Fantasies - Part One

It's fucking bullshit, is what it is, serving these rich assholes. Tonight I'm working a banquet for some cancer foundation. The event charades as a good cause, but the room is full of drunken, bumbling old men. The second course finished, I walk up to clear their plates. This one man is so drunk, he's practically yelling "Hey baby! You're so beautiful!" I remain stone faced as I try to comprehend why old men with beer guts like him, harass pretty young women like me. "Oh come on, we only call you baby cause we don't know your name!"

"I sure as hell am not telling you," I say quietly.

The men at the table vow to get my name by the end of the night.I'm about to curse the entire male population to hell when I walk into the kitchen and there he is, that kid, the young dishie who makes me forgive men of all their faults. Every tiny physical subtlety about him makes my heart flutter; I feel like I could spend hours staring at all the little hairs on the back of his neck. He acts mature, but every now and then he makes a comment that reveals his naivity and it's terribly charming. He makes a funny remark under his breath as a drop the plates onto his station. I smile briefly before my dreaded return back into the dining hall.

"Stephanie? Oh come on baby!"

"Jessica?"

I don't say a word as I pour more wine into the mens glasses even though they're all past drunk. But I wouldn't want to make my boss mad. Keep the wine glasses full. "Catherine?"

"Nope."

I escape back into the kitchen with another round of dishes. Exasperated, I lean against the counter and sigh, resting for a minute before my boss yells at me to get back in the room. Standing there against the counter, the kid walks over, walks up real close to me, reaches for something on the shelf behind me, puts his face real close to mine. I smile, because I like the game he's playing. And he smiles back. My boss walks into the kitchen and the smiles fade. He asks me to go set up some tables in the back room. I'm relieved; at least I'm free of the dirty old men in the dining hall.

So I get some utensils and I begin to set the tables. It's mundane and repetitive, but I like being able to escape in my thoughts, here on my own. The light outside is fading. It's dusk. The end of another summer's day. I can't help but feel defeated. I don't bother turning the lights on as the room grows dimmer and dimmer. Suddenly the kid shows up in the doorway, makes my heart race. He's about to ask me something, but I stop him and say "Come here". He walks over and I place my hand under his chin. We kiss. It's fast and slow at the same time, you know? He pushes me up against the table and all the utensils I've set crash onto the floor.

But we didn't actually kiss. He remains in the doorway, asks if I've seen the boss. I say no, then make some dumb joke. He smiles innocently before disappearing again. I sigh and set down another fork.