As the door slowly started to open Tina started shaking all over and she started crying she thought for sure it was that nasty guy that was coming in to get her. Tina headed toward the stalls so at least she could try and hide when she heard Jenny call out.
"Miss, Miss are you okay?" Jenny said as apologetically as she could.
She could tell how shaken Tina was. She was still crying and trembling all over.
Jenny said, "Oh you pore girl I'm so sorry. You don't need to worry that guy was kicked out along with a few others. They were already done and normally would have left except you came in and distracted them."
Tina thought that they were acting like they hadn't seen a girl in a long time and had forgotten all manners, and she thought that he should be arrested for acting that way. But if she tried it, she would be kept here longer than she wanted to stay.
Jenny could tell what she was thinking and said your lunch is on the house so please just come in and have a seat I promise nothing more like that is going to happen.
Tina didn't want to, but she nodded in acceptance of the free lunch. She was not really that hungry even though her stomach was complaining. Since she was already there, she figured that she should stay and eat. But one more thing like that and she didn't care if it was free or not, it was costing too much.
Tina followed closely behind Jenny and this time anyone that looked at her quickly looked away seeing the dirty looks that Jenny was giving to anyone that was looking her way. As Tina took a seat Jenny said loud enough that everyone in the place could hear her above everything else going on in the dinner, "I'm still sorry that happened and I am sure that no one else here would even think of bothering you again."
At least that made Tina feel a little better. For some reason, she felt like Jenny had things under control. At least it seemed like no one wanted to piss her off.
Tina looked around the diner as she took a small sip of her tea, and it seemed like she was just another customer now, not a piece of meat getting them all fired up. She thought that she should be able to eat without anything else going on.
Tina was surprised at how fresh and tasty the tea was. It was the best tea that she had had in a long time. That made her hope that the food was going to be just as delicious as the tea was. It was just a couple more minutes when Jenny brought her over a huge plate that had half of a broiled chicken on it that had been cut into four pieces. Besides the chicken was half of a plate of cooked mixed vegetables. As she looked at them, she really doubted that they were fresh, but that didn't matter there was no way that she could ever finish all this food. Even if she ate it all day. Besides the large plate of food, she placed the piece of pie in front of her. The pie looked like it was a quarter of a huge pie. Tina thought that it should have been at least two pieces if not three.
Jenny said, "I hope you enjoy your meal and just let me know if there is anything more that you need."
Tina looked up at Jenny with a look, are you serious about all this food? She stumbled out, "Thank you."
Tina sat there for a minute, and this was the smell that she had been smelling, it was the smell of the roasted chicken bathed in just the right number of spices that had made her even want to eat.
Tina looked around and this time she noticed that all the plates of food were huge, and she realized that she should have ordered only half of an order that would have been closer to what she would have been able to eat. But at least the meal was free and as it sat there; she was finding that she was getting hungrier.
Tina took her fork and punctured the chicken and the juices and aroma just poured out of it. She had never been one to eat any of the skin of the chicken but with the smell of it, she could not help herself but take a taste of it since that was where all the spices were. Everything tasted so wonderful she could see that it was not just the skimpy clothing of the waitress that was pulling people into the diner.
Tina ate nice and slow, there was nothing else that she needed to do and nowhere that she needed to be it was totally different from the rest of her life. She had always had a full schedule of places to be and people that wanted her attention. This felt so strange to her, there was no hurry for her to eat at all. She had never felt this way and didn't really know what to think, she could just eat slowly and pick at her food as she sat there thinking.
At this point, she was not worried if anyone was looking at her or not, she was going to enjoy the food, and as long as no one touched her again. Jenny assured her that no one was going to do it, then it was not going to matter.
As Tina ate everything tasted so good. She found that she was hungrier than she had first thought. It was rare that she would ever eat more than one or two pieces, and then she would normally give the rest to Ken, or whomever she was with. This time she was eating more, she not only had finished off half of the chicken but a good portion of the vegetables. Before she got too full, she was just going to have to at least try the pie. It was just sitting there and calling to her to taste it.
Tina pushed her fork through the crust of the pie with a snap. It was just right that made her wonder just who this small out-of-the-way diner has working for them as a cook. The taste of the pie was even better than the smell, and she savored it.
Jenny came over to her and asked, "How is everything? Would you like a refill on your tea?"
Tina looked up at her with a smile and said, "Sure. Everything tastes wonderful."
Jenny returned her smile and took her glass. She saw that Tina had only eaten about half of what she had been given. So, she said, "I'll be right back with your tea."
Tina watched her walk away, and she wondered why they felt that they needed her in such a short skirt. If she stretched at all or even bent slightly, it was going to be showing something. It didn't make sense with food this good to do that to her. Unless that is what they had to do to keep the cook. As she watched her she realized that none of the customers had left the whole time that she had been there. It looked like most of them had been finished shortly after she had walked through the door.
Tina took a closer look at the guys that were there, and it looked like most of them were just sipping on coffee and whispering back and forth shooting glances her way every now and then. If she didn't know better she would have thought that they all were talking about her again but there was no reason that they should be doing that. After all, it was not like she knew any of them.
Tina simply dismissed it as some minor paranoia, she knew that there was no logical reason for any of them to even look at her twice. It was not like she was a famous person or even so beautiful that she would draw that kind of reaction. At most, it was just that she was a stranger, and this was a small town, the kind where you typically know everyone and everything about them.
Tina went back to her eating trying not to think about it any more than she had to. It took Jenny a little bit to return to the table with the tea and by that time Tina had eaten about all that she could. Even though the food was good enough that she didn't want to stop.
Tina found that as she was feeling full, she was starting to feel tired. With all the stress that she had been under she had not let herself slow down and relax. In fact, this was the first that she had eaten, and now her body was wanting sleep.
Normally there would be no way that she would stop driving to start resting at this time, but with having no place that she wanted to be there was no reason that she had to go on when she felt this way.
Jenny dropped off the tea and asked, "Are you going to be needing anything else dear."
Tina was not used to taking the extra food home when she went out usually her boyfriend would finish off his food first, and then anything that she had extra he would polish it off too. Tina looked up at her and said, "Can I get a box to take home?"
Jenny smiled and said, "Sure thing sweetie. I'll be right back with one for you."
Tina knew that she was getting the meal for free since that guy did that to her. But she knew that she couldn't just walk away without leaving a tip. Especially since the food was so good, and Jenny was so nice. So, she pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and placed it on the table.
Jenny returned with two boxes, one for her meal and a smaller one so that she could take the rest of the pie. Jenny noticed the twenty sitting on the table and said, "You don't need to pay since your meal has been covered."
Tina said, "It's a tip for you and the cook. I just loved the food."
Jenny smiled and said, "Thank you, dear."
Tina asked, "Do you know a place to stay that is not too far out of the way?"
Not that she cared where it was, but this was a small town she didn't want to be out in the middle of nowhere more than she already was.
Jenny said, "I don't know where you are headed so I don't know what is exactly out of the way for you. But if you follow the road a few miles you will come to the main part of town. There are a couple of nice hotels you really can't miss them."
Tina nodded and thanked her.
Diana heard a knock at the door and when she looked out the window, she saw that it was more of the men from her husband's work. So, she knew that there was no way that she was going to simply open it and let them in.