Dream of Christmas Dates

Christmas was approaching and the snow was bringing in couples talking of plans for Christmas.

"Is Tormino's open on Christmas?" Miles asked Anita as he stopped by the bar to place in an order.

"Yes, although you can ask Cyrus for the night off if you have plans," explained Anita as she filled several cups of water.

"Oh, no, I was making sure that I can work. No real plans for Christmas."

"Okay, Cyrus usually assumes you can work unless you tell him otherwise."

"Ok. What about you, any plans?"

"No, my family is… busy this time of year. Plus, still waiting for my soulmate," she giggled before taking the drinks away to a table on the floor.

"Is anyone taking the night off for Christmas or Christmas Eve?" Miles asked Shasta, as he passed him a couple plates of food.

"Not that I know. Linda could ask Cyrus on a date, so he might be out for the night."

"Will she, though?" asked Sierra, peaking up at Shasta's elbow. Shasta shrugged and Miles went off taking the plates out onto the floor.

He glanced over where Linda was talking to Ramona about something instead of letting Ramona take her dinner order.

"They’ve set up an ice rink at the park close by, so luckily it won't be too much out of Cyrus' way. He hates going places that are an inconvenience," explained Linda. Ramona nodded, taking a glance at the restaurant to see if it was still fine without her, but the dinner rush had passed some time ago.

"Hello, Linda," greeted Miles, coming up next to Ramona. Ramona nearly jumped out of her skin at his closeness.

"Miles, finally use to working here?"

"Yeah, everyone has been accommodating about teaching me."

"I'm glad. Cyrus can't do much on his own but he can bring together the right people to get the work done."

So you know he is lazy. Both Miles and Ramona thought as Linda prattled on.

"I'm glad to see Cyrus is running things efficiently."

"Speaking of Cyrus, has he mentioned anything about Christmas?" asked Oliver, who was cleaning up a table nearby.

"No, but he always has been a terrible planner. He used to ask me on dates weeks in advance and call me the morning of, panicking about what to do."

Oliver nodded, returning to cleaning.

"What kind of dates would you go on?" asked Anita, probably the only curious one.

"Well, usually we went somewhere cheap. Cyrus hates to spend more money than necessary. So usually, a walk around town or in the park, which was nice because then it was the two of us, without any school friends around. On special occasions, though, he usually tried to take me somewhere special."

"Tried?"

"Well, he's a last-minute planner, so he always forgot to make reservations. But the day would always end up right in the end."

"Linda." The man of the conversation approached the group.

"Can you please stop keeping the staff from working? It's a miracle Taft and Rainier haven't left the kitchen."

"Sorry, Cyrus, we were talking about Christmas."

Cyrus squinted, trying to look for some hidden meaning in her too-sweet smile.

"Right."

"So, Cyrus, any plans for Christmas," asked Linda, everyone else looking to him.

"The restaurant is open that day, so I'll be here."

"Right." Linda faltered a little but then perked up again. "What about after?"

Cyrus shrugged, "Probably go home and sleep. The holidays are exhausting. What about you? Don't you have a long day at the hospital?"

"Just in the morning," Linda mumbled.

Cyrus nodded.

"Then try to sleep when you get home. Colds spread easier during the holidays, especially if you're overworked."

Linda nodded as Cyrus returned to his office. "Same goes for the rest of you," he yelled to his staff. Sierra was looking at the waiters, confused by Cyrus' statement. Miles shrugged before looking back at Linda, who had planted her head on the table.

"No Christmas date this year either," she sighed. Ramona patted Linda on the shoulder.

The other waiters resumed their work as Ramona continued to care for Linda. Linda decided to order a dessert instead of a meal to assuage her sadness.