Cupid On Duty

Cupid On Duty

The restaurant was crowded, as usual over the lunch hour. It was one of her favorite places, but today the single red carnation on the table only served as a painful reminder that she was alone - on Valentine’s Day.

As she picked at her food, she was startled by a stack of dishes crashing to the floor. She’d barely recovered when she heard someone say, “I’m sorry”. Something about the voice made her smile as she turned to the white-haired gentleman standing near her table. His soft voice continued, “May I share your table until they can clean up that mess?”

Something--was it just simple courtesy, her loneliness, or that certain something about his voice, that made her relax her normally strict scruples and agree pleasantly? “Please do! It certainly is crowded here today. Is it because no one wants to be alone on Valentine’s Day?”

He smiled warmly as he replied, “Yes this is one day that should be shared with a loved one”. Then he added softly, “If you have one”. Mentally he thanked his own special Cupid for nudging him to eat here today when this lovely woman seemed so alone. Certainly the poor employee, who had caused such chaos in the aisle at just the right time, deserved his grateful appreciation. As he sat down he explained, “I am John Cowens. I spend a lot of my time at the Senior Center near by, so I rarely go out to eat. I don’t know why I decided to eat here today.”

Emily Forbes told him her name and that she ate here nearly every day. They started to eat their food when suddenly they both burst into laughter. They had ordered the exact same meal.

All too soon they were finished with their meal and no longer had an excuse to linger together in the busy place. As they stepped outside into the cold, windy afternoon, they were both occupied with thoughts of their lonely lives.

Suddenly John blurted out, “Emily please come over to the Center with me. Surely Cupid was responsible for our meeting each other and I want to become better acquainted with you”.

Emily’s dark eyes sparkled as she responded gaily, “That sounds wonderful. I didn’t want to be alone on this day”. As they walked toward the Center, John decided he would send flowers to the unlucky restaurant worker, surely a Cupid in disguise. Emily felt her unhappiness slipping away when John took her hand as they stepped over a rough spot. She was sure this was an end of all her lonely days.

Story ID:	431
Written by:	Gail Lee Martin (bio, contact, other stories)
Organization:	Kansas Authors Club
Story type:	Fiction
Location:	Wichita Kansas USA
Year:	1997