the premonition

The Gavilan Cafe was in need of a face lift, and there was a sign on the door that read, “Remodeling. Please excuse our mess.” He could not see much evidence of the remodeling beyond the presence of the sign, and new pavement in the parking lot, and fresh paint on the building’s exterior, but assumed that some work would begin soon on the building’s interior, spurred on perhaps by the opening of a large Motel 6 next door.

He had been eating there for nearly a year now, and had discovered that Sandy rarely worked evenings. She was a phenomenon of the morning shift, but the evenings belonged to Mary Ann. Mary Ann was another great waitress in the truckstop tradition. She knew her customers well and frequently anticipated their orders. He brought the kids with him often, and Mary Ann had long since dispensed with menus. She knew their orders down to the refills and condiments, and greeted them warmly as they arrived. She had learned small details of their lives, and engaged them easily in small talk as she went about her work. The pace at the Gavilan Cafe tended to be a little slower in the evenings than the mornings, and Mary Ann usually had time for small talk as she worked her tables and the counter.

Tonight, there were only two tables working. Mary Ann stood behind the counter for a moment looking out the window, apparently lost in thought. Then suddenly she was back, and flipped over a cup on the counter and poured it full of coffee. There were no customers at the counter, and at first he thought she had poured the coffee for herself. She walked off to finish some task, leaving the steaming cup on the counter. A minute or two later, the driver of a Consolidated Freight truck walked in the door. Now she was back at the counter as he walked up to the place where she had poured the coffee. He looked at the coffee. He looked around and saw that no other customers were at the counter. He looked at Mary Ann, who just stood there looking back at him across the counter with a sparkling smile in her eye.

Uncertain, he asked, “Is that for me?” She nodded.

“How did you know?” he asked.

“Half an hour ago I had a premonition that you would come in and order coffee,” she answered, “and half an hour later I poured it in the cup.”

The Consolidated driver just looked at her and smiled a knowing smile and sat down with his coffee. The magic was alive tonight at the Gavilan Cafe.