An Uncommon Day at the Restaurant

The latest weekly prompts of Blogchatter under the Bloghop series for the week 20th to 26th September did not create the required spark in me to write about them. I was wondering what to do when an idea struck me. As I was travelling during Onam festival season, I had missed writing on a prompt ( for 6th to 12 September 2022) that read " You are sitting in a coffee shop, reading a book when....". I asked myself   " Why not write on the said prompt?" So here I am attempting it. It is purely a fictional account of what happens to a retired person on a given day.

One of my routines after retirement has been to leave home after breakfast at around 10 AM  and dash off straight to the public library. I would spend two to three hours and return home for lunch. Occasionally, when in the mood I would enter the "Harry's" restuarant, order coffee and complete a book that I had not finished reading to be able to return it when I visited the library. Sometimes, I just peeped in to see if any old friends were there in the restaurant. If  'yes', I entered to have a chat and reminiscence of old times. Harry's had grown with our town and it is today a grand old landmark . The  business was started in the year 1964 by a couple of youngsters in their twenties. Young people like us at that time used to flock to that place as it was more of a meeting place than eating place. There used to be so much energy in the air! We discussed everything from the movies to politics and social issues. 

With time, the place grew and we continued to visit to meet good old pals. Of course, we were no longer young and our appetite for food had also declined. But the owners had a soft corner for us . They had one hall set aside for use  mostly by the old timers.  When the business changes hands to the next/ younger generation, we cannot hope to enjoy privileges such as order a cup of tea  and sit in the restaurant for as long as we want. But, for now we are making the most of it! 

I remember clearly. It was  a Friday. I had ordered my coffee, opened my book and read a couple of pages, The waiter would come slowly. He knew I was not in a hurry. Then it happened. Gun shots, screaching and screaming from the other side of the restaurant, where the brisk business took place.  The few of us in our part of the restaurant looked at each other in shock. We rushed to the other side to know what happened. The waiter and the manager stopped us mid way and said "Every thing is okay. Please return to your seats, Just then, we could hear the wails of an ambulance rushing to the doorstep of the restaurant. A  police jeep arrived soon after. 

We, the senior citizens reluctantly went back to our side of the restaurant. But this time we did not go back to our individual tables but huddled around a couple of them and spoke in hushed voices. Everyone speculated and shared  their thoughts on what could have happened. One person checked his mobile for any "Breaking news". There were none. After  spending a little while longer, we decided to disperse. One guy said he would hang around and would get to the other side, unnoticed. 

I decided to go back home. I was no longer in the  mood  to visit the library.  When I reached home, my wife opened the front door in a flash and was relieved to see me safe. She knew I visited Harrys often. "It is all over the place in the TV news channels " she said. " Six yougsters including two girls  had  been to Harry's when they had an arguement over one of the girls. One of them was carrying his father's gun and started shooting wildly. A girl and a boy have been seriously injured and rushed to the hospital." I sighed and mumbled "It all happened when I was there, on the other side of the restaurant. A senior citizen can no longer look forward to a quiet retired life...."  

• NB: This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop www.theblogchatter.com