Nay

  We met on a chilly Thursday morning in March. It was March 4th, 2010 to be exact. I got dressed for work, promised myself I would finish some school assignments after work and headed off around 6:45. The early morning flew by as I greeted everyone with a warm smile and "Welcome to Bojangles, how are you doing this morning?" Nothing that morning was out of the ordinary. Until around 8:30. Entering from the left side of the building (which was the wrong way) were 4 men dressed in firefighter uniforms. There were 2 men light skinned, older and bald. There was one another man... can't quiet remember how he looked... and then there was the last man. Tall, young, dark-brown skinned, well groomed, extremely handsome and looking straight into my eyes with a slight smile on his face. Now I was used to all kinds of guys trying to get my number and asking me out. But this man... who could have been any man... I wanted. I was so mesmerized by him that it wasn't until they reached the front counter that I realized I had been grinning the whole time and I hadn't greeted them. He stood to the side as the other men ordered their food and made jokes. After he was finished ordering, one of the older men (who I was later told was Captain Medlock) looked at the ring on my left hand said "Is that real?"  I looked at the ring my mom gave me as a gift on my 16th birthday little over a month and a half ago. It was the wedding ring my father gave her. "Yes." I replied. I only wore it on my left hand because I thought it would stop guys trying to talk to me if they saw the ring and thought I was married. "No it ain't," he joked. "Tell you what, he'll-- nudging to the tall young man-- he'll get a real one!" The tall man and I sort of giggled while the other men were cracking up. This was it. It was time for him to order his food. The first time we would actually talk to each other since the 3 minutes he came in. "And what can I get for you?" I said trying hard to stop smiling which would have been easy if he'd did something stupid or rude. But he didn't. He asked for two egg cheese biscuits. Being the sales woman that I naturally am, I tried to get him to get something else, something that would cost more money. I said "Would you like to try the Cajun filet biscuit? It’s delicious. I have it every day for lunch." He tried to protest but I insisted "Just try it and tell me what you think." He ended up getting it but I wasn't through with him yet. I also got him to donate to some charity which he was supposed to be raising money for himself. I ran his card and asked him his name so I could put it on the paper. Chuck. I wrote it down and he asked me how to say my name. I said "It's pronounced like Nay-year-uh." Then he asked me if he could have my number. Normally I would say "No, that's against the rules." But nothing in me wanted to say that to this man, so I didn't. I said "No, but I can have yours and I'll text you when I get a minute. We're about to get a rush." He was about to give me his number when some other people came in. He stepped back as I took their orders and as soon as they were done he walked back up to me. He gave me his number but we both knew it was past time for him to go. I gave him his Cajun filet biscuit and promised to text him.