Romance?

Anita's situation perplexed her. She was looking for her soulmate but didn't have the first clue about love. Other than the mark, how would she know when it was more than a no-romance soulmate? Linda would be of help, but she had been busy or kept coming in when Anita wasn't working.

"I took a new customer over to your section. I wasn't able to see his hand, though," informed Leigha as she passed Anita.

Anita nodded and smiled. Leigha supported her the most, checking hands or bringing new customers to their sections. Leigha received permission to work the floor for learning so quickly.

Anita finished serving drinks to a group of nurses then walked over to the table where a salaryman was perusing the menus.

"Welcome to Tormino's. My name is Anita, and I will be taking care of you today. What can I get you started with?" She looked between the gentleman and her notebook.

"I'll have oolong tea." He said but didn't look up, still perusing the menu. Anita nodded as she jotted down his order.

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit with that," she assured him. She looked over to see his hand bent, holding the menu. Leigha had been teaching her the art of discretion, using the other staff members as training. She did like the blunter approach, but Cyrus had warned her before that it might freak out the customers. Anita had ignored his reasoning until Leigha brought it up, which turned her soulmate search into a detective hunt. When she realized she might have looked at the customer too long, she left to take another table’s order. She hadn’t noticed that the man had seen her staring and turned to look at her.

She had checked the table, neither of the patrons was her soulmate. Plus, they seemed to be into each other with the constant blushing and shy eyes they had for each other. A first date? If she had a date, would they go here? Leigha would want her to so she could wingman, as she called it. When Anita finished taking orders, she returned to the bar, passing a copy of the slip over to the kitchen staff. She began preparing the drinks, looking up to see Shasta take her order then return to the kitchen.

"That guy is looking at you," whispered Leigha, coming up next to Anita with a ticket for another order. Anita looked back over her shoulder to see the salaryman had been looking her way. When their eyes met, his eyes grew wide. But then he realized that he was staring too long, so he looked down. Anita turned to face the teapots filled with hot water and tea packets. Nearby hands passed over two cups.

"Go talk to him," encouraged Leigha with a whisper as she put the tray in Anita's hands. Anita nodded and walked over to the salaryman's table. The man was sinking into his seat, trying to bury himself under the menu.

"Here you go. Sorry about the wait." Anita set the drink down. She looked over at him to see him looking over the edge of his menu at her.

"It's you," he exclaimed, putting down the menu. Anita nearly lost her grip on the tray; thankful nothing was on it anymore. She brought it to her front and held it in both hands, then pulled any loose hairs behind her ears.

"I'm sorry. You probably don't remember. New Year's, we put our fortunes next to each other’s. You did look rather sick that day."

Anita furrowed her brows, trying to remember. She did faintly remember praying for her soulmate. And she gotten a bad luck charm that she tied to the fence where a man had tied his as well.

"I remember," she recalled, "I had been up all night celebrating the New Year."

The man breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad. That you weren't sick, that is. And that you got the rest you needed."

Anita giggled at his flustered state, then smiled at him. The man relaxed and smiled back at her.

"I'm Norman, by the way," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Anita." She accepted his shake. "I haven't seen you around here."

"I recently joined a firm that's local to the area. Trying the eateries nearby a coworker recommended."

"Well," feeling a little bold, "I hope you like our food enough to come again." Anita could feel her face heat up, and looking at Norman, his cheeks were turning pink too.

"I hope I won't need to enjoy the food to see you again."

Their faces continued getting redder at the flirtation. Leigha interrupted with a cough as she passed by.

"Right, I'm ready to order." Both Anita and Norman turned beet red as he floundered for the menu.

"I'll have the beef curry mild." Norman passed his menu to Anita, his complexion returning to its original color.

Anita wrote down the order and said, "so that's beef curry mild?"

The man nodded.

"Great, I'll put your order in." She smiled at the gentleman. Norman returned her gaze before she headed to the bar. She heard a thump behind her but Norman's head wasn't in view. Leigha gave her a thumbs up as she walked past the table. Confused, Anita continued over to the bar and handed Shasta her order. She glanced back to see Norman looking pink, pouring tea into his cup.

"So did you find your soulmate?" asked Shasta as he took her order slip. Anita froze as she realized she had forgotten to check Norman's hand.