The Silver Serpent - A Heist Novel

My Sister's Oprah?

A small ding notifies the waitress at the bar of my entrance, and she greets me without looking up.

"Hi, welcome to Whiskey and Cork. We'll be able to seat you in a moment." She dodges an oncoming tray of food as she rushes around to the tables.

"Oh, that's okay, I'm actually meeting someone. Thank you, though," I lean forward to try and read her name tag as she passes, "Kiwi."

"Huh? Oh, my name is Kira. Well, if you see the person you're meeting, you can go on ahead," She says kindly. I maneuver around the rocketing bussers and find my way to a barstool at the edge of the counter where a woman with short, wavy hair and a red leather jacket is sitting.

"Clima agradable que estamos teniendo." Nice weather we're having. I look at the menu, debating between the club soda with lime or just orange juice.

"Prefiero la lluvia," I prefer the rain. The smooth voice comes back. She turns around to face me, and I grin at her.

"What kind of trouble are you in now, hermanito?" My sister demands, taking a long sip of her drink.

"Trouble? Why, what could possibly make you think that I am in any sort of trouble?" I ask with an incredulous tone. Carla raises an eyebrow at me with an unamused look, which slowly breaks down into a smile. She lunges at me, and before I can get away, she pulls me into a hug.

"I missed you so much! How's college treating you?" Carla asks, talking to me as though I'm a child.

"It's fine! Get... off!" I get out of her arms and make a face.

"You know you missed me." She smirks, tousling my hair. "But seriously, what's up? What's with the 'I'm hiding from someone' outfit?"

"It's that obvious?" I ask, pulling off the hood and glancing around.

"So, you are in trouble," She quips. Before I can answer, the woman I saw before whips around to where we're seated at the bar.

"I'm so sorry about that; this is the busiest we've ever been!" She exclaims with a laugh.

"Oh, don't worry about it, dear." Carla holds her head in one hand, her face looking like the heart-eyes emoji. Oh, I see why you chose this place. I think with a slight smile. The waitress's face turns red, and she quickly pulls her notebook out of her apron.

"What can I get you?" Kiwi asks with a smile, believing that she disguised her embarrassment.

"Club soda with lime, please, and can I get some of this 'soda bread'? It sounds absolutely scrumptious," I decide, handing her my menu. She scribbles down my order and turns to my sister.

"And you?"

"I've got everything I need. Except for one thing..." She leans forward, keeping her hair out of her face.

"Carla," I whisper, but she ignores me.

"And that is?" The waitress asks, oblivious to Carla's flirtations.

"You, darling," Her smooth voice makes the waitress turn red once again, and she turns to me.

"I'll have your soda bread out shortly," Kiwi says, going back into the kitchen.

"Nice going, sis. How many times you been in here?" I question, knowing that Carla's probably been in this restaurant, for that waitress, every day for the past month.

"What do you want, Baby? You obviously didn't come here for small talk with your sister." Carla crosses her arms.

"Actually, I did. I figured, while I'm in Boston, I might as well check in on you, see how everything's going," I state, a little hurt that she didn't think I wanted to see her.