Edward hated puzzles.
It wasn't because he was bad at puzzles, it was because he couldn't walk past one without seeing where the pieces went. Perhaps it was a gift, or maybe a curse. Whatever it was, it drove him nuts. It was like an itch you had to scratch. But it never was good enough to put one piece in the right place. Oh no, as soon as he put the first piece in place, he'd see another. Then another. And another. Sooner or later he'd put all the obvious pieces into place, and then he could try to walk away.
But no.
He'd move a few of the scattered pieces about and his mind would pick up another piece. He'd just "know" how they went together. He'd tried walking away before, but it wouldn't do any good. It'd stick in his mind. He'd fixate on it. He couldn't let it go. So he loathed to go walking anywhere there might be someone working on a puzzle.
So for him it was a nightmare made manifest when the girl who walked in to the restaurant he was a waiter at, sat at a corner table and up ended an entire 5000 piece puzzle out on the table.
[Now you have a guy who wants to avoid getting anywhere near the table in the corner, yet he has to serve her the food she wants to order. How can he get her order, serve her the food, and not look at her. Will he get help from the other servers? Will his boss get pissed off because he's acting so weird? Then what happens when she silently starts crying while trying to finish the puzzle? Why is she crying? Will Our protangonist help?]
SHOW. DON'T TELL.
BTW, if they both quietly finish the puzzle, but neither of them talks to each other, that isn't "interacting". They are interacting with the puzzle, not each other. Then you can add a special picture, like it's a custom portrait of the woman's family. Maybe she's not young, but an old woman, and he's a young man. He's got dreams while she only has regrets.
Ooo! Maybe while they work on the puzzle the old woman stops putting it together, the waiter finishes, and then he finds out the ol woman died while sitting there. She just faded away. Now THERE's a twist!
