ONE
The dark-haired young man came into the diner at 4 a.m.,
just an hour before Casey Brightwell’s shift ended. He looked nervous and a
little confused, but seemed also relieved as he stepped through the door. He
was a bit underdressed for the weather, only a tee-shirt, jeans, and a flannel
over shirt, despite the fact that there was at least a heavy jacket’s worth of chill
outside.
He glanced around, taking in the diner’s sleek white and red
décor, and the five other people in the diner. Aside from Casey, there was a
tall man standing at the grill, two older men sitting at a table, and an older
woman sitting at the counter. Casey noted the young man glance over all of them
with a bit of a wary look, then sat down at the far end of the counter, away
from them all. He let out a long breath, closing his eyes, then opening them
again, to look at the assembled group almost studiously.
The other four gave him a glance, the grill man and the
older woman giving him a nod, the two men at the counter continuing their own
conversation. Casey, dutifully came up to him and offered a warm smile. “Howdy,
stranger. You look like you’ve got yourself a little turned around.”
“That obvious, huh?” the young man said.
Casey nodded. “Only diner around for miles, we get some
folks who get lost in the middle of the night. Would you like a coffee?”
He looked at Casey, then back at the others, who were
ignoring him, then back at Casey. He gave her a once-over, then hesitantly
said, “Yeah. Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.” He spoke fluent English, but
there was an odd accent to his voice that Casey couldn’t place.
“Are you alright, sir?” said Casey, frowning a bit.
“I think so,” said the man, rubbing his eyes a bit. “I’m
sorry, I’m just tired.”
“I’ll bet,” said Casey. “Wee hours of the morning and all.”
She went to fetch the coffee and a mug. “I didn’t see you pull up,” she said.
“Did you break down out there?”
The man opened his mouth to say something, then closed it,
hesitating. “No,” he finally said.