“What? Are you crazy?” Megan whispered fiercely. It wasn’t until her whisper broke the silence that I noticed how quiet the restaurant had become. There wasn’t any of the normal sounds of machines running, food cooking, or that obnoxious tuba/accordian music. Except for the two of us, the restaurant was filled with an anticipatory stillness.

“No, but I think this place is.” I whispered back.

“What about the check?”

Something about that question broke my remaining will.

“Screw the check!” I yelled shattering the silence. With shaking hands, I yanked her out of the booth and had to hold on to her to keep her from sprawling away from me.

Hand in hand, we took tentative steps to the front door. I don’t know what we were waiting for, maybe for somebody to stop us or yell at us, but nothing happened. They all just watched silently with those strange, hungry eyes. Taking one step at a time it was a breathless eternity before we stepped into the waiting dusk.

We had just been eating lunch but it was dusk now.