The tearing of the receipt from the card machine shattered the
dead air. She handed me a pen and I quickly scratched my signature at the bottom. I looked up just as
she finished packing my food in a bag, double knotting it to keep the contents
in place for my drive.
"Here you go. Thank you! Have a nice day!"
There it was again, that smile. Her joy was infectious. I'd
never known anyone to be that genuinely happy at work, especially at what had
to be the end of her shift.
"Thank you." I replied.
DO IT. DO IT NOW!
My lips parted to speak, but I suddenly realized that at some point in the past minute I'd stopped breathing, something I was contractually obligated to do if I
expected my vocal chords to hold up their end of the bargain. My brain had also
decided to halt construction of coherent sentences, so all the words I'd
prepared earlier just seemed to tumble around in my head.
ABORT! ABORT! FLEE! FLEE!
I spun around, stumbled out the door, and collapsed back into the safety of my vehicle. I failed, and I wasn't going to let myself hear the end of it.
You idiot! Why are you making this so difficult? Get back in there RIGHT NOW. Whatever happens, you are going to remember this day for the rest of your life. This is one of those choices; the kind that could change everything. If you don't go in there and talk to her, you'll look back one day and regret it.
I hoisted myself from the seat of my vehicle, this time with renewed resolve. As I strolled across the parking lot, I pulled the scrap of paper from my pocket. I took a deep breath of the night air to calm my nerves. It didn't work.
Entering the restaurant, I strode quickly to the counter. She appeared from the kitchen and her smile turned to concern.
"Is everything OK?" she asked.
You got this.
I set the scrap of paper on the counter in front of her. The words sprayed from my mouth like a broken hydrant.
"heyifyoudonthaveaboyfriendIdlovetogettoknowyoubettergivemeacallifyoureinterested."
I did it! I won! I finished the sentence! Time to leave!