Under the Counter ~ Luke Danes

6. Learning the Ropes

Isabella opened the door to Luke's Diner, the bell rang as always. She walked in with a smile, wearing an olive green, v-cut, long sleeve and some black flared jeans paired with her black docs. She wore a brown crystal necklace she made a long time ago. She tied her hair up into a somewhat messy bun, hair sticking out on some sides, making her ear piercings visible to everybody. The diner was just about to open when she saw Luke wiping down the counter. She could smell the ovens getting heated to open the diner. Luke looked up and gave her a small wave. She was nervous and she expressed how nervous she was to her parents as they ate breakfast. Her parents reassured her that she will do great.

"Hey Bell. We don't open for another 5 minutes. Would you mind filling up the salt and pepper shakers while I make some coffee?" He wore his black cap with a blue and white flannel, a gray t-shirt underneath, and blue jeans paired with his brown work boots.

"Yeah sure." She walked over to the counter, facing Luke, and grabbed the salt and pepper shakers from his hand and placed them in front of her. He handed her bulk size salt and pepper containers to fill up the ones for the tables and the counter.

"I'm going to go upstairs real quick to get you an apron. You okay here just by yourself?" Luke asked was an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah I'll be fine, I'm just filling these up." Luke made his way to the doorway that lead up to his apartment. He was gone for a about 2 minutes before he appeared with a white apron in his hand.

"Here you go." He handed the apron to her and watched her as she put it on.

"Are you going to train me today Luke?" She asked, continuing filling up the shakers on the counter.

"Yeah and tomorrow you should be able to do it all by yourself, it's really simple." Luke talked while moving his hands for more emphasis. He was placing the chairs down on the floor from the tables.

"All you really need to learn is how to shorten the words you write down of people's orders, for a quicker pace." Luke said. He seemed really calm this early in the morning.

"Okay just let me know what would be easiest for Caesar to understand." She smiled at him.

She finished filling up the salt and pepper shakers and placed one of each on each table and each space on the counter.

*ding ding*

Luke and Isabella heard the bell of the door ring. They looked at each other. Isabella was nervous, almost hyperventilating. Her and Luke walked towards each other, "You're gonna be fine. I'm always here if you need anything." He whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Luke almost gave her a kiss on her temple but he caught himself very quickly. She looked up and smiled at him and he winked at her. She and Luke walked over to the first customer of the day. The man didn't seem familiar. "Hi, I'm Luke, the owner, and this is Isabella. She's new and will be your waitress today." Luke said to the man and Isabella gave the man a slight wave. Luke assisted her through the first 4 customers and she pretty much got the gist of it very quickly. Luke was impressed. It usually took a whole day for people he hired to learn the ropes.

                                            ***
It had been a couple of hours since she started working and she was already a great employee. Luke watched her the entire time. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. He loved the way she walked fast through the tables and handed the paper she wrote to Caesar. She was very quick with her orders, even Caesar had a hard time keeping up. She and Luke placed peoples orders on their tables. She effortlessly made conversation with customers and even made them laugh. She was quickly loved by Luke's customers.

"What can I get for you fine ladies today?", she asked two older looking women with a smile, pen and a notepad in her hand. "Can we get your name sweetie? You're just a sweet bowl of sugar, darling.", a lady with a very raspy voice said to Isabella. "Yeah, my name is Isabella. I'm sorry, I'm new and how silly of me to forget to mention my name." She chuckled nervously, embarrassed that this was the first time she messed up.