by Rebecca Immich
I wrote this story for two reasons: (one) I wanted to explain who that girl was that appeared in the credits during season one and (two) I thought C.J. deserved to have a story written about him - especially now that he is leaving.
C.J. slid into the booth at the Buttery, tired from another long day at work. He stared at the plastic-covered menu, trying to decide which was the lesser of two evils, the Welsh rarebit or the spaghetti.
"Hi! I'm Adrian," a feminine voice said. "I'll be your waitress tonight."
C.J. switched his gaze to the waitress. She was short and slender and had friendly green eyes. She smiled and said, "Have you decided to order yet?"
C.J. was still enthralled with Adrian's beauty when she stopped talking. "Uh," he stammered, "w-which is better, the Welsh rarebit or the spaghetti?"
"I'd recommend the rarebit." Pencil poised over her pad, Adrian asked again, "What would you like?"
"I'd like to marry you," C.J. stopped, embarrassed by what he had just said. Adrian turned pink and was tried - although not too successfully - to hold back a smile. "I mean, I'll have the Welsh rarebit."
Adrian scribbled on her pad and disappeared into the kitchen. C.J. let his breath out in a deep sigh. He had never been good with women. It looked like tonight was no exception.
The rest of C.J.'s meal passed without any disruption. He was served a steaming hot plate of surprisingly tasty Welsh rarebit. After savoring the last bite, C.J. began to get up. Adrian ran over. "Would you like some more coffee?"
She leaned over and, while pouring the coffee, she whispered in his ear. "I'll be off work in about ten minutes. Could you wait for me?"
C.J, startled by her request, nodded and slowly sank back into the booth. Adrian flashed him another smile and vanished back into the kitchen.
Five minutes passed and the Buttery's customers slowly trickled out. Another five minutes and C.J. was alone in the dining area. A lone busboy finished cleaning the tables and disappeared into the kitchen with stacks of dirty dishes. Adrian reappeared from the kitchen, wearing freshly applied makeup and street clothes. She walked over and slid into the seat across from C.J. "I usually don't do this sort of thing," Adrian began, blushing slightly, "but you seemed so nice. And nervous."
C.J. stuck his hand across the table. "I'm C.J. McHugh. I work at WENN, the radio station next door."
Adrian grasped his hand firmly. "Oh really!" she exclaimed. "What do you do?"
"I work as the engineer." At Adrian's look of puzzlement, he clarified, "Not like a train engineer or anything. I monitor the broadcasts and handle the technical stuff. Who are you?"
"I'm Adrian Threepwood. I work here."
"Hey, Adrian," a heavy-set man said, walking out from the kitchen. "Close up when you leave, okay?"
"Sure, Lenny," she replied.
He walked out, the door banging shut behind him. "That's Lenny, my boss," Adrian explained. "I'd better get going."
"Can I walk you to-" C.J. asked, pausing to think. "Well, wherever you're going?"
"I take the trolley to my boarding house."
C.J. stood up and extended his arm. "Would you like me to walk you to the trolley?" he asked.
Adrian stood up and placed her hand on his arm. "I would be honored." They walked out of the Buttery, heading towards the trolley line.
C.J. and Adrian fell into a habit of meeting at the Buttery. Every night, C.J. would walk Adrian to the trolley. At first, they chatted about inconsequential stuff, but slowly the pair began to realize that they had a lot in common. They began to go to movies together, and Adrian came to WENN on her days off. She would sit in the green room and listen to the broadcasts. At first, Adrian was a bit starstruck. These people were the celebrities of Pittsburgh. She had served them all at the Buttery, but somehow, drinking coffee and talking with them was a whole different story. After a couple of visits, Adrian began to realize that these celebrities were just ordinary people.
C.J. strolled into the Buttery and sat down at the counter. During a momentary lull between customers, Adrian walked up to his seat. "Hi C.J.!" she enthused. "I can't wait until we get to see Woman of the Year tonight! I'll be getting off in about a half an hour. Jenny's covering the rest of my shift. What would you like tonight? Welsh rarebit is the special."
C.J. smiled at Adrian. "That would be great. You'll never guess what happened tonight at the station! We caught a Nazi saboteur!"
Adrian glanced up at the waiting customers. "You'll have to tell me all about it later. There are a lot of people waiting. I'll get your food in a minute."
Adrian bustled around the crowded dining area and seated several people in rapid order. She went back into the kitchen and reappeared with C.J.'s dinner. She slid it on to his placemat and went back into the kitchen. Before C.J. could take a bite, the phone rang. Someone picked it up, spoke briefly, and then yelled, "Is there a C.J. McHugh here?"
C.J. rose from his stool and walked over to the phone. He spoke briefly and sat back down. Adrian walked over. "Who was that on the phone?" she asked.
"Lester, the night engineer. Apparently, he's indisposed. Something about one of his girlfriends, I think. I have to go back to the station. Adrian, I'm sorry we can't go to the movie, but-"
"I know, without you, what would WENN do?" Adrian let out a loud sigh. "What am I going to do without you?"
"You could go see the movie without me," C.J. suggested, trying to be helpful.
"Sure," Adrian said sarcastically. "Seeing Woman of the Year would be real fun alone."
"I don't have time for arguing, Adrian," C.J. said impatiently. He left some money next to his untouched dinner and kissed Adrian good-bye. "Tomorrow we could go see the movie. Lester will owe me a favor now."
C.J. left the Buttery and headed next door for WENN.
The next day C.J. stopped by the Buttery to talk to Adrian. She was at work, as usual, but when she saw C.J. she disappeared into the kitchen. While Adrian was gone, C.J. plopped down into a booth. Adrian reappeared in a few minutes, minus her cursory apron. She slid into the seat across from C.J. "I'm on my break," she said. "C.J, I think we need to talk about us."
C.J. looked slightly confused. "What do you mean, Adrian? Are you still mad at me for not being able to see the movie last night?"
"C.J, it's not just the movie." Adrian took a deep breath before rushing into her next sentence. "I don't think we should see each other any more."
C.J. opened his mouth to reply, but Adrian cut him off. "Let me finish please! It's not that I don't like you, I do! But we just don't have time for each other. You're too busy at WENN and I always have to work here. It's just not working out between us."
"But Adrian," C.J. began to protest, "what about-"
Adrian slid out of the booth and said, "I have to go back to work. I'm sorry, C.J."
C.J. looked up at her. "Me too," he said glumly. He knew when a woman's mind was made up, and he didn't want to cause a scene. "Good-bye, Adrian," he said wistfully.
C.J. got up and left the Buttery. Adrian was confused. She'd expected... Well, she wasn't sure what she expected. At least some sort of reaction. Adrian shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was time to go back to work.
The next few months were a blur to C.J. He did his job well, but automatically. No one at WENN really noticed his withdrawn state because they were too wrapped up in their own problems. Betty and Scott were quarreling, and something about Mr. Pruitt was amiss. After Jeff left for London, Hilary seemed anxious for him to come back. That was judging by the loud "Pumpkiiiiiiiiinnnn!" that Hilary screamed at the as he left. Scott got fired as the station manager and rehired as an actor.
Miss Cosgrave came up with the ingenious idea of supplying WEEP ("at the bottom of your radio dial") with WENN's original programming. C.J. was overloaded with stuff to do, monitoring both stations, but he thought he was up to the challenge. Plus it kept his mind off of Adrian. That worked...until Eugenia sang "Amore" and Maple sang another love song on WEEP. Mackie was translating the Italian, which was mostly the word "love." The combination of the two love songs and Mackie's translation was just enough for C.J. to handle. But then Betty turned to him and said, "Are you okay, C.J.?"
She sounded just like Adrian. The voices kept floating through his head and C.J. began to shake violently-
After waking up on the floor with a concerned Betty leaning over him, C.J. kept trying to forget about Adrian, but he couldnt't help but ask how she was doing. Betty and Maple would answer that Adrian was doing great. And because C.J. didn't want to appear desperate for information, he never pressed them for any more details.
After avoiding the Buttery for months, C.J. decided one day to go eat there. He was very nervous, but the place was filled with noisy people. Adrian was the only waitress in sight. C.J. sat down at the counter and hid his face behind a plastic menu. Adrian walked over and said, without noticing his face, "Hi. I'm your waitress, Adrian. Have you decided to order yet?"
C.J. shook his head and mumbled quietly that he wasn't ready yet. "I'll be back in a few minutes," Adrian said. "The special tonight is homemade meatloaf with mashed potatoes."
She turned abruptly towards the other customers. C.J. breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't noticed him. Adrian was looking more pretty than every, C.J. thought. She had cut her hair and was wearing a new dark blue dress with tiny flowers underneath her apron.
"What would you like?"
Adrian's voice broke through C.J.'s daydream. Several clever answers raced through his mind and C.J. replied, "I'll take you."
"C.J!" Adrian exclaimed, the color draining from her face. "What are you-" Adrian stopped and ran back into the kitchen.
C.J. quickly got to his feet and followed her into the kitchen. "Just go away!" she yelled, running through the crowded kitchen. As she pushed her way through several cooks and busboys, trays clattered to the floor, several plates smashed, and lettuce flew into the air.
"Adrian," one of the cooks began to say, in an attempt to calm her down, "what's wro-" He stopped short when C.J. pushed past him, following Adrian.
"Adrian, if you'd just listen!"
She didn't even turn back and walked out the service door to the alley. C.J. followed and found Adrian sitting on a garbage can. "I thought you'd left for good!" she said, crying uncontrollably. "Of all the restaurants in Pittsburgh, why did you have to walk into the one that I work at?"
"Well, Adrian, honey, I don't know the answer to that question," C.J. said. "But I think it might be fate. I've been miserable all these months after we broke up."
"Me too," Adrian agreed, her tears slowly stopping. "But what are we suppose to do about it? You never have time for me, and I'm always working when you do have time."
"Adrian, I know this isn't the greatest place, but," C.J. said, bending to kneel, "will you marry me?"
Adrian was startled. She stared down at C.J. in disbelief. A big smile slowly spread across her tearstained face. "Oh yes, C.J! A thousand times yes!"
The End
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