Page 3 - Down On His Luck

“Look, I know you don’t know me, but it’s Thanksgiving and I got detained at work
yesterday so my flight to see my family doesn’t leave until later tonight. I’m going to miss
Thanksgiving dinner with them and I was just heading to Rigario’s Restaurant for its
Thanksgiving special. I made a reservation for one, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem to add
another. How about it?” Charlotte asked. “Oh, you must already have plans with your own
family,” she said.

“I was on my way to my brother’s, but I can head over to his place later. If you don’t
mind, can I use your phone to call him since mine is broken?”

“Sure.” Charlotte handed the phone to Henry and his body tingled when their fingers
touched. “Okay, all good. I told him I’ll be over later for beer and football.”

At the restaurant, Henry ordered all the Thanksgiving trimmings from turkey to stuffing,
mashed potatoes, cranberry, string beans and a glass of white wine. He took the liberty of
ordering for Charlotte, per her request. He wondered how he was going to pay for dinner.
Charlotte did invite him, but how would it look if she paid. His credit card was just about to max
out, but he had no choice, he’d have to use it.

“So, Henry, what do you do for a living?”

Henry put his fork down, sighed and took a sip of wine. It was a question he knew would
come up, and now he had to be honest. “I’m out of work. I was a computer programmer, but
the company I worked for downsized and here I am. I’ve been interviewing, but it’s difficult
because of my age, even though I’m great at what I do, not to sound conceited. I have a part-
time job in an electronics store, but it doesn’t pay enough to cover my rent and it doesn’t have
medical benefits.” Embarrassed, Henry gulped his wine and let it settle in his stomach. “It was
all I could find. I needed something, and my manager is a nice guy. He knows about my
situation and doesn’t give me a hard time when I need to take off or leave early for interviews.
He wanted to hire me full-time, but of course, his boss’s son has the full-time position.”

Charlotte placed her hand on Henry’s and smiled. “I feel your unfortunate situation is
about to change. If you’d excuse me, I need to use the rest room,” she said and walked away
leaving Henry baffled.

After what seemed like an eternity, Henry began to wonder where Charlotte was. He
ordered dessert, and the coffee was getting cold. He hungered for the pumpkin pie that sat
before him untouched. It had been long enough, he thought. He waved his hand and the waiter
came over.

“Excuse, me. Do you think one of the women waitresses could check the women’s
bathroom? My friend has not returned in a long time,” Henry asked.

The waiter stared at Henry, his face cringed.