Abort Mission
three
When I wake up, my head lets me know immediately that I’m going to need a hot shower, some caffeine, and a lot of ibuprofen. Not necessarily in that order. I walk to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, but I see Kate’s already started one.
Strange. She usually sleeps in the day after a long shift. I move to the bay window that overlooks the pasture and see her heading to the barn to feed the animals. I’m very suspicious now. What did she do that she’s sucking up for?
Running back to the bedroom where my phone sits on the bedside table charging, I immediately open my messages to Charlie, and I’m swamped with relief to see that she didn’t respond to him in my stead. I still think she did something, but I’ll have to figure it out when my head stops pounding.
After I fix myself a cup of coffee with enough cream and sugar to cause diabetes, I swallow down four pain relievers and head toward the bathroom to start the shower. I like my water to be scalding hot, and this old house takes forever to heat the water. I don’t mind, though, because it gives me time to enjoy my coffee.
My hangover trio worked like a charm; I knew it would. It never lets me down. I feel rejuvenated and ready to conquer the day. Bring it on, karma. Let’s see what you’ve got in store today.
Kate sits on my bed and fills me in on her shift last night while I get ready for work. She’s not acting funny, though. I guess she just woke up in a better mood than usual. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt this time, even though I’m usually right when it comes to my best friend.
Mistakenly, I signed up to work a double today. This should be fun after the awful night Kate apparently had. With there only being six restaurants in town, and three of them being fast food chains, The Dairy Bar is really the only place to get a good burger, so it stays busy.
Pulling into work, I quickly see how today is going to go. There are about 30 cars in the lot with less than ten of them belonging to employees.
“Morning, Haedyn!”
“Morning, David! How’s it going?”
“Oh, it’s going all right. I’m sure it’s about to get better now that our best waitress is here, though.”
“Hey, don’t make me tell Kate!” I holler back at him. He’s always trying to suck up to her for one reason or another. The vibe between them is riddled with enough tension to hold up a seasoned acrobat.
He chuckles as he shoots me a wink. David is the owner, and he’s pushing twice my age, though you’d never guess it by his looks alone. He’s a silver fox if I’ve ever seen one. Fit, too. He’s harmless, but he flirts with any woman that walks. Horny bastard. I just roll my eyes, laughing to myself as I throw on my apron and get to work.
“Order up, Haedyn!” Kyle calls from the kitchen. He’s the main cook during the week. He’s worked here longer than I have, and he knows his stuff. I’m pretty sure he went to school here, but he doesn’t get into personal details with many people. He’s here to work and not much else. When he’s in the kitchen, the place runs like a well-oiled machine. I rush over to grab the two burgers and drinks for table nine and head out to the patio. The Dairy Bar only has five tables inside that are usually reserved for the older customers who shouldn’t be out in the weather too much. The rest of the tables are outside under a big metal awning stretching off the restaurant.
I deliver the food to table nine which is being occupied by a couple of our regulars. They eat here at least twice a week on their lunch breaks, and they tip well. “All right guys, eat up, and be sure to let me know if you need anything.” I smile before I turn toward the door to go back inside.
Only, on my way, I see a familiar face staring at me from a few tables over. Those sea-foam eyes look like they’re expecting something from me, but I’m not about to find out what that is. It should be embarrassing how fast I walk past him, but I think I left embarrassing in the dust yesterday with that picture.
*ding*
The phone in my back pocket suddenly feels like it’s burning a hole in my ass cheek. Do I want to risk a peek? I’m pretty sure I know who that message is from. My suspicions are confirmed when I pull it out and the screen shows the name behind my hangover this morning. Charlie. Freaking. Womack.
Charlie: Any chance I can get one of those juicy burgers from the prettiest girl here? Maybe I can pick you up after you get off, and we can talk?
No way in hell is that happening. I can’t face him. I was excited to meet him before, but now I’m feeling like I need to hide forever. Maybe pick up my house and move far far away.
I’m walking back into the kitchen when I hear Kyle say, “Hey, perfect timing, table six’s order is ready”. Of course that would be the table I’m trying to avoid like the damn plague. I reluctantly grab the plate and soda he ordered and head to my ultimate doom.
“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise? I guess today is my lucky day, huh?”
“Umm, yeah, I guess so. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Wow. That’s all I get? And here I thought you’d be happy to see me. I sure was excited to see you when I got here. I swear I wasn’t stalking you. It’s just a happy coincidence that I wanted a good burger, and this is the only place to get one from what I hear.”
“We do have really good burgers, but I’m not sure what to think about you possibly stalking me.”
“You don’t have to think anything because I’m not. Is it really so hard to believe that we just happened to run into one another? I mean, it is a small town.”
“Yeah, it is, but you don’t even live here.” He chuckles lightly, undeterred.
“You’ve got me there. I’m actually here to kill some time before I have to meet a wine rep at the vineyard on the outskirts of town.”
“Likely excuse. Anyway, don’t worry about picking me up. I have plans after work. Sorry.” His eyebrows almost meet his hairline, wrinkling his tanned face.
“Oh, so you can read texts then? I was starting to wonder since you haven’t answered mine in the last 24 hours.”
“Seems like you don’t know how to take a hint.”
“I can take a hint just fine which is why I’m confused. That picture was sending me the hint that you wanted to get together, but apparently, I’m way off the mark here.”
“Yeah, you definitely are. I’m not interested.”
“If you’d actually talk to me, you might find out that you could be.”
“No thanks. Enjoy your meal. Thanks for stopping by.”
As I turn to walk off, I hear him laugh as he says, “I’ll be seeing you soon, Haedyn.”
Creepy much?
I know that I’m deflecting and being rude, but I can’t see how we could work out after this horrific beginning. I don’t want to see him later. I want to forget that this ever happened and move on with my life. Thank you, next. Abort mission. Nothing to see here. Case closed.