The restaurant was filled with sounds of violins and the soft tinkling of wine glasses. there were two cocktails on the table, hers and the one with melted ice by the empty armchair opposite her. behind her at the wooden counter stood the waiter, waiting attentively for her order.
Vivian Campbell was waiting for her husband to arrive to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary.
from time to time, she would consciously take a sip of her cocktail, feeling rather annoyed that he would be late on such an important day. Then again, he was an important man, and it couldn’t be helped that he was being held back at the office. She’d just have to wait a little bit longer before he arrived.
as she waited, she couldn’t help but to feel a bit uncomfortable. She was not oblivious to the fact that her husband didn’t get along with the manager of this restaurant, so it came as a surprise to her when he said he wanted to dine here. But since he owned this chain of restaurants, it wasn’t an issue for them to dine in whichever one they wanted to, so that put her mind to rest.
Just as it was ten minutes to nine, Kevin Campbell entered the restaurant with his hair blown back and his tie over his shoulder. He carefully smoothed his clothes out as he was led to the table by the waiter, and sank heavily into the armchair the moment that it was pulled out for him.
“Sorry, dear. the office was in a mess, and of course, I had to sort it out. I came as soon as I could,” he said sheepishly, sounding slightly out of breath.
“Darling, it’s alright. Oh! the cocktail I ordered for you isn’t cold anymore; I should have waited for you to arrive before I ordered. I hope you don’t mind,” she replied, secretly relieved that he even turned up after all.
Reassured, he gave her a smile, and seeing that he had sat down comfortably, the waiter placed the menu in front of him. He took the menu and lazily flipped through it, casually glancing at each page. She complacently watched him read the menu, having already chosen her food the moment she arrived at the restaurant. She already knew what he would choose, for they always came to this restaurant to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and year after year, he would always choose the same dish. this was one of the many things she knew about him without any communication necessary.
She waved to the waiter, but instead, the manager of the restaurant himself came to take their order.
“Good evening, mr. and mrs. Campbell. I’m aware that it’s your anniversary today, so I’ve got something special planned for you. But for now, how may I help you?”
“Ah! You must be the manager that my husband speaks so highly of! I’d like two of these, and I’ll certainly be looking forward to what you’ve prepared for us,” she replied warmly. this year, Vivian would try the same dish as her husband.
Her husband nodded pertly at the manager as he collected the menus and swept away.
Suddenly, a waiter reappeared before her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. the dish you chose is not available, unless you’d like us to cook it with another type of meat instead of pork,” he said, taking a sidelong glance at her husband.
“Oh, do cook it with another meat! this dish is my husband’s absolute favourite. He’d be disappointed if he couldn’t have it this year,” she said.
The waiter nodded once again and swept away.
Just then, something rang loudly. Kevin Campbell fumbled about in his briefcase and fished out his noisy, ringing phone. Hurriedly, he said an ‘Excuse me’ to Vivian and started getting out of his chair to exit the restaurant, saying into his phone, “Sorry, who is this? Oh…you again. Outside the restaurant? Right now? Alright, I’m coming.”
She took a glance after him and sighed heavily. this had happened before, and she had gotten quite used to it. Their anniversary each year would almost always be interrupted by his work affairs, and this has gone on for thirty years already.
So she sat there idly by herself, waiting for her husband to come back in and for the food to be served. Diners gradually started leaving, leaving only her and a few other couples in the restaurant. She fiddled with her napkin, wondering why it took him so long just to take a call.
If only he could be back with me right now, she thought aloud.
Right at that moment, the manager reappeared. Delicately, he lowered a single steaming dish onto the table before her and stepped back, watching her closely.
“I hope you won’t mind me intruding, but your husband seemed like he would be taking quite some time. If there’s anything else you’d like, don’t hesitate to call for me.”
“Wait, I ordered two of these!” she cried out.
Almost as if he hadn’t heard her, he left the table, leaving her feeling slightly confused. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but the waiter seemed to be acting weirdly.
No matter what, it was getting late, and she was getting hungry. It felt impolite to st
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