Except tonight Javi wants to talk.
"So," he says, polishing a glass. "The big guy."
"What big guy."
"The guy at four. The one you couldn't stop looking at."
"I wasn't looking at him."
"Grace. You stood at his table for ten seconds after he left. I timed it."
"You did not time it."
"I have a clock right there." He points at the bar clock, which is a neon thing Danny bought at an estate sale that hasn't kept accurate time since 2019. "Okay, I didn't time it, but it was a long time. For you."
I roll a set of silverware into a napkin and place it in the bin. "He was a customer. He ordered the branzino. He tipped thirty percent. He left."
"And you stood at his empty table and stared at his plate."
"I was busing the table."
"You were busing the table for ten seconds with nothing in your hands."
I throw a napkin at him. It hits his shoulder and falls to the bar. He grins, the full-face grin that takes up all his features, and I can't help the fact that my mouth moves toward a smile even though I don't want it to.
"He was big," Javi says.
"Yeah."
"Not, like, gym big. Big big. Like, did his parents feed him growth hormones big."
"I don't think that's how it works."
"I'm just saying, if he comes back, we might need to reinforce table four. The chair was making a sound."
"You could hear his chair from behind the bar."
"I have excellent hearing."
"You have excellent nosiness."
Javi puts the glass down and picks up another one and polishes it while looking at me sideways. "He was looking at you."
"He was eating."
"He was eating and looking at you. Literally staring at you. I'm a bartender, Grace. I watch people for a living. He watched you the entire time you were on the floor. Kinda creepy, honestly. He knew where you were in the room at all times."
"You're being weird," an unsteady laugh escapes me.
"No, I just care. What if he’s a serial killer?"
"For the love of Pete. That’s ridiculous. Stop judging people before you get to know them, it’s bad for your mental health."
Javi shrugs. "All I'm saying is, if he comes back, you should learn his name. Because right now I'm calling him The Rhino in my head and that's not sustainable."
"Please don't call him The Rhino."
"Too late. It's done. The Rhino ordered the branzino. The Rhino tipped thirty percent. The Rhino made Grace stand at an empty table for ten seconds looking at a plate."