The Note

"Check, please," I said as the waiter walked by not once, but twice. He'd been super nice up until this time, and I'd been considering leaving a tip much higher than my usual 15-18%. But with each pass, his tip for good service was disappearing like a puff of smoke in a strong breeze.

"Check, please," I yelled a little too loud for my own comfort. He slowed this time, stared into my eyes, and said "One moment".  Those gorgeous blue eyes that my friend and I had been giggling over were all of a sudden cold and icy.

"Humph. He's going to mess around and get no tip," I said under my breath.

My friend Pam laughed. "We can leave him a tip. A tip of the day. Look both ways before crossing a busy street."

We both laughed a bit too hard. We quieted down when our waiter was standing at our table, placing the black sleeve containing our bill on the table with shaky hands.  He slowly backed away, all the while maintaining perfect eye contact.

"He better hope we pay this damn bill. He better hope we don't do it like we use to back in the day. Just up and leave. No tip. No paying for this meal. No nothing."

"I know that's right," Pam said.

I opened the bill sleeve. At least he remembered to give the twenty percent discount on our meal. Coupons are the best.

There was something scribbled across the bottom of my bill.

"Someone just called in a bomb threat. There's a bomb under table Two, Section 15. That is your table. If you get up from the table, it will blow. So DON'T MOVE."

Pam was gathering her coat. "Come on, let's go."

"No," I yelled.  "No, let's stay. I want dessert."

"But you said you were full. And you said we had to be outta here by eight so you can pick up Johnny."

Johnny, my sweet baby boy, would have to wait, I thought.

"No," I repeated as I gently waved my hand in the air to get the waiters attention. This wasn't necessary, as he was staring at me.

"Yes," he said, barely above a whisper.

I handed the bill to him. "I got your message. Loud and clear.  The hot fudge sundae would be a great addition to our meal. We'll take two."


Afterword 

This story is actually from a writing prompt given by my gub'ment writing group. It's from a page of prompts and I chose this one. The prompt should be easy to see, as it was a waiter runs up on you and give you a note. What does it say?  (Something like that).

I tend to be a bit on the violent side in my writing. My first thought was a waiter handing a person a note about a bomb. It's not realistic, but hey... it's just a story.

Now, I have no idea where that story goes. But, I have a book titled Plot and Structure, and there's a suggestion in there concerning plot.  When there's a big turning point in a story, one should write TEN different scenarios... and choose the craziest one, the one that's original and out the box. The instructor of my last writing class said write TWENTY different scenarios and choose the most shocking.

 I have written three scenarios and I'm shocked already.  I think I will try to write that twenty. I tend to have a one track mind, and this will definitely break it up.

No telling what I will come up with.