"Gwendolyn O'Connor! Stop carrying on and get over here. We have customers that need to be waited on! Now!"
Gwen sighed loudly and rolled her eyes upward as the shrill call of Mrs. Johnston, the head cook of Carpe Noctem, broke forth over the crowded cafe. Looking back towards the man that she had been speaking to, she offered him an apologetic smile and rose to her full height from where she'd been leaning casually against his table.
"Coming, Mrs. Johnston," she called out in return in a sort of martyred voice, making her way back through the crowd as gracefully as possible. Her long, black skirt flowed easily about her legs as she moved. Upon her small feet were a pair of thin, black sandals. A white bodice that had been tightly laced up the front completed her almost gypsy/bohemian-like attire and a simple necklace with a small charm rested about her long, thin neck. The only thing that really seemed to be out of place on the simple girl was a sapphire ring that she wore on her left hand, a sure sign to most men that she was already taken and that they needn't even make a try for her.
Well...at least...she had been taken...so many years ago.
Though it was not quite yet lunchtime, already the little cafe was filled to capacity with a few people still waiting on the outside in hopes of getting in. Clearly this was the place to be!
"Got another one," Jessica, one of Gwen's fellow waitresses, a lovely blond girl with magnificent blue eyes, spoke as she flashed a scrap of paper before her with a saucy grin.
Gwen couldn't help but laugh, her eyes dancing with merriment as she reached out to pick up one of the plates that Mrs. Johnston had set out on the counter to be served. "Another number already? That has to make...three now?"
"Four," the girl corrected with a grin as she pinned the number up onto a board with all the other numbers she'd been given that day.
It seemed to be a game amongst the waitresses of Carpe Noctem as already the board was becoming filled with other numbers that had been collected. More than likely none of those invitations would be returned or responded to...but it was fun to play with the thought none the less.
"Now," Jessica continued with a smile as she turned back towards her friend. "If you'll excuse me... I have a table to serve."
"Hm?" Gwen looked up to see the wicked grin on the girl's heart-shaped face and couldn't help but smile at it. "Which table?"
"Table number 5," she responded, picking up one of the plates off the counter. "The dark-haired fellow that just walked in."
Gwen turned her head slightly so as to catch sight of the man in question...and something about him gave her pause. It was almost like experiencing a kind of de ja vue. He felt so very familiar to her. Strikingly so. Yet...she couldn't quite put her finger on it...
"Oh...nice.."
Jessica giggled in response with a nod of her head. "I know. Might be makin' it five numbers soon." And with a wave of an elegant hand she sashayed off in that direction. Gwen only gave a little smile and shook her head at her friend's antics. It wasn't the sort of games that she really cared to play...but Jessica found it amusing.
"Gwen!" the head cook snapped once more. "Work, girl, or you'll find yourself out of a job!"
"Yes, Mrs. Johnston," she grumbled softly under her breath once more, taking up one of the plates from the counter and moving off in the direction of the table it was to be placed at.
As the young lady fought her way through the crowd again, she couldn't help but turn another darting glance in the direction of the young man that sat at Table 5. He had to be another immortal - there was just something she could always sense in the aura around a person that told her as much. She'd known several gods to frequent this establishment so there was nothing so very out of the norm to have yet another one find his way here.
But...why this connection? Why did she have such a strong, pulling vibe coming from him? What was it about this one that stirred thoughts of a past long gone by?
Trying to force her thoughts away from him, Gwen approached the next table and gave the one there a sweet smile.
"Hello there. My name is Gwendolyn. Welcome to Carpe Noctem. What can I get started for you today?"