Josh unlocked the door into his apartment and walked inside, throwing his jacket on the floor, moving with the energy that was probably supplied by the coffee he had earlier.
He looked around, seeing that Craig had managed to clear out all of his stuff. The apartment looked so empty and alone. "Well, looks like my little outing gave you more than enough time to get everything out of here," Josh said to the emptiness.
He walked into his kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and moving to the fridge to get some ice. He expected to see something, a note, and apology, anything, but there was nothing.
Josh pretended it didn‘t matter.
*
He didn’t know why he had come back. He told himself it was because the food was good. Really good. He knew, however, that the food wasn’t the only reason.
The same girl, Britney, was the host, only this time she had a guy with her, and he had the wildest curly hair Josh had ever seen.
Britney lead Josh to the same table and gave him the same line, "Your waiter will be right out." She then walked back over to the front stand to wait for customers, and talk to her curly haired friend.
"Welcome to Fatone’s, what can I get for ya?" Josh looked at his waiter, noticing immediately that he wasn’t Lance. The name on his tag read ‘Joey’, and he had dark brown hair, a beard that didn’t leave his face, and brown eyes that reminded Josh of chocolate.
"You’re not Lance," Josh said, stating his thoughts, as well as the obvious.
Joey laughed. "Yeah, there -are- other waiters that work here. So, what can I get for you?"
"Why isn’t Lance here?" Josh asked, before he could help himself. ‘Why do I care?’ he wondered.
Joey sighed. "He -is- here, but he's busy. Look, you want food or not?"
'I want Lance,' Josh thought, and he put his hand over his mouth, not believing he had just thought that.
"I'll give you a minute to think about it," Joey said, giving Josh an odd look before turning and going into the kitchen.
"That guy is back," he said to Lance, who's arms were covered in suds from washing the dishes.
"What guy?" Lance asked.
"The regular lasagna and coffee guy. You know, Mr. Josh?"
"Oh. He came back?" Lance asked, surprised. Last time the guy had been in, Lance had gotten the impression he wasn't too happy with the experience.
"Yeah, he's here. And he's asking for you, wanting to know why you're not his waiter. He's kinda weird man, you can take him. Besides, he doesn't look like he gives good tips."
Lance laughed and dried his arms off on a towel, grabbing his pad and pen and going out to Josh's table.
"Hi again," he said as he approached.
Josh looked up. "Hello. What happened to the other guy."
"Joey? He uh... got dish duty. Is that a problem?"
Josh shook his head. Lance waited for a moment, to see if he would say anything, before asking, "So, can I take your order?"
Josh looked down at his menu. "I haven't even looked," he admitted.
"O-kay, I can come back when you're ready..." Lance said, starting to leave, but Josh stopped him. "Why don't you tell -me- what's good, since you work here?"
"Fettuchini Alfredo. It's the best dish here," Lance told him.
"Okay, then I'll have that."
"Anything to drink? Regular coffee?" Lance asked with a smile.
JC smiled back. "Regular coffee."
*
