The sun was high and hot on this Saturday morning, but not too hot for a good brunch. I was standing in a line, a very long line. This restaurant, it was called “The Early Bird,” did not take phone calls for tables. Everyone must wait. I liked waiting. It gave me time to look at people and sometimes, if they had a nice hat, I would draw a quick picture of it in my little book. Today, no hats yet. Just many heads, all pointed to the big glass door of the restaurant.
I was maybe halfway back in the line. I like to be in the middle, not too far back so I wait forever, but not too close to the front where I feel rushed. I could see the hostess inside, she was very busy with a little tablet. The line moved slow, like a sleepy snail. This was fine with me. I was chewing my mint gum, the kind that loses its flavor fast. I prefer the long-lasting ones.
Then, she came. A woman, she had shiny, dark hair and a dress that looked expensive. Her purse was big and it also looked expensive. With her was a man, he looked a bit sleepy, maybe still tired from a Friday night. He wore sunglasses on his head and held a fancy phone. She walked like she owned the place, even though she was just on the sidewalk. She did not go to the back of the line like everyone else. Oh no. She walked right past many people. She looked straight ahead, like she did not even see the line.
A young man was standing not too far ahead of me, maybe ten people up. He was talking loud on his phone, laughing, and shaking his head. He had on really clean white sneakers. He looked about twenty-three or twenty-four, very sure of himself. The woman with the expensive dress walked right up to him. She gave him a big smile. The young man, he finished his call quickly, then hugged her. She made a space for herself right next to him, like she was always there. The sleepy man with the sunglasses went right next to her. They were now a group of three, and they were much further up the line than they should be.
I saw some people behind them looking at each other. They made small looks with their eyes. Nobody said anything, not yet. I kept chewing my gum. It was getting soft. The woman with the shiny hair, she was looking around now, like she was checking everyone. She had a very special ring on her finger. It was gold, but it had little tiny diamonds all around it, like a swirl, and in the middle was a big, blue stone. It looked very old and very unique, not like rings you see everywhere.
Then, a man two spots behind me, he spoke. He was not loud, but his voice carried. He had a calm face, like someone who has seen many things. He wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, but he stood tall. He spoke to the woman with the shiny hair. He did not yell, he just said, “Excuse me, ma’am. The line starts at the back. It’s a long wait for everyone.”
The woman turned her head. Her smile was gone now. She looked at the man like he was a fly. “Oh, we are with him,” she said, pointing to the young man in the white sneakers. “We just went to the car for a moment.” She said it like it was a fact, like it was true. But I had been there, and I had not seen them before.
The calm man nodded slowly. “I understand. But the rule here is that if you leave the line, you have to go back to the end. Everyone does it.” He did not look angry, just like he was telling her how things are.
The woman’s eyes got a little bit narrow. “We did not leave the line. We were just checking on something important. He was holding our spot.” She puffed out her chest a little. The sleepy man with the sunglasses just looked away, like he was not part of this. The young man on the white sneakers, he just stood there, looking at his phone again, ignoring everything. He did not say a word to help her.
Suddenly, a baby in a stroller, right behind the calm man, started to cry. It was a loud, unhappy cry. The baby’s mother started rocking the stroller fast, trying to shush the baby. The sound made everything feel more tight. It was harder to pretend not to hear things now.
The woman with the shiny hair did not like the crying. She frowned. She looked at the calm man again. “Look, we’ve been waiting too long already. It’s ridiculous how long this line is. Some of us have important things to do.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand, like she was saying that her things were more important than everyone else’s things. Her voice was a bit louder now, but still not yelling. It was a voice that expected to be listened to, to be obeyed.
The calm man just looked at her. “Ma’am, the line is for everyone. It’s not fair to the others who have been waiting patiently. The restaurant has rules about holding spots.” He spoke clearly, like a teacher explaining a simple lesson. He did not get worked up, not even a little bit. It was like he had seen this exact show many times before.
Another person, a woman a little bit behind the calm man, spoke up then. “He’s right. I’ve been here for forty minutes.” Someone else muttered, “Me too.” The murmurs grew a little bit louder. People were looking now, not just at the calm man and the shiny-haired woman, but at each other, finding common ground.
The woman with the shiny hair looked around at all the faces. She must have seen that she was losing. Her face got a little bit red. “This is just terrible customer service!” she declared, her voice now quite loud. “I will be speaking to the manager about this entire situation!”
Just as she said that, a young woman in a black apron, the manager, came out of the restaurant door. She looked a little bit stressed. Someone must have called her, maybe sent a text message about the problem. She looked at the long line, then her eyes went right to the group of three people who were not where they should be. She looked at the calm man, who just stood there, still and quiet. Then she looked at the shiny-haired woman who was pointing her finger at everyone.
The manager walked over. She spoke in a kind but firm voice. “Is there a problem here, ma’am?”
The shiny-haired woman started to talk very fast, “Yes! There is a huge problem! These people are trying to make us go to the back of the line! We were just checking on something very important and our friend here was holding our spot, and now they are being very rude!” She looked at the manager like the manager was her friend and would agree with her.
The manager looked at the calm man. He just shook his head a little, very slow. Then she looked at the young man with the white sneakers, who was now pretending to be very interested in the sidewalk. She looked at the sleepy man, who was still looking away.
“Ma’am,” the manager said, her voice a little bit firmer now. “Our policy is that everyone must stay in line. If you leave, you have to rejoin at the end. We cannot hold spots, it is not fair to our other waiting customers.” She looked around at the faces in the line, and she saw many nods.
The shiny-haired woman gasped. “Are you saying we have to go to the back? After all this time?” She looked really shocked, like no one had ever said no to her before. “This is unbelievable! I will never come back to this establishment!”
The manager’s face did not change. “Ma’am, if you’d like to wait, the line starts at the very end. If you are not willing to do that, then we will have to ask you to leave.”
The shiny-haired woman stood there for a moment, like she was trying to decide if she could win this fight. But too many people were looking, and the manager was not backing down. The sleepy man with the sunglasses finally moved. He pulled on her arm a little. The young man with the white sneakers just took out his phone and started walking away from the line, not even looking back.
With a huff, the shiny-haired woman turned. She glared at the manager, then at the calm man, then at everyone in the line. She walked away, her expensive dress swishing. The sleepy man followed her. They went past the whole long line and disappeared around the corner. The young man with the white sneakers was already gone.
The calm man gave a small nod to the manager, who thanked him. The line started to move again, slow and steady. The baby had stopped crying. I chewed my gum, it was completely tasteless now. I took out my little notebook and looked for my pencil. No hats still, but I thought about drawing the shiny-haired woman’s very unique ring. But then I decided not to. I just wished I would not see her again, not ever, not in any line.
