An Autumn Afternoon

“Thank you,” Alaina smiled and slid a ten and five-dollar bill across the bar, “keep it.”

“You sure?” Kreg asked, raising his eyebrows — enlarging his owl-like eyes.

“Yep,” she picked up the glass of Shiraz with her left hand and slung her satchel over her right shoulder. Slowly making her way over a row of clear glass tiles, which rested above the enclosed underwater ecosystem (including 12 species of saltwater fish), she admired the sleek modern design of the restaurant that showcased nature at its most organized.

In place of artwork, the mango wood walls had three-foot by three-foot sectionals of woven bamboo, living grass, and limestone. Shelving some of the most admirable organic wines in town, A Bold Age was the classiest plant-based restaurant in Yorbiyu. The granite bar stemmed out as a peninsula from the kitchen toward the front door. Near the back of the restaurant, a bird aviary — open to the sky above — was alive with yellow finches, cardinals, and other songbirds. When the weather was nice, like today, the windowed garage doors were raised, providing an indoor-outdoor dining experience.

At capacity, A Bold Age comfortably sat about a hundred people inside and fifty people outside. However, it was three o’clock in the afternoon, and the restaurant had minimal guests. Reaching a vacant table out front, Alaina sat and propped her feet on the wooden tabletop.

Is this it? Is this what my life is? Alaina had just finished her lunch shift at the trendiest vegan restaurant in Yorbiyu. She sipped the medium-bodied red wine; it softened on her tongue as the fall sun warmed her face. Not that this is bad … I mean, who wouldn’t want a glass of wine after work, sitting in the autumn sun? But what’s next? I’m still not there…

I don’t know what to do with my life. I like what I studied in college, but it has yet to work out like I thought it would. I’m still figuring it out, yet it is taking a long time!

She took her feet down from the table and grabbed her notebook out of her bag. She opened it to the next blank page and wrote “Careers” across the top. She began listing the possibilities based on her double major in Education and Psychology, and general interests:

• Middle School Teacher … (though I already tried this) …
• College Professor Track …
• Therapist or Psychologist …
• I also enjoy photography and learning about philosophy, sociology, and economics …

Of course, I’d have to get another degree for some of these… I just keep meeting dead ends. How am I supposed to change that?

… And I probably wouldn’t care so much if the people around me didn’t care so much. My parents put me through college just so I could wait tables … Can’t they see I’m trying? If they only understood what I’ve been through…

Alaina looked up from her list and gazed across the well-landscaped shopping center. Relaxing in the autumn afternoon, Alaina thought about her past and future as she melodiously finished her glass of red wine.

Ending her seven-minute commute home, Alaina pulled her vehicle into the Le Vance apartment complex. At ease after a glass of wine, she leisurely strolled up the three flights of stairs to her one-bedroom apartment. Standing on her “welcome” mat, she fumbled with the keys in her left hand until she grasped the medium-sized silver key that opened her apartment door.

She walked in and headed straight toward her bedroom. Hanging her bag on the doorknob, she changed out of her work clothes and got comfortable in a light blue hoodie and grey yoga pants. Turning her head in a wave of alertness, she looked back toward her bedroom door. Did I just hear something?

Alaina took two steps into the living room before she froze in her footsteps. Her eyes widened, and her jaw lowered. There she stood — staring straight into the eyes of a stranger.

___

Originally published on Medium - An Autumn Afternoon.