In all her years, Marley had never quite worked in a place as charming as Hooked. A seafood diner? Who would’ve thought? Certainly not the girl, who’d been making her way through the menu with the help of the chef, and had yet to find an item on it she didn’t enjoy. The fish and chips, as basic as it was, had to be the best she’d ever had, and was what she’d just had her coworker whip up for her as she was sent on her thirty. What a wrong time, too. Just as Marley exited the kitchen with her plate, she was made aware of the fact that the place was packed. Luckily, they were staffed enough to handle it, but unluckily, the crowd left Marley with not a place to sit. Unaware she’d stopped next to a customer’s table, her eyes scanned over the crowd, trying to see if anyone looked ready to leave. It was only the sound of the man’s voice next to her that drew her attention to him, a flustered smile finding it’s way to her lips.
“Lunch rush. What can you do?” She teased. Truthfully, it warmed her heart to see the place so packed. In the short time she’d known Emilia, the owner, Marley had been able to tell how much she genuinely cared about the place, and in return, the people who frequented it seemed to, as well. It was a lovely thing, the power of a small community. It was just a shame that Marley had never felt this sort of pride for her own.
The polite thing to do would have been to turn him down. Realistically, sharing a table with a stranger couldn’t have been something that truly interested the man, but Marley was one to take people at their word. If he offered, she was going to accept–graciously, of course. With a kind smile and a nod of her head, she placed her plate down across from him and slid on in. “Why, thank you–” She waited for a name to insert.
The offer to take the seat across from him had been genuine, so there was no spark of surprise in his eyes as the woman took the spot but a second or so later. Her business was none of his, so if she had decided to not take him up on the offer, well, it was certainly no loss of his own. When it came to meals, however, he always liked to have someone around, someone to share the occasion with, even if it were just his dog at home. And when “no pets allowed” signs prevented his hound from hovering nearby, well, he was more than happy to allow a stranger to fill that void whenever possible.
He had nearly missed the prompt for his name, and caught in a bit of a daze, the Delaware native allowed his spoon to slide into place in the bowl, extending his hand to the young woman as if he were unexpectedly meeting the Queen or some great royalty. Swallowing his most recent mouthful of lunch, the man offered a smile, nodding as he provided what she was searching for: “Clive. Nice to meet you.”
