That Stupid Little Waiter

Chapter 6 - Rain in Your Eyes

"Pst, hey Bernard, you..."

"Yeah, I noticed." The chef whispered back to his coworker. He didn't have to wait for him to him to know what he wanted to say, as it was rather obvious and completely different from what they were used to in their daily repetitive schedule. "He's been pacing back and forth all morning, like he's waiting for some-"

"Bernard."

"Y-Yes chef!" Bernard quickly turned to look at his boss Vincent, trying his best not to look like he was sweating bullets. He had not been here for too long, at least not as long as some other veteran chefs here, but he was at least here for enough time to know if Vincent ever approached you in the middle of work, it could either mean two things-trouble or disaster. It rarely ever meant something good, as he usually left you alone to your work and would only step in when you messed up, and everyone here knew he did not like his employees messing up.

However, both he and his coworker Denis took good one look at Vincent and could tell their boss wasn't like his usual self today. Instead of a collected, occasionally pissed off chef that looked like he wanted to give up on life sometimes, they saw a nervous, almost antsy man with his arms crossed and a body that seemed as though it could not stop moving, otherwise he would get even more overwhelmed than he already was. Even his voice was unlike how it normally was. The calm, monotone voice that he usually carried was now replaced by one that wavered as he spoke.

"Did you see Rody come in yet?"

Bernard and Denis shot each other a quick glance, and both of them could just catch that the other person had the exact same thought. Bernard almost couldn't hold back a snicker so Denis jumped in to answer Vincent instead, before they were both yelled at. "No, chef."

"Damn it." Vincent gritted his teeth, becoming even more frustrated than before.

Bernard knew this could be the end of him, but curiosity got the best of him. "Chef, may I ask why-you wanted to ask about Rody-"

"Well, those dishes aren't going to serve themselves now, are they?"

"U-Understood, chef!"

Bernard and Denis both scurried back to their work, both very well aware that one more push and it would not go well for them, or the rest of their coworkers. But that was not until they exchanged another glance, giggling to each other as they both knew what the other was thinking-it probably wasn't the real reason Vincent was so anxious about Rody's arrival. And they were right, but for the wrong reason.

During his entire life, Vincent had spent many sleepless nights before, but not for a person, especially not someone like Rody. However, turned out he could be sleepless for someone like Rody, from the way he couldn't fall asleep despite having lied in his bed for hours last night. One night had never felt so long to Vincent before. Each waking second was long like an eternity and each minute he failed to sleep was torturous. He squeezed his eyes shut, tossed himself back and forth, pulled the cover over his head, did some work to tire himself out, took deep breaths... yet nothing worked, and his mind refused to shut up, specifically about Rody and what just transpired just a hour before when the party just ended. His thoughts, they kept on running, they wouldn't stop, they were all filled with Rody, and they kept reminding him of what would've happened if Vincent had not snapped out and pushed Rody onto this very bed he was curled up on. Those thoughts, they were too much, and moreover, they were not of Vincent, at least that was what he wanted to tell himself. Something was wrong with him, the Vincent Charbonneau he worked so hard to maintain would not dare let them have the chance to even manifest. The Vincent Charbonneau he knew was a man of ambitions, not someone who would meddle with such minor, silly little matters. The only thing that helped put him to sleep was reassuring himself that tomorrow morning, he would look Rody in the eyes and said he was purely just upset, that it was a mistake, and he was terribly sorry.