Two Men and a Taco (A Fiction)

It was a cold rainy day and waiting for the train made it horrible with every passing second. We all huddled together, looking for warmth and protection. I see the train slowly approaching the station. It looks like a young and beautiful girl approaching a group of people looking at her and she knows that they all are waiting for her. She moves slowly, swinging side to side, teasing. As she gets closer there is new excitement in the group knowing that finally when it arrives, there is a better place waiting for you!

I take my seat next to window. My big novel is finally over and I have nothing to occupy my thoughts and they run wild. I look outside the window trying to concentrate of what’s going on yet nothing excites me. There is nothing in this cold weather. The trees are bare, there is no activity, and it’s all brown. Then on one of the train stops, something bright catches my eyes. It looks like someone is renovating an old building. It’s being painted bright orange and yellow. I smile looking at it, thinking what they could be building next to a station with such bright colors. It did break my mood and I was thankful for it. I kept thinking about it all the way to work. Maybe it’s a kids play area, or maybe a restaurant or maybe a bar. I could feel the excitement of starting a new place, the dreams that it might hold for them. Maybe they took all their savings out on making this work. Living alone has its side effects, all you can think of is how you can be around people more.

Next few days I watched as the work progressed on. For the few seconds when the train stopped I tried to make out how much progress is being made. One day I watched as they put their sign up. Finally I know it’s a Mexican restaurant – Two Men and a Taco! What a weird name! So I know there are two men who are involved in the project. Must be brothers, Mexican brothers for sure. Maybe the whole family is involved in the business. The wives will work to make sure food is good and the guys will handle the bar and guests. I start thinking about the food. The smell of warm tacos, the rich aroma of chicken being cooked in spices. Even the simple bean and rice tastes so good. Reminds me of our own Indian version called Rajma-Chawal.  Of course, to wash down all this good food, one would need a big jar of margarita. I wonder if they will end up Americanizing the food or will it be authentic. My love for Mexican food started with my solo trip there in the beginning of this year. I remember inhaling the food over there. The fruits and the food, the spices everything was so amazing! The sudden jerk of train’s movement and I am back staring at this bright colorful place.

As days pass, the restaurant starts to take shape. One day the furniture got delivered and I could see they have decided to go bold with the furniture too. I saw a guy in plain jeans and oversize coat talking to a guy next to the truck in an animated way. He was all red and was clearly upset. I wonder why? Maybe a chair or a table was broken. As the train start to leave the station, I turn around and tried to see as much as I could to get a hang of what happened. Oh well, I won’t know. However, that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it. I wonder how they will decorate the restaurant. Maybe they will keep it simple or maybe they will go overboard and put everything closely related to Mexican in it. They might have live music too! It would be such a fun place to go. Maybe I can stop here on my way home someday. Maybe I’ll get to talk to the owner who was nearly going red about the furniture story. What explanation would I have to remember such a thing!

Two Men and a Taco became my new obsession. I felt like I own that place, atleast mentally. In the morning and evening I look at all the new development happening and back home my dog, Gogo, gets a run-down of the days event. I am sure even he wants Mexican dog food now. I tell Gogo, they have put up a sign of – Now Hiring. Maybe I should look for a job over there. I could become a part of their family and they might let me run the place too! Gogo looks at me as if it’s not him but I who is dreaming with eyes open. I wonder, why did I become so attach to this place? Is it because I need to feel a place to belong. Living alone was my choice, then why do I feel so empty. My friends keep trying to hook me with some strangers all the time. I couldn’t find someone with the same passion for food and seeing new places, so I just resigned myself to four walls of my apartment. I walk the whole apartment in 20 quick steps with Gogo right behind me. Maybe he thinks we are going out for a walk. Instead all I am doing is measuring my world!

Finally the big day came with a huge banner flapping “Opening Night today” and my heart skipped a beat. One part of me was super excited, felt I build this place up from ground up and another part of me was sad, I won’t have anything to look forward to. The whole day I kept thinking whether it would be successfully opening or will they be disappointed. Will they have a line in front of their restaurant or will they have to drag people in. On the way back from work, I had this nervous feeling as if I am going to get the results for my exams. As the train slowly approached the station, I saw few people outside. Nothing crazy as I imagined, maybe I am watching too many episodes of Restaurant: Revamp on food channel! As the train came to stop, I don’t know what took over me. I quickly grab my bag and dashed for the door and as the train slowly started to move out of the station I felt stupid. Well, now that I am here, I might as well get my margarita. As I walked towards the restaurant I heard loud music, it was catchy. I saw few people staring at me as I walked towards the restaurant and opened the door. Once inside I felt as if I was home. The walls looked so familiar, the furniture is laid out the same way I thought it would be. The music was nice and even though it wasn’t too crowded, there were enough number of people in it. I felt relaxed and was already walking towards the door when I heard this huge voice calling me–

“What…You can’t leave without having a drink on the first night of this restaurant or did the competition from across the street send you to spy on me?”

I jumped like a scared cat and turned around to see who it was. It was the same guy who was standing outside when the furniture was getting delivered.

“Huh! Hmmm…no. I just came to see…”

I just couldn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t look as red as I thought he looked the other day. He had a warm smile on his face telling me he was kidding. He sleeves were rolled up and he looked relaxed. The dark black hair, danced over his eyes. I could hear my heart beating way faster than I am used to.

This time with more confidence, I replied “Hey, I am Avantika. I wanted to check your new place out.”

“Ohh Welcome but why leave so quickly then! My name is Mike. Do you like Mexican food or a big bowl of Margarita? For a beautiful lady like you, it’s on house”

“Haha! Sure, I hope your partner doesn’t mind?”

“Partner, there is no partner. If you are referring to the name of the restaurant. I just thought it would be weird enough to get people in!”

And he laughed out loud, an infectious laugh that spread into me like a current running through the wires and I couldn’t stop myself and laughed with him. He stepped behind the bar and served the best margarita I had in a while.

He started to tell his story about how he likes trying different cuisines, travelling the world and learning to cook. It was his dream to open a restaurant while he could as he didn’t have any attachments yet. As I sat and listened to him, it felt like I knew him, from some other time. I felt like our worlds collided today for a reason. I looked into his warm eyes and felt like I was floating away. Then he did something which made my heart skip a beat…he held me with his eyes and smiled back!