We had just arrived at Pageant, a popular Irish pub and restaurant on Ninth Street in NoHo known for its Shepherd’s Pie and stout drinks. It was the night of Josh’s birthday. We were all having dinner downstairs before taking over the upstairs lounge for his karaoke party.

  I’d talked to Dominic earlier while he and Nick were at the trade show in San Francisco. It was loud and I could barely hear him, but he wanted me to wish Josh a happy birthday for him and to take lots of pictures.

  “Hey Red, I’ll see you in five days!” he yelled into the phone before hanging up.

  I couldn’t wait to see him. I was sad that he wasn’t here tonight, but I was so proud of him. The gym was set to open at the end of April, and I was flying out to California to celebrate with him.

  But tonight, we were celebrating Josh. We were also celebrating Dana and Simon’s status as the newest New Yorkers. They had just moved into their apartment on West Street and Morris. I spent the entire day helping them unpack. I took the little black dress I was wearing tonight with me so I could change there. I wouldn’t have time to come all the way back to the Upper West Side. Their apartment was way downtown. Way further than Dana wanted to be, considering that her new office was in Times Square. But the rent was much cheaper down here. Plus, they had a large balcony with an amazing view.

  “I plan on spending a lot of time out here,” I said to Dana. We stood there, staring out at the top of the Woolworth Building, sipping wine as the sun set over Lower Manhattan before heading out to Pageant.

  “I’m so fucking glad you’re here,” I said, hugging her.

  “The adventure continues.” She clinked my glass with hers.

  She, Simon and I arrived at Pageant the same time as Josh and Katie. Lucy had called and said that she and Kyle were on their way. Josh wasn’t sure if Darryl and Molly were meeting us for dinner or just coming to the party. We all hoped it was just the party. We could handle Darryl by himself, but the combination of him and Molly together was too much. We did our best to tolerate her because we loved Darryl.

  The hostess walked us to our table, which was right in the center of the restaurant. Josh sat down at the head of the table with Katie next to him. I sat next to Katie and Dana sat next to me with Simon beside her. Then Lucy and Kyle arrived and Lucy sat directly across from me.

  “Oh god,” she suddenly realized. “I guess this means I’m sitting next to Molly.”

  “Simon,” Dana said, “be a doll and go sit on the other side of Lucy across from me.” Of course Simon, being the doll that he is, did so.

  “Who’s Molly?” he asked as he greeted Kyle and then sat down beside Lucy.

  “Oh, you’re about to find out,” Lucy replied.

  “I think they’re just coming to the party,” Josh said. The waitress came around and took our drink orders.

  “You guys all moved in?” Kyle asked Dana and Simon.

  “Yep,” Dana replied. “We have a few more things being delivered this week, but we’re in for the most part.”

  “Wait until you guys see the view from their balcony,” I said.

  “When’s the housewarming party?” Katie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Dana replied. “How about next weekend?”

  “Yes! Yes!” I screamed. “Dominic will be here!”

  “Speaking of Dominic,” Lucy said. “Are you going to tell him about Dalton?”

  “I have to. Eventually, we’re gonna run into him. Dalton’s probably plotting to make that happen right now.”

  “Dominic’s not going to be happy about that,” Dana said.

  “No, he isn’t. I wish this fell into the don’t ask, don’t tell category.”

  “Yeah,” Katie said. “It doesn’t.”

  “Speaking of don’t ask, don’t tell,” Dana said, “Sam is convinced that Dominic is already seeing other people.”

  “What?” Katie was shocked. “Why?”

  “The more important question,” Lucy said, “is why wouldn’t he be? And why aren’t you? Wasn’t that your agreement?”

  “Yeah, I know. But still.”

  “What makes you think he’s seeing someone?” Katie asked.

  “Intuition. And you guys know, my intuition is spot on.”

  “Sam, baby,” Lucy said, “you knew this was going to happen. Hell, you planned for this to happen.”

  “I know. But I thought by agreeing to see other people, I wouldn’t obsess about him cheating on me. Now I’m obsessing about him seeing other people. I’m fucked.”

  “Well,” Lucy replied, “you could unfuck yourself by seeing other people too.”

  “I agree,” Dana said. “You need to do it soon. And you know why.” I knew she was talking about Dalton.

  “There is not a snowball’s chance in hell of that happening again.”

  “That man is like a heat-seeking missile when you’re vulnerable. And you know it.”

 
“Don’t you get lonely sometimes?” Katie asked.

  “How could I get lonely? I have you guys!”

  The three of them looked at me.

  “Of course I do. But I just want Dominic. And I definitely don’t want Dalton.”

  “Well, somewhere between Dominic and Dalton is where you need to get to,” Dana said. “For your own sanity.”

  “And ours,” Lucy added. The four of us laughed.

  “What are you bitches laughing at?”

  Molly and Darryl had arrived with a bang. She made her way around the entire table, hugging everyone like we were long-lost family, including Simon, who had a pained look on his face that caused me to immediately snap a photo with my digital camera. Molly was friendly. Maybe a bit too friendly at times. But she was funny, and like Darryl, she had a tendency to grow on you. She was just so loud! And she wreaked of cigarettes.

  “Have we done birthday shots yet?” she yelled out. I felt sorry for the people around us.

  “Not yet,” I replied. “We were going to wait until the party.”

  “Hell no!” She flagged the waitress down. “Buttery Nipples for the whole table!”

  I avoided making eye contact with Lucy while Dana grabbed my hand under the table. I quickly realized the best way to keep Molly from causing more of a scene was to engage her in conversation, which I did throughout dinner. Turns out she, just like me, had moved to the city to pursue her dream. She wanted to open a cleaning services company. Currently, she was a part-time kindergarten teacher, and the rest of the time she cleaned apartments. And made incredible money doing so.

  “I figured, there are just so many rich folks here in this damn city,” she said. “And rich folks don’t like to clean. I actually like to clean.”

  “I like to clean too,” I said, finding a little common ground.

  “You should come work with me,” she replied immediately.

  “I already have a job. But thank you.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I’m the Editor-in-Chief for e-Styled. It’s a fashion startup.”

  “I knew you had to be involved in fashion! You’re always so fancy. So put-together.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Do you like it? Your job?”

  “Yeah,” I smiled at her. “I absolutely love it.”

  After dinner, we all went upstairs for the big party. Katie had done an excellent job planning it and we all split the costs. The DJ she’d hired as the karaoke host had timed Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” song perfectly for Josh’s entrance. He followed that up with “Boogie on Reggae Woman,” which had Darryl and Molly already on the dance floor, doing their thing.

  “I just love reggae music!” Molly shouted, causing Dana and I to look at each other and shake our heads. Molly was definitely entertaining. You had to give her that.

  The upstairs space was small and cozy and filled with birthday balloons. There was a long bar along the back wall and a VIP area by the stairs. It was filled with cushy banquettes and a table where we placed all of Josh’s gifts next to a gigantic birthday cake. We were all VIPs tonight because we’d reserved the entire space. We even had our own waitress. And the biggest VIP of all was about to sing his first song.

  The karaoke stage was set up over in the left corner by the bar. There was a large glass fishbowl with small slips of paper and pens beside it. We were all instructed to write down our requests and place them in the fishbowl. Next to the fishbowl was one of those bells you ring at a front desk. We all grabbed slips of paper and pens and sat down at the VIP table and began writing down songs, trying to think of the funniest and most obscure tunes for Josh to sing.

  “Okay, while you guys are doing that,” Josh spoke into the microphone, “I’m gonna get this party started with the song that started it all. This one’s for Katie.”

  He proceeded to sing “Never Gonna Give You Up.” It took me right back to the first night he sang it at The Parlour. He was just about to meet Katie. I was just about to meet Dominic. If I hadn’t come to the city that very weekend, none of us would be here right now.

  When he was finished, it was time for him to open one of his presents.

  “You have to open Sam’s first,” Katie said, handing him three wrapped boxes that were stacked on top of each other, small, medium, and large.

  “You have to open them in order,” I said.

  As he began to open the smallest box, the waitress took our drink order.

  “I’m actually in the mood for a margarita.”

  “I’ll have a Manhattan,” Dana said. “Cuz I live in Manhattan, now.”

  From the first box, Josh pulled out a black t-shirt with gold lettering on it that said “Karaoke King.” He immediately took off the shirt he was wearing and put the t-shirt on as we all laughed.

  The second box contained a matching crown, robe, and bejeweled microphone with his name on it.

  “This is so fucking awesome!” He tied the robe around his neck and placed the gaudy crown on his head.

  “You look like a pimp,” Kyle said.

  In the last box was a large framed and matted photo of him down on one knee, proposing to Katie on New Year’s Eve. For a second, I thought he was going to cry, which was something I’d never seen Josh do. Katie started crying the second she saw it. Josh just looked over at me and nodded. Then he gave me the thumbs up.

  “Well done, cuz.”

  “What is it?” Lucy asked.

  Katie turned the photo around so everyone could see. It was a black-and-white photo of Katie with both of her hands on her face, obviously shocked at Josh’s proposal, while the rest of us - Lucy and Kyle, Dana and Simon, and Dominic and me, looked on with huge smiles and happy tears.

  “Oh wow!” Lucy said. “Now I’m gonna cry.”

  “This is a ploy!” Kyle shouted out. “This is Sam’s New Year’s Eve ploy to have us all drunk and crying with her.”

  Everybody laughed out loud as the waitress returned with our drinks.

  “To friends,” Josh said, holding up his glass. “And to family.”

  “To Josh!” everybody yelled. “Happy Birthday!”

  I took a sip of my drink. It was the best margarita I’d ever tasted in my life, and I’d certainly had my share of tastings over the years.

  “Oh my god. Dana, you have to try this.” I slid my glass over to her.

  “Oh wow,” she said after taking a sip. “That bartender is good.”

  We both glanced over at the bar.

  “That bartender is hot,” I said.

  “Oh so hot,” Dana confirmed as we both stared at him.

  Molly began ringing the service bell. Time for Josh to do a request. He ran over to the fishbowl in his full-on king regalia and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to the DJ, who just shook his head and laughed.

  The music started, and the words flashed onto the screen. It was Cher’s “Believe.” And Josh was nailing it. He was doing his full-on Cher voice while the rest of us jumped up and down and danced around like lunatics, giving Darryl and Molly a run for their money. When he hit the chorus, I lost it.

  “I think I just peed a little,” I screamed to Dana.

  I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. And they were definitely happy tears.

  I had no idea what the future held for Dominic and me. Our happily ever after was yet to be determined. But I had finally managed to extricate myself from Dalton. Not geographically as I’d planned, but emotionally, which was all that mattered. Sometimes you have to let go of someone you love for your own good. And theirs. I’d done that with both of them.

  And now maybe, just maybe, I was ready for the moments in between. I looked over at The Bartender. He smiled at me. I smiled back.

  .

  About The Author

  Bradleigh Collins

  Bradleigh Collins is a freelance writer and blogger living and working in New York City.

  She decided to use the extra time she suddenly f
ound herself having during the pandemic of 2020 to finally finish her first novel, The Waiter.

  Originally from Atlanta, Bradleigh moved to Manhattan in 1999 and never looked back. To this day, the city - specifically the Upper West Side - remains her one true love.

  For more information about Bradleigh, please visit her website at bradleighcollins.com.