Sparky
Author's Note: This is just the start of something. It's what came to me from the brigits_flame topic of Mechination.
The day I met him, he was searching for a name. He wouldn’t tell me what the name was for, so I helped him blindly. I was the café waitress and he was the man in the corner sipping coffee with a pen in hand. When I approached for his third refill, I took the extra moment to glance at his napkin of notes. Names were scrawled haphazardly along it. Girl names, guy names, and odd sounding names were all in the collection. I assumed he was searching for a pet name and kept moving.
On his fifth refill, he broached the subject with me. I had just finished filling the glass and was turning around, when I felt a warm hand on my arm.
“Miss, do you have a moment?” His voice was rough and I could smell the coffee on his breath.
“I guess I could spare one,” I replied, turning back to his table. I stood there awkwardly, debating whether or not to sit.
“Can I ask what your favorite name is?” He asked, looking down at his list.
“What sort of name are you looking for?” I asked, taking a seat across from him. “It might help if I know what you’re naming.”
“What I’m naming isn’t important.”
“Does it have a gender?”
“Gender neutral.”
“Then, I’d go with Sparky.” I told him the first pet name that came to mind. I could see my manager motioning for me to get back to work.
“Sparky?” He looked down at his scribbles and added it in the middle. “That’s an interesting choice.”
“Interesting good or interesting bad?” I asked, pushing my luck with my manager.
“It might just work,” he said as he circled it on the napkin before shoving it into his pocket. “How much do I owe you?”
“It’s on the house,” I told him, before getting up and heading for waiting customers. When my shift ended in two hours, I would have to add $4.69 into the register to cover his refills.