The One That Gets Away

The woman sitting by herself sighed heavily while looking out the restaurant's window. It had rained recently and the droplets could still be seen on the glass, which seemed to be a perfect fit for her mood. Walter, who worked as a waiter, couldn't believe how pretty she was, especially right now. Her hair, makeup, and dress all managed to give her an aura of elegance few could pull off.

Walter felt a pang of jealousy towards the date the woman was waiting for. At least he assumed it was a date. He couldn't imagine anyone getting that dolled up for just any dinner. Clearly it was some sort of special anniversary.

It was a slow day at the restaurant and Walter's curiosity about the woman was getting the best of him. Going over to refill her water, he asked, "Still waiting for your date?"

The woman broke out of her trance and said, "Pardon?"

"Sorry." Walter couldn't help but notice how even more radiant the woman looked from up close. He actually had to suppress a blush and thought, Pull yourself together, Walter. She's just a woman, you talk to those every day. Continuing, he said, "I just assumed that you were waiting for your boyfriend or husband."

"Oh," the woman replied, smiling warmly as she did so. "He is very important to me" She leaned towards Walter and- as if it was a great secret- said, "But I'm not sure if I would call this a date."

"So is he not your boyfriend, then?" Walter asked in a tone he prayed didn't sound too hopeful.

She shook her head. "No, I don't think I could call him that." She smiled again, clearly thinking about him. "I care about him deeply though," she said fondly. "He completes me."

Walter winced a little when he heard the woman gush about this man. Even if they weren't dating, she was clearly head over heels in love with him. It was only a matter of time that she and her crush got together, especially if she always talked about him like that.

Still, even with the bitter sting of indirect rejection, another part of Walter was glad for the happy couple. During his time as a waiter, he saw his fair share of bad relationships. Fights over the pettiest things tended to erupt frequently in the restaurant, always leaving the entire room tense. 

It was a welcome change of pace to see someone truly in love. Inspired by his sudden romantic fervor, Walter asked, "Are you ever going to tell him your feelings? Make things official between you two?"

He instantly regretted the personal question and felt that he had gone too far to ask a stranger such a thing. To his relief, the woman didn't look at all bothered and just said, "Oh, no, I don't think we'll ever make it 'official.' And I'd like to think he knows how I feel about him already."

Lowering her voice in a confidential manner, she said, "To tell you the truth, I haven't known him for too long. I only met him a month ago." She closed her eyes, as if she was picturing him sitting across from her. "I saw him while he was working, and it was love at first sight. I admired how much passion and drive he had, similar to my own. Do you know that feeling? Caring about your job so much you wouldn't trade it for anything?"

Walter was a waiter, so his answer was no. But not wanting to interrupt her story, he nodded.

"You see, his job is to...inspect art. And every artist is curious about how their work will be seen, so I made sure to watch him as he examined mine. To my surprise, he actually cried when he saw what I did! That's when I knew that he understood me more than anyone ever will." Her face shifted into a more somber expression. "More than anyone would ever want to."

The woman was silent for a moment, and Walter took the time to absorb everything he had just heard. As he had expected, the woman's love for this man was surreal, and something he wouldn't have believed to be true unless he had seen it firsthand. But there was still one question burning in his mind, so he asked it.

"Why don't you think you'll ever make it official?"

She smiled mischievously, like she had a joke to share. "It's quite simple. He hates me."

Walter was astounded by her response. "Hates you?"

"Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit by saying he hates me," she said, still upbeat despite the shift in the conversation. "After all, he doesn't know my real name or know what I look like. But I'd like to think that I have a special place in his heart like he has in mine."

Walter kept expecting the woman to tell him that she was joking, but she did no such thing. Oddly enough, she seemed just as enthusiastic about this man's possible hatred towards her as she was about her love for him. Right when he was about to ask her if she was pulling his leg, she brought her phone out and grinned when she saw her screen.

She stood up and said, "Thanks for the chat. It was really lovely meeting you, but I have to go. He's finally there." She pulled out cash from her purse and laid it on the table. "This really is a wonderful restaurant. I'll make sure to suggest it to him and his husband."

With that, she took off.

***

The detective walked out of the crime scene, and had that sick feeling he was beginning to become all too familiar with. The serial killer he was trying to catch was a sick man, if he could even be called a man. It still made his eyes water when he remembered the first murder the killer had committed.

Walking towards his car, he saw people gathered outside the house the murder had taken place in. A woman in the crowd stood out like a sore thumb in her extravagant dress, and had obviously just come from a special occasion.

The detective felt a chill when he thought he saw the woman smile. Deciding that it was just his mind playing tricks on him, he got into his car and drove away.