The Middleland Cafe
by Deana Lauro
The thief pulled up a chair to the table. His hands were ragged and torn, the waitress noted the soiled bandages and wondered where this urchin had pulled in from.
The cafe was a little stopping off place in the universe for greatly loved souls on their way to their next destination. The folks at the Middleland Cafe didn’t mind how long you parked yourself in one of the cozy booths, but they did appreciate a good tip. The burly cook was infamous for standing at the door holding a spatula like a weapon if someone tried to take off without leaving the waitresses a little something to pad the pockets. He had never hit anyone, he actually was a dear old soul, but it worked in keeping customers behaving right toward the staff.
The young man had an anxiety about him that gave the waitress the slightest chill that crept up her back. But he smiled a sweet broken smile when he looked up at her. His eyes reminded her of something from long ago that she couldn’t quite place and they were grey like the clouds before a thunderclapper in May.
Splendid eyes, she thought to herself. “What’ll you have, darling?” The waitress called all pitiful looking souls darling, and this fellow looked like he had met up with the wrong side of heartache one time too many.
“Well, let’s see…” He looked down at the coffee-stained paper menu, overwhelmed by all of the choices. ”Well, if it’s alright with you, I think I’ll just have some water while I wait for my friend. He’s coming soon. He just said he had to see a few people first. He’ll be right along though, and when he orders, I promise he’ll be here in a minute,” he stammered nervously, “when he orders, I’ll just have what he’s having.”
“That’s fine, Darling. One water coming up. And I’ll stick my finger in it to make it taste a little sweet.” The young man looked perplexed by the waitress’s attempt to lighten his load with a laugh, but he still smiled up at her.
The tiniest bit of scarlet life snaked down the man’s wrist and landed on the paper in a single plop.
“Did you need something for your hands, son?”
The young man looked down and realized that deep shadowy blots had seeped into the now wet linen bandages. When he saw the blood on the menu, he looked up at the waitress with a shame-clouded face. His attempts to wipe the menu with a napkin left an awful sad red smear.
“Oh, ma’am, I am sorry. I am so so sorry. Please, I am so sorry, forgive me. I’ll go and wash up.”
“Not a worry. I’ve got bandages in the back. I’ll bring a couple to you.”
The young man was already in the bathroom by the time the waitress had gotten out the words.
The chimes on the front door rang as a new customer made their way in. Another tired and haggard fellow stopping in for a moment’s rest from the travels, the waitress thought. And then she stopped when he looked into her face. It’s Him, finally! He’s here. Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a soft exhale as she realized that this was the one who was due in this corner of the universe.
“Oh, Lord! It’s so good to see you! It’s just so good to see you! We heard you’d be coming around here!!” The waitress’s face glowed like a child on a birthday morning as she stood there looking at this new stranger.
He let a big grin take over his face, “Well, I sure am ready to be here. It’s been a long time, sister, a long time. I don’t think you were working here when I last came through. Good to see you, sister, it’s good to see you.
He took her hands into his like they were bosom friends. Her thumbs felt something thick and soft, from his palms to the wrists. She looked down. He had bandaged wounds just like the one she had just met.
“Oh, Lord, oh sirree, we want to make you something so good. Something that’ll stick with you on your trip back home.”
“Well, Lucille…” Why He knows my name!, she thought--the very idea of that warmed her chest and throat and a fresh blush bloomed into her face.
“Lucille, if I remember right this is the place for the best coffee and biscuits in this realm, so let’s make it coffee and biscuits.”
“My pleasure, my pleasure!”
“And Lucille, I do like my coffee black but could you stick your pinky finger into it to make it a little sweet? “
Lucille and The Customer stood there grinning at each other for a moment.
As the wounded man sat down, his young friend the thief met him at the table.
“I knew you’d make it, did you get everything taken care of, sir?”
“It’s all taken care of, at least for now. We can be on our way shortly.”
“I have to tell you, I like this place here, sir. It’s almost tempting to stay around these parts. Everybody I ran into coming into town was so kind and this waitress is a sweetheart.”
“Now you don’t know the half of it, little brother, the place where we’re going, that place I told you about when we were hanging from those poor trees, it truly is Paradise. You are going to finally understand what living is.” He nodded down at the thief’s hands, “And you’re going to heal there. You’ll heal all up. Don’t you worry. I tell you, you won’t even have scars there.”
The young man sat in wonder at that thought for a good long minute.
“What about you, Lord? Will you heal?”
The Master looked down at his palms and all at once felt a deep and heavy ache in his side. “No, son, I won’t heal like you. That’s not how it is there for me. I’m going to carry these wounds for a long, long time. As long as it takes.”
by Deana Lauro
The thief pulled up a chair to the table. His hands were ragged and torn, the waitress noted the soiled bandages and wondered where this urchin had pulled in from.
The cafe was a little stopping off place in the universe for greatly loved souls on their way to their next destination. The folks at the Middleland Cafe didn’t mind how long you parked yourself in one of the cozy booths, but they did appreciate a good tip. The burly cook was infamous for standing at the door holding a spatula like a weapon if someone tried to take off without leaving the waitresses a little something to pad the pockets. He had never hit anyone, he actually was a dear old soul, but it worked in keeping customers behaving right toward the staff.
The young man had an anxiety about him that gave the waitress the slightest chill that crept up her back. But he smiled a sweet broken smile when he looked up at her. His eyes reminded her of something from long ago that she couldn’t quite place and they were grey like the clouds before a thunderclapper in May.
Splendid eyes, she thought to herself. “What’ll you have, darling?” The waitress called all pitiful looking souls darling, and this fellow looked like he had met up with the wrong side of heartache one time too many.
“Well, let’s see…” He looked down at the coffee-stained paper menu, overwhelmed by all of the choices. ”Well, if it’s alright with you, I think I’ll just have some water while I wait for my friend. He’s coming soon. He just said he had to see a few people first. He’ll be right along though, and when he orders, I promise he’ll be here in a minute,” he stammered nervously, “when he orders, I’ll just have what he’s having.”
“That’s fine, Darling. One water coming up. And I’ll stick my finger in it to make it taste a little sweet.” The young man looked perplexed by the waitress’s attempt to lighten his load with a laugh, but he still smiled up at her.
The tiniest bit of scarlet life snaked down the man’s wrist and landed on the paper in a single plop.
“Did you need something for your hands, son?”
The young man looked down and realized that deep shadowy blots had seeped into the now wet linen bandages. When he saw the blood on the menu, he looked up at the waitress with a shame-clouded face. His attempts to wipe the menu with a napkin left an awful sad red smear.
“Oh, ma’am, I am sorry. I am so so sorry. Please, I am so sorry, forgive me. I’ll go and wash up.”
“Not a worry. I’ve got bandages in the back. I’ll bring a couple to you.”
The young man was already in the bathroom by the time the waitress had gotten out the words.
The chimes on the front door rang as a new customer made their way in. Another tired and haggard fellow stopping in for a moment’s rest from the travels, the waitress thought. And then she stopped when he looked into her face. It’s Him, finally! He’s here. Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a soft exhale as she realized that this was the one who was due in this corner of the universe.
“Oh, Lord! It’s so good to see you! It’s just so good to see you! We heard you’d be coming around here!!” The waitress’s face glowed like a child on a birthday morning as she stood there looking at this new stranger.
He let a big grin take over his face, “Well, I sure am ready to be here. It’s been a long time, sister, a long time. I don’t think you were working here when I last came through. Good to see you, sister, it’s good to see you.
He took her hands into his like they were bosom friends. Her thumbs felt something thick and soft, from his palms to the wrists. She looked down. He had bandaged wounds just like the one she had just met.
“Oh, Lord, oh sirree, we want to make you something so good. Something that’ll stick with you on your trip back home.”
“Well, Lucille…” Why He knows my name!, she thought--the very idea of that warmed her chest and throat and a fresh blush bloomed into her face.
“Lucille, if I remember right this is the place for the best coffee and biscuits in this realm, so let’s make it coffee and biscuits.”
“My pleasure, my pleasure!”
“And Lucille, I do like my coffee black but could you stick your pinky finger into it to make it a little sweet? “
Lucille and The Customer stood there grinning at each other for a moment.
As the wounded man sat down, his young friend the thief met him at the table.
“I knew you’d make it, did you get everything taken care of, sir?”
“It’s all taken care of, at least for now. We can be on our way shortly.”
“I have to tell you, I like this place here, sir. It’s almost tempting to stay around these parts. Everybody I ran into coming into town was so kind and this waitress is a sweetheart.”
“Now you don’t know the half of it, little brother, the place where we’re going, that place I told you about when we were hanging from those poor trees, it truly is Paradise. You are going to finally understand what living is.” He nodded down at the thief’s hands, “And you’re going to heal there. You’ll heal all up. Don’t you worry. I tell you, you won’t even have scars there.”
The young man sat in wonder at that thought for a good long minute.
“What about you, Lord? Will you heal?”
The Master looked down at his palms and all at once felt a deep and heavy ache in his side. “No, son, I won’t heal like you. That’s not how it is there for me. I’m going to carry these wounds for a long, long time. As long as it takes.”
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