Midnight Roots (Silver Creek Ranch)

Chapter Seven

Dillon

Working at the diner on the first day seems easy enough, and Cece is pleased with me. Heston, the regular she talked about, left me a five-dollar tip. Not bad for my first day.

At least, that's what I thought until the lunchtime rush when everyone seemed to come in at once.

Both sides fill up, and I realize that the sleepy town of Ironhaven actually has a substantial amount of people in it.

And they all look hungry.

I look at Cece, who smiles at me. "I'll take the grill side. You take the cafe. If anyone complains, just tell them you'll call me."

"I can handle it," I say, sounding more confident than I feel .

I kind of wish Heston was back, as he was the lonely customer I was serving. Still, this is what I wanted. I wanted a job, and I need to prove myself.

I walk to the cafe side and find two older-looking women standing first in the queue at the register.

"Good afternoon, welcome to the Catch + Candle..."

"We know where we are," the blond one says. It's clearly a dye job to cover the grey.

I maintain my smile and nod. "Sorry, I'm new here."

"You don't say," the brunette with greying hair says.

"What can I get you?" I ask, taking out my notepad .

"Try not to mess this up. We want two cappuccinos, a slice of pumpkin pie, and a slice of cheesecake."

"Uh, strawberry or lemon?" I ask, knowing we have both.

"I always have lemon," the brunette says, as though this is the most obvious thing in the world.

"Thanks, I'll get that rung up for you."

"We don't pay until after," the blonde says with a shake of her head.

"I'm sorry, but Cece said I am to always get payment up front." I start to ring them up as they bicker amongst themselves, commenting about people from out of town ruining the landscape. They are the rudest fuckers I've ever met.

Still, this is hospitality, and I doubt it'll be the last time I will deal with them. I make a note about their looks, calling them blond bitch and brunette bitch, and writing their orders, tucking the slip into my apron.

I look at them and smile. "That'll be thirteen dollars."

"Here's thirteen dollars and fifty cents. Keep the change."

I take the money with a gracious smile, pocket the fifty cents, and put the thirteen dollars into the register. "I'll be right back with your coffee and pie."

I hurry along. Thankfully, the pies are already cut, and I just have to slide a piece neatly onto each plate. I take the pie to them and get to work on their cappuccinos. I try to make the cute little decorations that Cece showed me, but they come out a bit wonky. I carry the two cups to the counter and set them down.

"This looks sad," the blonde says.

"I'm sorry. As I said, I'm new."

"It better taste nice," she says as she takes her cup and pie and moves to sit at a booth with her friend closely following her.

A guy sidles up to sit at the counter and flags me down. "Coffee, cream and two sugars."

I ring him up, and he slides the money to me. "Keep the change."

It's a dollar fifty tip, better than the two old hags.

I put the money in the register, pocketing my tips. I make his coffee and carry it through.

They don't stop coming.

The few moments of silence I get, I think of how nice Heston was to me. He is different from how everyone else treats me. He isn't indifferent .

Once the lunchtime rush is over and the cafe falls quiet, I go to find Cece. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Wipe down the booths? Refill everything?"

"Done and done," I say with a smile. "And I didn't even get an order wrong."

"You are kind of slow, though," Cece says with a good-natured smile. "You need to work on being faster."

"Does that mean I'm hired?" I ask hopefully.

"Yes, it means you're hired," she sighs. "God knows I need help. You will work morning and afternoon shifts, occasionally evening if I need you. Mostly Fridays and Saturdays." She puts her hands on her hips. "You'll need a uniform. It's black pants and a black shirt, a T-shirt is fine. Then the apron stays here when you go home. "

"Are jeans fine?" I ask.

"Jeans are fine," she says.

I smile and nod. "Great, then I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, I'll show you how to cash up your shift. You can take your tips home. We pay weekly, by the way."

"That's fine by me." I give a slight bow. "Thanks for having faith in me."

Cece smiles. "Of course."

I take the apron off and hang it up on the back of the kitchen door before I leave. I see a truck parked out front, but I don't think anything of it as I walk toward my apartment. It isn't far, thankfully, and I think about the day that transpired. I'm going to have to learn the regulars’ names and their orders if I'm going to expect decent tips.

All in all, it was a good day, and I can now buy something to eat.