𝕃𝕆𝕍𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕄𝕐𝕊𝔼𝕃𝔽

ᑕᕼᗩᑭTᗴᖇ 𝚂I᙭-ᘜOOᗪ ᗪᗩY

Austin, Texas
Three days later
1:10p.m.

I get off the city bus hurrying down my block to my apartment seeing that I had 25 minutes to get to work. As I enter my apartment, I hurry and take a 1o minute show, get dress for work and leave the house sprinting to make it to work.

I finally walk through the double door to the clock in room also known as the break room, I see that I am two minutes late. After I clock in and put on my apron, grab my notepad and pen, my grandpa comes out of the office hugging me and kiss my forehead,
"Good evening my ladybug."

I smile and hug him back, "Hey grandpa, how are you doing? I'm sorry I'm late, my professor decided to give us a lecture on paying more attention and not to take his kindness for granted because he can be like the other professors and give us new assignments everyday," say in a mocking voice. We laugh and he shakes his head, " it's alright ladybug just get to work." I nod and walk out saying hello to everyone.

An hour later, as I sit at the counter reading one of my favorite poem books, I hear the bell on the door ring indicating that someone has came in. I hear my coworker greet someone and ask them how many. She seats them at a table and buzzes me to attend to the customer. I grab my notepad and pen then head to the table, plastering a somewhat fake smile on my face. It soon fades when I see who I am waitering to. We make eye contact and I plaster a fake smile on my face, "Welcome back to Valentines Place, what can I get for you this fine evening sir?"

I look down out my notepad ready to right down his order. "Umm can I just have a cup of half and half lemonade ice tea?" I nod as I write that down and tell him I'll be back with his drink and to take the rest of his order.

I come back with his drink sitting it down on a small napkin and taking out my pen and notepad again. "Are you ready to order sir?" I ask as I step back a little, he nods and looks at me, "yes, I would like red beans and rice with fried chicken legs, cornbread and mac and cheese." I nod and tell him his food will be out shortly and if he needs anything else to just press the button at the end of the table to buzz me. Four minutes later, I get a buzz from his table so I walk over to him, "Yes, do you need another refill or anything?"

He shakes his head no and leans back a little, "I was wonder why you gave me someone else's number the night I asked for yours after driving you home?" I look at him like he had grew two heads right in front of me. "I did not put my number in wrong. I recall double checking it before giving you back your phone."

He takes out his phone and shows me the number I gave him and the messages he sent that never went through. I sigh and palm my forehead, " I'm so sorry, I guess I was so nervous that I put a 5 instead of 6." He laughs and deletes the wrong number and hand me his phone again, "Well here is your chance to correct your mistake." I chew on my bottom lip which is another nervous habit of mine. I finally put in my right number this time and hand him his phone back. I walk away back to the kitchen and grab his food, bringing it to his table and set it neatly in front of him. " I hope you enjoy your meal and like I said earlier, if you need anything just press that button and I'll be here as fast as I can."

I leave him to eat and text my best friend Amelia, telling her what just happened between me and her boss. We make plans to see each other later at my grandparents house since my grandma invited for her Friday dinners.

I get a buzz from Aiden's table 20 minutes later, so I walk over and grab all his empty plates and ask if he needed anything else, " Can I have the check please?" I nod and go put the plate in the dish washer and go get his check. I come back and hand it to him. I go clean another table that was next to him and when he finished, he hands the check to me along with his credit card. As I get his bill paid, I see that he has given me a $400 tip. I return with his receipt and card, " You know you didn't have to give me that big of a tip right, I do really appreciate it bu-" He stops me as he stands up and smile, " I wanted to do it, I hope you have a great evening Ms.Anna and I'll be texting you later tonight. I hope to hear from you and not a complete stranger." I blush as he kisses my hand and watch him walk out the door.

After work and taking a long shower, I get to my grandparents house and talk to my to my grandma and best friend about my day after my grandpa goes to bed. We leave around 9p.m and I get a text from an unsaved number which I found out to be from Aiden. I smile and respond back before laying down and going to sleep.