In the afternoon Rudolf Land (a German acquaintance) and I went to a restaurant, but decided to leave because the place was so crowded that we couldn't find a seat. As we were leaving I noticed Louise walking into the restaurant; I thought she heard me as I mentioned to Rudolf that we might return later that night and eat supper here.
That night Rudolf and I returned to the restaurant and sat down. Rudolf ordered a meal, including some shrimp and beef stew. I wasn't hungry and I didn't order much.
Rudolf began showing me a large burn scar on the biceps of his arm. He also pointed out nine scars on the bend in his arm which had resulted from his injecting heroin into his arm. He also had some scars resulting from injecting heroin in the area where the burn scar was. I was quite surprised, especially since I knew how intelligent Rudolf was. Apparently Rudolf had later been able to give up heroin.
We began eating and we hadn't been here long when Louise walked in and sat at a nearby table. I decided I would like to eat some shrimp, but waited to order. I didn't pay much attention to Louise at first, but then noticed that a man in a brown jacket was with her. He looked Hispanic, was swarthy and had black hair. I thought he might be Mexican. He was probably in his late twenties and had an average build.
Rudolf talked on and on about something, but I had become so angry at the sight of the man with Louise that I wasn't paying any attention to Rudolf.
We had already been brought some vegetables, but Rudolf's shrimp and beef stew hadn't yet been brought to him. I had become very upset seeing Louise here with another man. I had never seen her before with another man. I turned to Rudolf and said, "Rudolf, I want to leave."
I told Rudolf I would pay for everything. He understood; we rose and headed toward the front. Just as we headed out the door a waiter dressed in blue pants, a blue vest and a white shirt stopped us and then the waitress came running out to us. They said we would have to pay for the vegetables we had eaten. The cost was $3.15. The waitress said, "Yea, they beat them out."
What she meant was that we had left before the main dish had come and therefore wouldn't have to pay for it. I told them I would pay for the vegetables and began digging the money out of my pocket. I gave them three dollar bills, a dime and five pennies. The waitress started to leave and I said, "Wait a minute."
I handed her a dollar for a tip. The waiters left and the waitress grabbed a large tin can which contained some dried fruit – white and dark raisins and apricots. She began putting some of the fruit in a can for us and filled the can so full that she couldn't get the lid on it. She was going to give us the fruit to take with us. Although I wanted to eat some of the raisins and apricots, I wasn't paying much attention because I was still thinking about Louise.
Copyright 2003 by luciddreamer2k@gmail.com
