The Man was always at the family restaurant when Ana arrived at 2:30 for her monday shift. Ana went to the office to change from her school clothes into her black collared shirt with Aleksander’s and a small Macedonian flag embroidered in the corner. She quickly braided her long dark hair to the side, and threw on a black baseball cap which had faded to a charcoal color. She threw her backpack behind the desk and hurried out into the kitchen. It was her Grandparent’s restaurant, tucked away in the corner of a plaza where half of the stores had foreclosed. Despite the awful location, which Ana’s Grandpa had sworn would send them packing, Aleksander’s was by far the busiest restaurant in their small town.

  Ana had been working Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 8:00 since she was twelve. Of course then she was paid under the table. On the days that Ana worked, Ana’s Grandparents had the day off, and her brother Nic was in charge of the restaurant. About a week ago, The Man requested that Ana waited on his table. His booth was positioned in the corner of the restaurant, right next to the cash register, where Nic was often working. Ana didn’t want to wait on him. Although he looked like the everyday business man, something about him made Ana feel uneasy. He was always staring at Ana and Nic, almost longingly, and it was uncomfortable. After serious contemplation, Ana had decided he probably wasn’t going to kidnap and kill her. After all, he tipped well and Ana needed the money. College in New York would not be cheap. The Man seemed to be about her Mother’s age, give or take a few years. He was always wearing a fancy suit, and he never wore the same suit twice. He had neatly combed brown hair, and hazel eyes, very similar to the color of Ana’s eyes. He was soft spoken, and only talked to Ana to order and say thank you.

That day, the man had been later than usual. He strolled in at 4:30, and sauntered over to his booth, with a confident demeanor that he didn’t have before. Ana took his drink order. It was the usual, decaf and unsweetened iced tea. As Ana walked briskly to the waitress station, she remarked how his drink combo was also her go-to when she went out to eat. As Ana was bringing the decaf and tea to the man, her Teta Mara and Teta Lena burst through the front doors, arguing very loudly in Macedonian. “Anastastia! Look how long your hair has gotten! Did you get it colored? You look skinny! Too skinny, have you been eating enough? Where is Nico?” Ana smiled at the familiar bombardment of questions. “Hi Teta Mara, Hi Teta Lena, One minute, I have to give that customer his drinks,” Ana told her aunts and gestured to the man, who had turned away from them. Her aunts exchanged glances and Mara said something under her breath to Lena. “ Ok chupe, come sit down when your ready! Come on Lenche,” Mara said quickly, almost nervously, as she pulled Lena towards their usual booth. Ana sat there confused, then shook her head and half-ran over to the man. “ are you ready to ord- “ “ Are those your Aunts?” The man said, almost as if he already knew the answer. Ana was taken aback by the fact that the man had said something to her other than “kebapi and ajvar please,” “ Um.. yeah they are, my family owns this restaurant,” Ana responded cautiously. “ I gathered,” The man looked different now. He sat with his head upright, his shoulders turned towards her. The man continued to talk to her, and Ana’s vision became fuzzy once she heard the slight accent in his voice. The accent that could only come from a Macedonian. She stared into his eyes, and realized they were almost identical to her own.

Ana walked slowly to where her Aunts and Nic were drinking coffee. She sat down and a million thoughts bounced back and forth off of the walls of her mind. Abruptly she turned to her aunts, perplexed. “Do you know that man over there? He’s Macedonian.” Ana said as a bitter taste formed in her mouth. Mara and Lena looked back and forth from Nic to Ana. “Hey Ana, that guy kind of looks like you” Nic remarked. “Oh Nico, don’t be ridiculous!” “Oh please, all Macedonians look Alike!” Just then Ana and Nic’s mother, Menka, sat down as the table were rapidly talking in macedonian, Ana and Nic trying to get information of of Mara and Lena. “Ma! Who is that guy over there?” Nic pointed the man who was poking the food on his plate with a fork. The moment Menka saw the man, she stomped over to his booth and began to whisper yell at him, hoping her kids wouldn’t hear her. Ana’s mom was quiet, she was gentle, she would never make a scene in public and Ana was stunned at the way she had approached the man, a stranger. Menka’s  efforts to be mask the conversation with the man had failed because now Ana’s suspicions had been confirmed. It felt like someone was sitting on her shoulders, there was a stabbing pain in her chest as she walked unsteadily to the table the man sat at. Except he wasn’t just the man anymore he was her father.