Suit

 “Booth please” 

We are in a local restaurant getting ready to have some Chinese food. 

One of my favorite foods!

As we are seated in the booth, as usual, I always pick the side that puts my back to a wall and gives me a better view of the room. 

We place our order and talk while waiting for the food. 

 As we talk, I notice the greeter escorting a very old man across the room to a booth on the opposite side of the room. 

I can see them, Lisa cannot.

My guess is he is in his early to mid-90’s and very frail.

I found it strange and started watching because the old man was dressed in a way that seemed very out of place. 

He had a light blue suit on, a baby blue in color.  

Who wears a suit to Chinese? 

Clearly the suit was old. The style looked like something from the 70’s or maybe even earlier.

As he moved along the floor, he could barely lift his feet and simply slid them along in a slow shuffle.

 I began to notice more details in the suit as I watched him make his way across the room. 

The pants were too long and bunched up as they hit the floor. 

The back of the cuff was worn and fringed from many years of rubbing on the floor. 

The jacket seemed too long for his now small and fragile frame.

His shoes were of the same time period and looked like they had not been polished in a long time.

As he shuffled across the room, he could not keep up with the greeter who waited at the booth for him to arrive.

 He sat down and quickly a waitress placed a set of silverware and one of those paper placemats in front of him as they exchanged small talk. 

I saw him raise his hand and hold up two fingers. Again, it appeared strange as if giving her a peace sign, but the waitress took out her pad and wrote down his order immediately and left.

 Clearly, he knew what he wanted as he never looked at a menu.

I didn’t mention anything to Lisa since she couldn’t see him anyway, but I kept my focus on him as we talked and ate our meal.

While he waited for his meal, he took apart the silverware rolled up in the napkin and place each one exactly where it needed to be on the sides of the paper mat.  

He reached over and took out some of the packets of pepper and salt from the cube along the wall and stacked them beside the paper mat as well. 

All the while he never looked around the room. He seemed to only look straight ahead at the empty bench on the other side of his table. 

Once he had his setting prepared like he liked it, he sat with his arms on the table looking straight ahead awaiting his meal.

I noticed his suit was not only old but stained and very wrinkled. 

 He had one sleeve that was buttoned as it should be, but the other sleeve was open. 

My guess is it was missing a button or hands ravaged by age could not get it buttoned.

 Either way it was open showing his white shirt underneath 

It wasn’t long before the waitress brought him his meal. 

After she walked away, I saw the reason for the peace sign or the two fingers. There were two glasses of water sitting in front of the old man. 

He repositioned his plate in front of him. Moved his water glass to his right side and then slid the second glass into position across the table from him as though giving it to someone who wasn’t there.

I watched the old man as he ate. 

His gaze never leaving the empty booth in front of him.

His facial expressions would change from blank stares, to smiles and sometimes sadness as he ate. 

It was as though he was carrying on a conversation without speaking a word or simply remembering one from days gone by.

I never saw him say a word but clearly, he was sharing this meal with someone.

Lisa and I finished our meal and we left before the old man finished his.

 I am not sure how this story ends. 

Was he celebrating an anniversary with a lost love?

Keeping up a tradition only he is left to partake in?

I guess I will never know for sure, but I know one thing, this man got dressed up to the best of his ability. 

Made his way to a restaurant and ordered two drinks.

 One he never touched after he slid it across the table to whoever he was sharing this time with.

What I know is, he allowed memories to take him away to a time and place that I can only assume was better than the present.

Lisa never knew I watched this; she will hear this story just like the rest of you.

I am not sure why I felt compelled to write about it. 

It was almost a year ago this took place. 

I never forgot about the old man in the suit.

This story has been rattling around in my head just waiting to be told. 

Why?  I'm not sure.

Of what value is it? 

Entertaining? Probably not. 

Educational? Probably not.

So why has it hung with me waiting to be told?

That , I do not know, but it did.