Rita Arrives

We had cup after cup of brown, barely caffinated coffee. Eventually, around a quarter to five a frazzled waitress stumbled in. She apologized countless times to Maxine. Maxine hardly responded. She just stood there,  stone faced, listening to Rita's excuses. When Rita was done telling her story, Maxine pointed to our booth. Rita laced up her apron. She had a confused look on her face as she walked over to us. "Was told you guys were waiting for me, but you don't look familiar. Have I seen you before?" I realized at that moment that there was no easy way to explain why we were there. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I raised my mug and asked "More coffee?" Rita bit her lip, holding back any annoyance or frustration. "Coming up."