Lesson 5

Lesson 5 Showing characters through dialogue

Danielle stepped up to the entrance of the hotel restaurant and asked the hostess for a single table.

“I’m sorry,” replied the hostess, “we have no tables free. Would you like to take one of the tables in the bar?”

It had been a long day. Danielle sat through training sessions since nine this morning. She was tired and hungry and did not want to wait nor go anywhere else. She agreed to sit wherever the hostess wanted to put her. The hostess led her to a small round table in the back of the bar area.

Within minutes the waitress, a perky blonde with a long pony tail, came by and asked for her drink order.

“A glass of Bordeaux, please,” said Danielle. She rested her elbows on the table, closed her eyes and kneaded her temples with her thumbs in an attempt to relieve the stress of the day.

“Excuse me,” said a voice.

Danielle looked up. It was the woman who had sat next to her during the afternoon session.

“May I sit with you?” she asked.

Although she would rather have been by herself and wished this woman would go away, Danielle said, “By all means. Please sit. I don’t like to eat alone.”

The woman introduced herself as Erika.

“I’m so glad you don’t mind. I really don’t like to eat alone either. It makes me very uncomfortable,” said Erika as she sat in the chair opposite Danielle.

The waitress interrupted Erika’s chatter when she brought Danielle’s wine and took an order for Erika. She also left some menus.

“I’m from Syracuse and this is the first time I have been away, on my own, that is,” said Erika. “I am a little uncomfortable.” She fidgeted with her purse to make sure she still had it.

“Well, I’ve been doing this forever,” answered Danielle tersely. Now she wished she had not been so nice when Erika first approached her. She wasn’t interested in Erika’s conversation, nor in her company. She didn’t want Erika or anyone else, for that matter, to know that she had never stayed alone at a hotel and that it made her uneasy.

The waitress came back to take their orders.

“Are you married?” asked Erika after the waitress left.

“Actually, I am,” lied Danielle. “I got this new job and they wanted me to attend this training session.” She took a sip of her wine letting her eyes wander around the bar. She was not making eye contact with Erika and didn’t want to discuss her personal life with this total stranger. Danielle was in truth getting a divorce from Brad. He left her for another woman. It was a humiliating experience and she was not going to advertise it to anyone, much less this woman from Syracuse.

“I have been married,” said Erika fidgeting in her chair. “I had enough of picking up after that man and I wanted out.” Some spit flew out of her mouth. It missed Danielle. “Our divorce was final last week,” she continued. “Thank goodness we don’t have any children. But then I am not keen on having children anyway. They are more bother than they are worth, sloppy, messy and disrespectful. All you do is clean up after them and no appreciation at all.” She was waving her hands in the air and she moved in her seat. In truth Erika’s husband left her. It made her feel better to let the world think that she was the one who initiated the separation.

To Danielle, Erika seemed as if she had an overactive thyroid. The woman was a bundle of nervous energy and it annoyed her to no end.

They got their meals rather quickly and Danielle concentrated on eating while her companion chattered away. Danielle was finished while Erika still had more than half her meal untouched.

“Do you have children?” asked Erika. She took a sip of her drink.

“I am very tired,” said Danielle ignoring the question. She wanted to get away as fast as she could. “I must go to my room,” she said as she stood up from her chair. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

Erika, alone at the table, finished her meal making sure her purse was still by her side. Looking for someone else with whom she could converse, she stood up and moved to another table where a single woman sat.

“Hello, my name is Erika. May I sit with you,” she said.