Short Story Page 4

The waitress placed a plate of apple pie and ice cream on the counter in front of Marius, barely interrupting his daydream. She smiled wistfully, knowing full well the distracted look in her customer’s eyes. Working the night shift, she saw that look often. She quietly left the check under his plate and left him to his thoughts.

Marius picked at his pie, sipped at his coffee. He kept thinking of ways to bump into Cosette at the theatre. He felt he needed to take her to dinner. He had an uncontrollable urge to kiss her full lips. But then, he thought about why she would even be remotely interested in him. After all, he was just a band geek. He played drums for an orchestra. He was positive that there were men pining for her that were better than he.

After a while, Marius stood and left some cash on the counter for his midnight snack. He sauntered out of the diner, still mulling over the possibility of dinner with Cosette. He got to his car and sat behind the steering wheel, not starting it just yet. All of a sudden, Marius slammed his steering wheel with the palms of his hands. He started berating himself for not being a gentleman and offering Cosette a ride home. And after she helped him! Right then, he devised a scheme by which he could innocently 'bump into her' the following day at the theater.

With that thought, Marius started his car, put it in gear and roared off toward home. Once home, he went directly to the bathroom. Stripping down and starting the shower, he stepped in and stood under the spray, excitedly thinking about the scheme he thought of. After about a half hour, he figured it was late. He climbed out, dried off and climbed into bed. And, like Cosette, once his head hit the pillow, he conked out for the night in to a dream-filled sleep.


Cosette awoke early the next morning. Sitting up in bed, she stretched. Her muscles were achy from the night before. She made a beeline for the kitchenette where she immediately started the coffee maker. While the coffee was brewing, she showered and dressed. Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she made her way out to her little balcony. Since it was still early, she could watch the sun rise and reflect a little before heading over to the theatre.

She thought about her life as it was right then. She was just promoted to soloist with the ballet company. She was dancing her dream role. She had her own apartment. She didn’t have much, but she had the essentials. Her body ached, but once under the lights, all the aches went away. Cosette felt mainly content.

And yet, something gnawed at her. She had a sinking feeling that something was missing. She had no life partner. Why did her chance meeting with Marius think of a life partner? Oh, she dated here and there as her dance schedule allowed. Many times, though, her schedule conflicted with having a social life. Most of the men she met was at the company; she barely had time to go out for a drink! After dedicating her life to the dance, how could she even try to open her heart to love?

After what seemed like hours, but in reality was only 45 minutes, Cosette rose and brought her mug to the sink. Taking out her travel mug, she readied herself a cup for the walk to the theatre. On her way out the door, she grabbed her dance bag and set off for the theatre.