An Ordinary Short Story with an Extraordinary Twist
Heart Of Hollywood Magazine is proud to support talented writers, and K.E. Bosley is one of them. Remember this author’s name if you enjoy short stories! We are sharing one of them here, and we trust it will delight our readers with its charm and originality.
THE LUCKY OMELET
By K. E. Bosley
“Good afternoon, Sir. Welcome to the Bruch Dunch Café. How many in your party?”
“Just one, thank you,” Fred says to the hostess.
“It’s going to be about a forty-five minute wait. Is that okay? Or you can always dine at the bar section, but there may be a wait there as well.”
“Forty-five minutes? Usually it’s about fifteen. Well, I’m certainly not going to drive fifteen miles to another restaurant,” replies Fred. His words are tinged with cynicism, but his tone is calm.
“I’m sorry, Sir. It’s because of our unlimited soup and salad special. We’ve been slammed since 10:30 this morning. Here’s your beeper. We’ll buzz you when we have an available seat.”
The idea of waiting longer causes Fred’s stomach to growl like a lion in the wilderness, but he decides to stay. He sits in the lobby on a leather seat, long enough to accommodate at least a dozen or more customers. Twenty-five minutes later, Fred feels his right hand tremble from the beeper’s vibration.
“Well, twenty-five minutes was still a bit of a wait but certainly better than forty-five,” mumbles Fred.
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“This way, Sir. Your server will be right with you,” explains the hostess.
Fred takes off his tan fleece-lined jacket and places it on the cherry oak chair. He looks around the wide-open restaurant as if he’s never been there before. But it’s not the timber décor that catches his eyes; it’s the unusual number of people dining, which is a lot more than he prefers.
“Hi there, I’m Sylvia! I’ll be your server today. Can I start you off with something to drink?” the bubbly server asks while placing a menu on the table.
“Well, for starters, you can take back your menu. I’ll have the omelet with Jack cheddar, mushrooms, broccoli, onions, and red bell pepper with orange juice and a glass of water. Thank you,” Fred says bluntly.
“Perfect. Is there anything else I can get you?” she asks.
“No, that will be it.”
“All right then, I’ll go place your order.” The waitress returns with a glass of water and places it on the table.
As he waits for his omelet, Fred is getting annoyed with the noise level in the restaurant. Finally, the waitress arrives with a large plate and places it on the table. He looks down at the plate, then back up at the waitress, confused and frustrated. “Uh, Miss, I asked for an omelet, not scrambled eggs and sausage,” he utters.
“Oh, no, I’m so sorry about that, Sir. I’ll get your order out right away!” As the waitress grabs the plate, she knocks over his glass of water, luckily less than half full at this point. “Oh, Sir, I feel so bad! This is not a good way to start my first day.”
“Incredible … I waited almost twenty-five minutes to be seated, received the wrong order, and had water spilled on me … hmm, I’d say that everything is going quite smoothly.” Fred’s voice is still calm. “Just get my order, please.”
In a few minutes the waitress returns with Fred’s omelet. “Here you go, Sir. I explained what happened to the manager, and we’re not going to charge you for the omelet,” she says.
“Greatly appreciate it. Thank you,” says Fred. He gives thanks for his omelet, uses his fork to cut a two-inch piece, and places it in his mouth. His eyes roll back into his head with delight as he chews. The muscles in his face move like dancing waves as he savors every bite. Fred is more than content with his omelet.
Minutes later, the server stops by Fred’s table. “How was it?” she asks.
“It was all worth it.”
“Oh, I’m relieved and happy to hear,” she says. She walks over to check on another table.
Fred stands up, puts on his jacket, pulls out money from a jacket pocket, and leaves it on the table under his plate.
As Fred is walking away the waitress catches him and wishes him a great day. She heads back to his table to clear off his plate and screams, then quickly covers her mouth with her hand.
“Are you okay? What happened?” asks another worker.
“That customer who just left gave me a $500 tip,” she whispers.
“Whoa, that must have been some order. What did he have?”
“Just an omelet.”
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Find more info about the author
Website: www.evestinytales.com
E-mail: evestinytales@gmail.com or kebosley7@gmail.com
Instagram: @kbols22
LinkedIn: K.E. (Kim) Bosley
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