Glimpses

A few weekends ago, I waited on an odd couple. They interacted as if they had never met each other before. The female answered short, yet frequent phone calls – an act normally considered rude while out to eat.

As I approached the table, I tried to refrain from judgments.  I introduced myself...one, two, three seconds passed. The silence felt like an eternity, giving the table an extremely uncomfortable vibe heightening my senses.

Eventually, the elderly Caucasian, lazy eyed male looked up and straight into my soul. Though I was relieved that one of them broke the silence, my churning gut told me to run away and not look back.
http://thoughtcatalog.com/erin-cossetta/2013/12/33-servers-spill-their-unbelievable-customer-horror-stories-heres-why-they-deserve-good-tips/ (stories #2 &15).
 

Have you ever wished you had never looked into someone's eyes? It was defiantly one of those times because all I could see was the pain and suffering he had gone through.
 
This man was the poster child of the murderer from Lovely Bones: his thinned, combed over hair attempted to cover his bald spot; his crooked smile and bushy eye brows enhanced the dark circles under his eyes; his outdated brown 70’s suit and thick tie stated that he hasn't been out recently.

As a women, my intuition told me to keep my guard up.

The African-American female wore a red see through shirt. Her black push up, lace bra seemed to coordinate with her chest tattoo. It was not the short hot pink hair cut or the piercings that gave her away – it was her eyes: she was an escort.

I couldn't help but wonder where this girl’s mother was. Desperate to do something, I told my manager about the situation. He stopped by to do one of his check in’s with the customers.

After speaking with the table, my manager disclosed that the male customer seemed like he wanted to skin my manager and wear him as an outfit. I had never been more terrified of serving a table in my life.

Fighting the fear, I was also upset. I kept thinking about how one can become so lost in the world? These two characters could not have been more lost, together.

That’s the thing about serving, you get glimpses into people’s lives and sometimes those lives aren't so pretty as we tend to think. Though I may feel my chaos in the restaurant will never end, it is only a moment and it too shall pass - unlike those who are constantly in pain.

 I am grateful for the peaceful and free life that I choose to live . I am happy that I am able to go home to loving parents after a long, intense shift.

And now I leave it up to you reader. What and who are you thankful for?