“I hope I didn’t just ruin your diet,” my server at the vegetarian restaurant says as I’m half way through the scrumptious fruit and nut cake he’s brought me “as a gift.” I smile, shake my head, and say “Maybe a little, but this cake is well worth it.” Naturally, it was just this very morning that I decided to go on a diet. That’s how I ended up at this vegetarian restaurant on the riverbank in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic in the first place. Of course as soon as the cake is set before me, my diet is over, only to be started again tomorrow.
When David, my handsome server with the tanned skin and wavy blond hair, first brought the cake to me, asking if he could give me a gift, I had a flashback to the previous night’s conversation with a few other people at my hostel about eating alone at a restaurant. A Californian man who must be 25 years my senior couldn’t seem to fathom the idea of dining alone in a public place, and he called me brave for venturing out on my own. I wonder to myself if David feels sorry for me eating by myself in such a beautiful part of the world – a place perfect for sharing a good meal with friends and loved ones.
He clears my dessert plate that has nothing on it now but a few crumbs and a spoon that’s been licked clean, and comes back a few minutes later with a pot of green tea to “help my digestion.” I once again bow my head slightly and thank him, telling him he’s too kind. David smiles and flits away to another one of his many tables. It dawns on me that perhaps he doesn’t feel sorry for me after all, but maybe he fancies me and is trying to get me to stick around a bit longer. If that's the case, it's working.
I sip my green tea and peruse the travel book on Eastern Europe that I’ve borrowed from the hostel, soaking up the sunshine and savoring the perfect combination of heat and breeze on this Saturday in May. I am perfectly content and am enjoying finally having a day without traveling to a new place.
One by one, the tables around me clear and David stops by my table a bit more, asking where I’m from, what I’m doing in Europe, and eventually asking if girls from America have names. I tell him with a smirk that most don’t, but I do, and it’s Mary. I’m surprised at how impeccable his English is when I discover that he is originally from Prague and has lived in Cesky Krumlov for about 6 years.
David has intrigued me and I want to talk to him more about who he is and where he’s been, but I stick with safe topics like where to go and what to do while I’m here. I leave tomorrow morning, so I know I will probably accomplish few of his suggestions in the short time I have left, but it’s a good way to get him talking. We chat a while and David tells me he is working that night until 10 or 10:30 – he clearly wants to talk to me more too. I’m flattered and excited, not to mention surprised since I’m sitting there in workout clothes after hiking around the town the entire morning, with no makeup and unwashed hair that’s been slung up into a ponytail.
As I pay my bill, I mention that I might return later that evening since I'm on vacation and don't have any big plans. David looks down and is practically blushing when he says he would like that very much. I scoop up my bag and book and realize as I walk out of the restaurant that I must have been sitting there for several hours.
Laughing to myself at how the feared eating alone can lead to making a new friend, I float down the cobblestone streets having decided that I will indeed come back tonight – just to see what happens when I sit a bit longer.
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