You Get To The Restaurant

The town centre is pretty much dead, as usual. You pull into Crescent car park. The light’s almost gone now, the glow from the shopfronts and streetlamps reflecting on the damp pavement.

You lock the car, tucking your bag close under your arm as you walk toward Wildwo*d. The restaurant’s warm light spills out through tall windows, the clink of cutlery and low hum of conversation drifting onto the street every time the door opens.

Your pace slows as you get closer, scanning through the glass until you spot him. He’s at a table near the back. He’s leaning back slightly, one arm over the chair beside him, scrolling on his phone.

You push the door open, the warmth of the restaurant washing over you. The smell of pizza ovens and grilled meat mingles with the faint tang of red wine in the air.

A waitress greets you at the door, asking if you’ve booked. You nod toward him. “I’m meeting someone.”

She follows your glance, smiles knowingly, and gestures you through. The soles of your boots make a muted thud against the wooden floor as you weave between tables.

He looks up as you approach, slipping his phone into his pocket. His eyes hold yours a fraction longer than politeness demands before he stands. “Emma?”

You nod, returning the faint smile. “Hi.”

You take the seat opposite him, the table between you suddenly feeling smaller than it looked from the door. The menu’s already open in front of him, but his attention’s still on you.

There’s a flicker of something, not recognition exactly, but that shift when someone sees you in real life for the first time and compares it to the version in their head.

You set your bag down beside your chair, smoothing your top as you sit. Your phone’s in there, the screen dark, you know Tom will be looking at his around now, knowing you’ve arrived.

The waiter passes by with a bottle of wine for another table, the scent of it catching you for a moment. You glance back at the man across from you, wondering, not for the first time, how this night will end, and whether you’ll be the one deciding.