Just Like Romeo and Juliet - Brooke St. James Page 0,8

I found myself on the sidewalk.

It should not have put me in a bad mood for Tara to say that she didn't like Helen Elliot's restaurant, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I didn’t even know for sure that I was related to this woman, but I still didn't want people disliking her restaurant. I spaced out and thought about it as I stood on the sidewalk for a moment.

I realized that I couldn't just stand there forever, so I started walking toward the diner down the street. I figured a cup of afternoon coffee might help me focus.

I walked in front of the hardware store, and as I walked, I glanced toward the boxing gym which was across the street. I could see more of the room from this angle. There were what must have been thirty people in the room. It was a larger place than I expected, so I couldn't even see all the way inside.

I only gazed into the window for a few seconds before forcing myself to look away. Bank Street Boxing. I read the sign above the door before glancing at a group of people walking down the sidewalk in front of the gym.

I stared all around, at the buildings and stores and all the different people inside and on the streets. Galveston was a neat little city. It was hard to believe that this was so close to Houston. It felt like I was in a completely different country, or maybe a different era. There were modern cars around, but it didn't feel like the nineties. This place felt stuck in older times—in a good way.

I focused on the diner, which only confirmed what I was thinking. There was a ton of chrome and black and white, and it looked like it had been on that corner since the fifties. I waited till I got to the corner to cross the street.

Galveston was a gorgeous city, and I had a place to rest my head tonight. I should have been having a grand old time. But I hated that Jennifer's boss had bad things to say about the Elliot's restaurant. It was sad, but that had really stuck with me.

I decided I would ask someone else about it, hoping to get a better response. There was a group of people walking down the sidewalk, headed my way, and because it was at the forefront of my mind, I said something right then.

"Excuse me, may I ask you guys something?"

It was a family, parents with three adolescent children, the oldest one was a teenager and the other two were ten or twelve.

"Of course," the woman said, being friendly.

"I'm just visiting town, and I was going to eat some food at Elliot's seafood restaurant tonight. Do you know if that place is any good?"

"Oh, uh, sorry but we're actually from out of town, too," the lady said, looking regretful.

"Yeah, but that was one of the restaurants the lady at Moody Gardens recommended," the man said.

"Oh, was it, really?" she asked. "Oh well, if it was one she mentioned, then I'm sure it's good," she said, smiling at me.

"Oh great, thank you!" I said, smiling and feeling much better now that I got the answer I was looking for.

They continued walking down the sidewalk, headed the way I had just come, while I crossed the street to get to the diner.

I liked going to diners like this. I had been raised eating out, so I had been in plenty of them. There was a similar one close to campus, and I went there quite a bit for a cup of coffee.

At home, I usually went to restaurants with someone else, but that wasn't an option here. I didn't mind, though. If I wanted to have someone with me today I would've asked Maggie. I wanted to be alone on this trip.

I went into the diner, smiling and feeling relieved when I saw that there were several open barstools at the counter.

My mom always liked to sit at the bar at places like this. I had watched her make conversations with waitresses and cooks dozens of times in my childhood.

"Sit anywhere you like," the lady said to me.

I took a seat on a stool close to the end with one seat separating myself and the guy on my left. He was an older man. There was a group of people on the other side of him, but I couldn’t tell if they were together. It didn't