The Fortune Cookie That Did Not Lie - Part One

The Fortune Cookie That Did Not Lie - Part One

by Rod Jones Artist-Writer

 

The long grueling six day shift for Ethan the fireman was over. It was one of those weeks that started out with just a small manageable brushfire that ended up spreading into several hundred acres. Spurred on by hot Santa Ana winds, the difficult terrain made for a dangerous and difficult time for all of the fire crews that were assigned to this fire.

Ethan was happy to be home finally. He lived in a small fifth wheel trailer. His plan was to take off in his truck, pulling the trailer and enjoying his days off from being a fireman by exploring the Southwest.

After a long and especially hard shift fighting fire, one of Ethan's favorite things to do was eat Chinese food, especially at his favorite restaurant called China Land. He usually went into the restaurant midafternoon when there were very few patrons there. He had a favorite table that was somewhat isolated back in the corner. Most of the wait staff recognized him and made sure he received excellent service, especially because they knew he was an excellent tipper. Occasionally, they would ask why he always eats alone. Ethan shared the only answer he could share.

"I'm not married, and unfortunately I don't have a girlfriend, hope to someday, hope it’s sooner rather than later. Whoever that girlfriend is, I hope she likes to explore the southwest and doesn't mind living in a trailer."

Midafternoon on the Thursday that Ethan ended his shift at the fire station. He went home to his trailer and cleaned up. Then as usual, he headed for the China Land restaurant, and sat down at his favorite secluded corner table. There he hungrily ordered his meal while he was reading his mail. This time there was a new waitress that he had never seen before. He thought to himself she was cute and had a warm personality. She was friendly, but cautiously reserved. Ethan was always respectful to people that he met and especially to women. He quietly ate his meal and waited for his waitress to bring him his check. The girl that waited on him came over to the table with a sweet and endearing smile. Ethan got the impression that she was being a bit flirtatious, and he figured she was hoping that he would give her a big tip. The waitress placed the check and a tray directly in front of Ethan. She seemed to rotate the tray so the most prominent feature was the fortune cookie. Again Ethan thought she was being a little flirtatious, but then again, he thought she just wanted a good tip. Ethan picked up the bill that was on the tray, letting the fortune cookie slide off to the side. Rarely did he ever open one up and read the fortune. He had it in his mind that somehow it was bad luck to do so. Ethan never ate the fortune cookie. This time he could see the waitress was watching him. She was half hidden behind a plant near one of the other tables, but she was definitely watching every move he made. This made Ethan a little uncomfortable, but he was sincerely flattered. He started to think of her as being damn cute and lovely.

The fortune cookie was just sitting there on the table in front of him. He stared at it. All kinds of emotions seem to be going through his mind when it came to that fortune cookie just sitting there. After he went through several minutes of, "Should I, or shouldn't I, open that cookie and read the fortune." He picked it up in his hand and inspected it like it was some engineering marvel. Again, he was having mixed emotions about actually cracking it open. Looking up and around the room again he made eye contact with his waitress. She wasn't hiding herself so much now, she was only 10 or 15 feet away staring at him directly. Ethan continued to look at the Fortune cookie and then looked up at his waitress. She seemed to be subliminally encouraging him to open the cookie and read the fortune.

Holding his four fingers clenched to his palms and his thumbs carefully placed on each side of the fortune cookie, he broke it open, exposing the fortune inside. Before even reading it, he looked up at the waitress who had moved much closer to where he was sitting. He thought to himself that she was remarkably beautiful. Again he felt she was encouraging him almost telepathically to read the fortune he had just set free from being trapped inside that simple confectionery.

Measuring approximately 2.5" x 0.5" that simple fortune cookie fortune was about to change Ethan's life. It only contained 11 words. But those 11 words were more powerful than he could've imagined. Ethan at first read it to himself, then he read it moving his lips. He then read it again, only this time out loud. By now the waitress was only a few feet away, so she could easily hear the words that he was saying. He looked up at her and spoke the words that were written on that little piece of paper.

"You are going to meet a beautiful woman with long black hair." It was beyond comprehension of what Ethan felt inside. Here he was holding a fortune from a fortune cookie, reading it out loud and looking up at a beautiful woman with long black hair.

The waitress came over and stood by the table and asked Ethan, "May I sit down and speak with you for a moment?" No matter how Ethan felt, he knew that he should let her sit down at the table with him.

In perfect English, which was never the case from any of the China Land waitresses, the waitress sitting in front of him said, "My name is Jetta Wong, may I tell you a little bit about myself?"

Ethan, being more curious than ever at what had just taken place, looked at her and said, "Please, please tell me who you are, and how I ended up with that fortune that obviously referred to you as the beautiful girl with long black hair?

"Okay, but first please tell me your name."

"My name is Ethan Brown. I am a fireman and I live not too far from this restaurant. I live in a fifth wheel trailer by myself.

"Thank you Ethan, you have a very masculine name. And I want to get to know you better. Let me tell you more about myself. I was born in Hong Kong. I grew up speaking Cantonese. After I graduated from college, I was invited to work at the United States Consulate office in Hong Kong. There I learned to speak proper English. I had the opportunity to live in America thanks to the US government. That's why I'm here. My parents, sister and brother still live in Hong Kong. I asked them if they wanted to move to this country, and so far they've declined. Working here at China Land is not my only occupation. I am not free to tell you more about that right now."

"Thank you Jetta for sharing your background. I think the name Jetta is very beautiful but it seems very unusual."

"Yes Ethan, I'm not sure why that first name was given to me. In Hong Kong Chinese people are often given American first names. Chinese first names can be difficult to pronounce so it's easier to use an American first name."

"Well I like the name Jetta, it makes me think of the color jet black, just like your hair, and now that I can see you much closer, I see you have black eyes.”

Jetta stared straight into Ethan's eyes with a penetrating aggressive look. Raised her voice and said, "I want to see where you live Ethan. I want to see your trailer this afternoon."

Ethan did not know how to respond. He felt like he was being pushed into something, but he did not know exactly what. Her aggressive posture and tone he thought to himself was downright unsettling and scary.

"Jetta, I would be happy for you to see my place. But I hardly know you. Also how do you know that I'm not some kind of weirdo that would try and take advantage of you? I think you are very pretty and I like the interesting way we met. And I would like to get to know you better, maybe we can go out on a date."

"I know you think you're right Ethan. But you and I are supposed to be together now. The Fortune Cookie Did Not Lie.”

End of part one: part two will be available in less than a week. This story is going to take on unimaginable psychological twists and turns.

As usual this story and all of my short stories are available at ThoughtRowVignettes.com

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