Table for two?

I’ve always loved going out to eat. Whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I guess I just like food. I’m a very observant person when it comes to being in public places I’m not familiar with. I love seeing happy families share meals and watching nervous teenagers on their first date. Going out to eat was something I never dreaded, besides today. 

Today, my mother and I went shopping. I can’t remember a time when we went shopping and didn’t go out to eat after. Shopping is a sport and gets very tiring, so you have to fuel up after. We decided to go to Panera Bread. We ordered our food on the mobile kiosk, like we usually do and then sat down at an open booth. It wasn’t super busy inside, which was nice. As we are sitting waiting for our food, I look around my surroundings to cure my boredom. The booth in front of my mother and me held two teenage girls, who I assumed were friends. There was a mother with two younger children at a table across the restaurant. Our pager (which notifies us that our food is ready) went off and startled me as it vibrated on the hard table, it interrupted my people watching. My mother and I got up from our seats and went to the counter to get our food and cups. We placed our food down to get our drinks, we both got the green tea, it’s so good. We were both starving, so we basically ate in silence. I was in a good mood, I just got new things and my stomach was happy. 

I finished my food before my mom, so I observed around me again while I waited for her to finish up. My good mood only lasted a minute when I saw an older man sitting alone at the table in the corner. My smile dropped. That is the one thing I absolutely hate about going out to eat. The one thing that makes it not perfect. I hate seeing people alone, but especially old people. One thing I’ve noticed is that old people tend to love the company of others. No one deserves to be alone, although I understand that some people enjoy their alone time. But who really wants to go out to eat by themself? The man was probably mid-seventies if I had to guess. His hair was white and thin, and his face was wrinkled. His frown was the thing that stood out to me the most. I couldn’t look a second longer, it was breaking my heart. I engaged in a conversation with my mom to distract myself. 

My mom finished her food, but we sat there for a few extra minutes because we got carried away in our conversation. It was time for us to head back home, so we got up from our seats to throw our trash away. We were about an hour away from home so I decided to use the bathroom. As I walked in the bathroom, a short older lady held the door for me with a smile on her face. I used the bathroom, washed my hands then left to meet back up with my mom. We started walking towards the exit, but I couldn’t resist but to look over at the man who was sitting alone. I looked over, but this time there was another person sitting across from him. It was the woman who walked out of the bathroom and held the door for me. They were holding hands on the table. The man was facing my direction with a big smile on his face. My smile then returned to my face. My day was made knowing that the old man who was a stranger to me was not eating alone.