After several weeks of confinement, the letter was still guarded, proud, the entrance of the small restaurant. Behind the methacrylate screen, locked in a black metal box, the last menu could still be read. First, offered several dishes to choose from: sticky rice with rabbit and mushrooms, a pasta salad, or chickpea stew with cod and spinach. Second, you could choose between some sirloin medallions, hake in green sauce or some poor potatoes that accompanied a piece of baked chicken. Dessert and coffee or drink, were included. Total: 11’50 €, price a little higher than the area average, but that was compensated by the quality of the cuisine, according to some comments that circulated on the Internet.
It was the very fact that the menu was still hanging from the facade that meant that the restaurant had not yet given up hope that things would return to the way they were before.. Suddenly, and without really understanding what was happening, All the customers had disappeared and the blinds had been lowered.. In the dark interior, after the last cleaning and tuning, the chairs were still placed on the tables, the coffee maker remained off, the refrigerators and displays were empty, no product, something I had not known in the seven years it had been open, the batteries were clean, glittering, the dishwasher unplugged, and although there were still some bottles of liquor on the shelves, It was more than evident that, at least for now, there would be no one to order a drink or a shot after coffee.
But if during the day so much inactivity and that incomprehensible silence weighed on him,, at night it was even worse. Accustomed to the hustle and bustle, I missed the loud noise of plates and cutlery colliding together., the deafening conversations of customers, the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, the thump-thump-thump of footsteps and the dragging of chairs, the heat of the stove or the company of background music, a selection of classic pop songs in electronic version that he was not enthusiastic about, but that undoubtedly helped create that pleasant environment, basis of the success it had enjoyed in recent times.
Embarrassed, consulted the situation with some nearby establishments. The clothing store on his right could help him little., wall to wall. I was just as confused. like the restaurant, He had also lost his clientele overnight and had no more information about the reason than that.. The small furniture store across the street couldn't clarify anything for them either., beyond what a bank branch on the corner had told him. As he had been able to extract from a telephone conversation of one of the customers who had approached his ATM, It seems that people had been affected by a strange disease that had them confined to their homes., something that seemed to be corroborated, the furniture store told him, due to information that had been spread by a supermarket that was a couple of blocks away and that had been running from commercial floor to commercial floor. Of course, well looked at, how to trust that? A disease that forced people to stay at home seemed like a strange disease.. And wouldn't it be that that information, passing from one to another, maybe it had been distorted a little? It is possible, The furniture store told him that it was also not very sure of the explanations that the bank branch had given it.. Besides, trust what a supermarket says or doesn't say, although it was one of the few establishments in the neighborhood operating at full capacity, It was somewhat reckless because, as everyone knows, supermarkets are very talkative and they like to talk more than necessary and, generally, what they don't understand. Besides, how long was that going to last? Was it temporary or would it be a permanent closure? Nobody knew how to clarify it.
The restaurant's doubts were confirmed one day when, by surprise, saw him arrive. At first, he didn't recognize it. With the streets practically empty for so many days, I didn't expect it. But when he realized that that solitary figure was heading directly towards him, looked better and, at last, it dawned on him. He was the owner. The man opened the street blind determined, like he always did, which gave the restaurant enormous pleasure. Then, He lifted the light switch, causing a pleasant tingling sensation that spread throughout the room. (it was difficult for him to hold back his laughter). After this gesture, the owner crossed the dining area dodging, with that agility that characterized him, tables and chairs crammed everywhere. That's when the owner went into the kitchen., when the restaurant was about to ask him to explain first-hand what was happening, but something stopped him.
Excited by your presence and the possibility of resuming activity, he hadn't realized, but when he looked a little better, He noticed the tired and dejected look of the owner. I've never seen it like this. I knew the restaurant well. He was a man of tough character, friendly with customers, harsh with staff, but to an extent that did not make him excessively inflexible. Over the years, I had lived through everything with him and had learned to appreciate the difficulties of running a business and, above all, the setbacks in human relationships that had forced him to make some decisions that did not always correspond with his vision of life. It was clear that running a place like yours, with so many things to take into account every day of the week (except sundays, that was closed), It was not an easy task. Nevertheless, I had never seen their seemingly infinite energies diminish, what had made, over the years, the restaurant will come to appreciate it, despite those small differences of opinion that I had maintained with him on some issues (the organization of the kitchen or tables, or closing times, to give some example). But, that day, He saw him really dejected and that worried him in such an intimate way that he did not dare to bother him with probably absurd questions..
The owner of the restaurant spent a while searching the drawers and the bookshelf in the modest room at the back that served as an office.. He turned on the computer and spent a good time exploring the hard drive in search of some documents that he copied onto a pen-drive.. urinated once. He drank a glass of water. He made three calls, one to your employment advisor, another to his wife and another to one of his usual suppliers. The latter made him understand that, whatever had forced him to close the business, It didn't seem like it would be reversed anytime soon.. Heard words like ruin, disaster, deadlines, aid and even loans, words that he had not heard before or that he had a distant memory of and that worried the restaurant. Then, just as it had arrived, The owner closed the blinds and left.
Although they asked, because now they noticed him sadder, He never wanted to share his suspicions with the nearby stores and preferred to keep with them the hope that everything would soon be like it was a month ago.. Now, when the clothing store and the furniture store start arguing with the bank about the future, He usually remains silent so as not to take away from anyone the illusion necessary to face life's setbacks.. After all, I also had no certainty and it was still possible that what everyone was waiting for would end up happening sooner than expected and everything would return to normal.. Although he had lived with them daily, What did he understand about the affairs of men??, the restaurant thought. How could I be sure of anything? Nah, better forget about it, it was said. But, at night, when the sunlight fell and the street lights came on, The restaurant remembered the owner and was overcome by a sadness so deep that it could not be contained.. So, you could hear him howling at the moon. Immediately, other restaurants joined him, howling in a more or less rhythmic way, forming, between everyone, a chorus of howls that could easily be mistaken for a pack of dogs in heat. They are the restaurants in your city that moan for people to return.. ¡¡Awwwwwwww!!! GERARDO LEON
