Friday night

It’s just about sunset and there’s a bright red lining on the horizon. It’s the best sunset I’ve seen in months. I’m about 300 yards away from my field site and I could see two cars in the parking lot and another in the drive thru.

As I was walking in a male customer was exiting. I walked up to the counter and placed my order. Then I walked over to the last table in the northeast corner of the building.

Excluding myself, there were only two customers in the restaurant. Both were seated at one table and they were conversing in English. I suspect that they are mother and daughter. From now on I will refer to them as Mary and Jill. Mary seems to be in her forties; she has long black hair, olive skin and a mole on her forehead. Jill is a teenager, probably eighteen and looks very much like her mother. They sat across from each other and seemed to be enjoying their meal. Jill had her IPod on the table and her cellphone in her hand. Like most teenagers she seemed to have multitasking down to perfection as she was texting and conversing with mom at the same time.

Wayne the waiter seemed occupied out back, probably checking the logistics and making sure everything was in order. Wayne’s dad, the cook, could be seen preparing my order in the kitchen. The juicers could be heard running and the TV was once again on the sports channel.

Finally someone could be seen parking outside. A young lady wearing a black dress exited the vehicle and came into the restaurant. We’ll call her Beyoncé. She was a tall dark skinned girl with medium length curly hair and beautiful brown eyes. Beyoncé seems to be in her late twenties.  She ordered and sat at the table in front of the counter. I observed her for some time and what was strange was that she didn’t have an engagement ring on her finger. She rarely stared at her phone and seemed to be enjoying her meal. It seems like she’s just a beautiful single woman.

Mary and Jill finished up and left. The drive thru seemed to be in full swing as I observed about seven cars gone and more are still in line.

The door opens and a woman with her daughter enter the restaurant. The little girl yells “daddy!” I looked back and I saw her running towards Wayne the waiter. He picked her up and gave her a kiss. His wife also followed behind. They seemed to be in good spirit; I mean what more could you as a man ask for at the end of the day than to see his family.

I finish up my plate and walked over to the trash to empty my trey. I approached the counter and paid for my food. Wayne said “gracias y hasta luego” which means thanks for coming and see you again. I then stepped out into the night.