Mario - A Story - 2

Tate watched the interplay between the two men from his seat on the other side of the restaurant. Whatever was going on between the dark-haired waiter and his obviously upset customer had to be personal Tate thought. At least if the glare the hulking blonde sent after the waiter was any indication.

‘None of my business,’ Tate admonished himself.

He had his own problems to deal with, not the least of which was the fact that his last client had been less than pleased with the results of his investigation. She’d been certain her husband was cheating on her and would not take no, or evidence to the contrary, as an acceptable answer. She had stormed out of Tate’s office this morning, shouting over her shoulder that she would not pay him for such ‘shoddy’ work.

He went back to his immediate concern, what to have for lunch. As he scanned the menu he heard a loud noise and looked up just in time to see the blonde man slam his hand down on the counter again, stand, and stalk out of the restaurant. Tate glanced at the waiter to see relief mixed with fear cross his face before he turned away when an older man said something to him. The waiter shook his head vehemently before he went back to tending to his customers.

Tate felt sorry for the kid. ‘Well not a kid,’ he thought. ‘He’s got to be mid-twenties, give or take.’ But the waiter was small for a man, maybe five-nine at best, and slender. And cute in a dark, Italian way that he suspected would ooze smoldering sexual intensity under the right circumstances.

He quickly pulled his mind back from that train of thought. The waiter was obviously taken, even if he didn’t seem too happy about it at the moment. Besides, Tate was not in the market for a lover or even a casual one-night-stand. That sort of complication he didn’t need in his life right now. Not until his divorce was final.

‘At least it’s only another week ‘til that happens,’ he thought, uncertain still whether he should be happy or morose about the fact. He did love Miranda in his own way but it had become increasingly clear after the first few years that love hadn’t been enough for either of them. She wanted him to move on from being a self-employed private investigator to something else that would give them more time together, and more money to spend when they were.

He on the other hand loved what he did, all the more so because he didn’t have to answer to anyone but himself. Then there was the fact that as time went on he found he was back to where he’d been in college, looking at men with as much interest, or more, than he did at Miranda. She had been aware from the start that he was bi-sexual, he’d never hidden that fact. However he had fallen in love with her and had never once thought of straying during their marriage.

Love changes though they had both found out. Theirs went from that to fondness and finally to two people sharing the same house and somehow wishing they didn’t. Being reasonable, sensible adults they’d talked it over and in the end had decided that divorce was the answer for both of them.

“Are you ready to order, sir?” The waitress’s voice brought Tate back to the present. He nodded, did so, and when she’d left he picked up his book, opened it to where he’d left off and began reading.