I was close to accepting my new life in Los Angeles. I had been coming to terms with the fact that I would never find out why I had been sent here. I had never been able to find the Peacock, even with the internet's help. I was now spending my time with either Harriet or Mateo. I looked forward to the days that I saw both of them. One night while I was working with Mateo, I was asked to run out food for one of Alicia's tables. The table had two men who were dressed in professional clothes. They had on button-down shirts, ties, shiny shoes, and looked like they were on their way home from working somewhere. I took the food out to their table, and they were mid-conversation. One of them said to the other, "Ever since the Peacock shut down..." I froze. I had been waiting for months for clues about why I was here. And now I finally had one. I sat there with the food dishes in my arms. The guy who had been speaking stopped and looked at me. I was still frozen. He asked, "Are you going to give us our food before it gets cold?" It snapped me back into work mode. I dropped off the food and then left. 

I was shaken. Honestly, I was almost over my desire to return home. I had started to enjoy my life when this clue was finally brought to me. Someone who had known about the bar where I had first entered the world. I sat in the back, trying to come up with ideas of how I might be able to go ask for more information. I ultimately decided to call over Alicia to ask her about these customers. I gestured at Alicia, and she came over. She was fixing her hair after being outside for a smoke break. I  asked her, "Those guys at table 43, do you know them?" A smile broke out on Alicia's face. She looked out back into the main room at them. She says, "I do. He is one of my regulars. The two of them come in every Friday night for a meal. They work around here and come into the restaurant to eat. Why? Do you think he is cute?" Alicia looks at the younger one. The one I had heard say something about the Peacock. She smiles again, "he's pretty attractive. I think he is rich too. He always wears super expensive suits. And even though he is younger, he always decides what he and his coworker are eating and when they are going to leave. He's a take-charge vibe that some girls find attractive. They are going to order one more round of drinks. Do you want to finish up their table for me so you can talk to him again?" I smile and nod my head. Alicia immediately starts laughing. She sends me over there to ask if they need anything else.

They both order another drink, but the younger one looks at me with an unreadable look. He seems to be sizing me up. I put on my best smile and use all the tricks I have learned that make people leave me a bigger tip. I ask about their days when I drop off their drinks. I hear about their work. Apparently, they work at a company close by, one that publishes books. I don't fully get everything that they say about what they do for work, but I nod like I do. The younger one eventually asks for the check. I am walking over to drop off the check. I am still at a loss for how I can bring up the Peacock without sounding like a stalker. My brain is blank. I start to feel anxious. I don't want my one clue walking away, but I also don't want to say something that could put me in a position where I might give away to a stranger information about my past.

I watch them walk out the door. I start to feel dejected. How could I let this happen?  Just then, Alicia walks over with a giant smile on her face. She hands over the receipt. I thought she was trying to show me how much they had left her as a tip. Something she had done before. But instead she turned over the receipt and said, "I don't know what you did, but he left you his number. You are super lucky. You might have got yourself a sugar daddy." I grab the receipt and see a number scrawled on the back. I instantly pull out my phone and put his name and number in it. I decide to ask Harriet about what I should do when it comes to communicating with him. I walk home from work that night in a great mood. I might have found my way to getting home.