narrative

click to enlarge photos

album designs based on the short story I wrote below:

Billy’s Diner

Victor Tumb was a lanky native New Yorker with dark features and a bright smile which lightened his demeanor. He was awkwardly normal, and blended in almost every situation. This pushed him to be preferred to be called Vic because it made him feel different.  Vic had a love for food – so much so that he became a food critic. This title led him all over North America, and tingled his taste buds every step of the way. However, he was not completely satisfied because he had never tried “ Billy’s Famous Burger” in the U.K. So, Vic decided to cash in his paycheck, buy a plane ticket, and head off to Bath, England.

The plane ride was long, and the weather was dreary. But, as the taxi cab rolled up to the (wrong) side of the road, Vic was eager to see what the fuss was about. The tires of the cab screeched as it rolled into the gravel parking lot of Billy’s Diner, while the sun began to set over the dark clouds. A neon red sign screamed ‘Open’ above the crooked front entrance. As Vic stepped in, he was greeted with a plethora of smells and sounds. A strange deep fried meat filled his nose. But the noise of dishes being tossed about, silverware clanking and shouts of order numbers from the kitchen filled his small elfish ears and distracted him from this stench.

“Love, there’s a young man waiting to be seated,” a plump, blonde middle-aged woman shouted over the noise, “He looks really hungry too!”. Vic quickly noticed that this man was in fact him. His face flushed a bright pink as he didn’t think he looked famished, in fact he had a banana on the way over.

“Uh, take your time, no need to hurry” stumbled out of his mouth and the woman’s ears perked up as her eyes widened.

“You’re an American, aren’t you, young man?”

“Yes, hi, uh, my name is Vic. I’m actually a food critic from New York, I’ve read amazing reviews about this place, it’s actually the main reason for my trip here.”

“Oh, delightful!” the woman excitedly said, “ Well you will love it here, and if you enjoy the food, we can give you a tour at the end. My name is Fles. ” She clasped her hand together and widely smiled at Vic. He thought her cheeks would pop if she smiled any harder. She quickly sat him in a maple wood booth, the seat adorned with little feet and handprints. As Fles began to pull out the menu from her apron, Vic held up his hand to stop it.

“No thank you, I know already what I would like. I was honestly planning  on the airplane over,” he chuckled, “I’m pretty serious about this food stuff. I would like to order one Billy burger, sweet potato fries, and a vanilla milkshake please.”

“You are such a doll, of course I can get that for you” Fles gushed out, “ I adore the way you speak, it makes me feel like your American tongue is so much different than our folk. So different, so interesting.”

Vic blushed hard. He had never felt such attention before. His eyes shone in the dim yellow lights that adorned the walls. Fles winked at Vic and turned to walk toward the kitchen as he took a more careful look of the restaurant. The wooden walls were filled with photos of previous customers, smiling with their food in front of them. Full burgers and fries, it definitely seemed like a popular choice here, he felt satisfied in his order. He noticed that there were also many photos with a much younger looking Fles, smiling brightly as she did today. Vic settled into his seat and began to people watch. This was one of his favorite past-times. He was definitely an observer in large crowds and enjoyed how people interacted with one another. Billy’s Diner was pretty quiet: a couple sat in one corner while three lone men sat at the bar. The couple seemed to have a heated debate over their choice in food and Vic being super awkward decided to let them argue without an audience. He turned his attention towards the three men at the bar, talking to Fles. They were all quite burly and Fles seemed to take interest in the biggest one. She flirted with him, stroking his thick pale arms and laughing at the things he said. She stared directly at him as she spoke with her seductive emerald eyes and would flick her hair behind her head every couple of minutes. At what seemed to be the end of their steamy conversation, Fles led him into the back. The kitchen seemed very dark, but the flood of that horrible meat stench distracted his visuals. Vic couldn’t exactly make out the words but it looked like she said, “Are you hungry?”.

Vic scribbled his observations on a napkin on his table to ensure that he would remember all the smells, sounds, and details about the restaurant when he would write a review later. He noticed that for such an empty restaurant it sure was taking a long time to receive his food. Finally, Fles came back with his creamy white vanilla milkshake and auburn sweet potato fries.

“Sorry the burger is taking so long, love. We only have one cook, Billy, and he loves to take extra time on his meals,” chirped Fles. Sha gave him those same green seductive eyes that she gave the burly man. Vic darted his eyes away and meekly let out a “thank you”. Now, he was famished. He dug into the milkshake and fries and devoured it within what seemed to be ten seconds. After finishing, he wiping the crumbs and oil off his lips gently and scanned around the room once again. He noticed the burly man didn’t return from his little trip to the kitchen with Fles, and saw that his friends didn’t even seem to notice. They had just received their burgers and were ferociously chowing down on them. Bits of dark pink meat flew through their thick beards as they ate. Vic shuddered at this sight. He always enjoyed being proper while consuming foods and felt that it would be disrespectful to eat in such a way. Vic’s stomach rumbled again. Again? I just ate the fries, how could this be? I’m never usually this hungry. Hmm that burger is starting to smell really good though…

Vic woke startled by a hand pinching his cheeks. Rats, I must’ve fallen asleep. Damn jet lag. But I waited for a while, time was a drag. Fles stood, looming over him with a perfect looking burger plated on a checkered red dish. She giggled at Vic’s messy hair and disoriented look while she set the plate down in front of him, and licked her fingers to smooth down Vic’s hair. Then she proceeded to pull out her 35 millimeter black Canon film camera and take a photo of Vic with his burger.

“You said you were a food critic, so I must throw your photo on the wall with the others,” Fels explained with a wink. Vic looked around more closely at the photos and recognized one of his late colleagues: Emmit Dangur. He was on a trip to the U.K. two years ago to chase some of the most delicious foods, when he disappeared suddenly. No one reported on it, they could only conclude that he never returned from eating dinner one night.

His thoughts and sadness for his friend were interrupted by Fles hollering, “Now, eat up Vic!” as she stomped away toward the kitchen. Vic noticed that the two men at the bar had become one, and that one man had a new burger in front of him. He felt astonished by the appetite of this one man, even though he also could relate because he, also,  was starving once again. Vic searched around his table for utensils but when he could find none he was puzzled. Defeated, Vic decided he must go the “primal route” and eat with his hands. He picked up the burger, admiring the bloody color that stained the patty and the deep melted yellow of the cheese. And he devoured it, every single bite. Vic barely had enough time to breathe in between, and the fleshy flavor lingered on his tongue. Once finished, his face held a concerned expression. He had never, never, ever eaten like that. It was like a demon or an animal possessed him while eating. It was barbaric. He felt like he was going to be sick.

Vic felt ashamed and disturbed. He quickly fumbled for his cash so that he could leave as soon as possible. But quickly Fles caught him as he set down his money.

“Leaving so soon?”

“Uhm, yeah, I’m really tired I should go.”

“Aw c’mon love, have some mince pies or a nice ice cream to settle that burger.”

“No it’s really okay, I should get going. The food was amazing, I’ll write a great review on it. It truly was a fantastic meal Fles, thank you so much.”

Fles looked frantic as Vic begun to walk towards the door. She bustled over to him and caught him by his plaid shirt sleeve.

“Love! I’m terribly sorry for chasing you like this but you said you loved the burger. And honestly, I only do this for customers who seem to really enjoy the food, so I invite you to take a tour of the kitchen. Wouldn’t you like to see what goes into that masterpiece of a burger?”

Vic stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around and a heavy shadow cast onto his face. He thought for a moment, about the way the food changed his behavior. That really intrigued him, he had never experienced anything like that. He sighed and finally replied, “ I would love to”.

It was only a week later did Vic’s disappearance come to the attention of the public. An article published by Food Lover surfaced, explaining that Vic Tumb had gone to England for a food trip and never returned home. There was no evidence of murder or suicide, only a single review that seemed incomplete posted online. It read, “Billy’s Diner is truly one the most special burger joints I have had the privilege of visiting. As soon as I stepped into the doorway I knew I was hungry-”.