Shark Strike Survivor

Chapter 3

"Welcome to 'The Bean,' how may I help you?" I greet Mason, the irritating man from three days ago, a large, fake smile plastered on my lips.

"I would like a large black coffee, and a breakfast sandwich, please," Mason requests with a tiny smile. "Also, if you are available, and would like, I would like for you to have lunch with me."

Frowning slightly at him as I shake my head; "Sorry, but my lunch break is not for another two hours. Your total is $8.00, please."

He hands me his card to swipe with a deeper frown as two more men enter the cafe to stand a couple of feet behind Mason. Running his card, I hand it back once the payment has been processed with a tiny smile.

"Thank you, and I hope you come again," I say with my smile in tact as he walks over to an empty table to take a seat facing the counter.

Waiting on the two new customers, I can feel Mason's stare burning a hole into the side of my head as I work. Sonya is in the kitchen with Samuel, cooking and baking together because Jace has the day off. Jace has a doctor's appointment, and he is not sure how long the appointment will take, so he just took the entire day off to be safe, so I rode the bus here. Well, to the stop that is a block away, and I walked from the bus stop to here. I am taking the bus home, too, and I will walk the half mile home.

"Larken, why don't you take your lunch break since we are slowing down for the time being?" Samuel asks, stepping through the swinging kitchen door, holding a tray with a bowl of tomato soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Um, I guess I can, thanks Samuel," I mumble, not thrilled about having to take my break now.

Taking the tray from him carefully as he takes another tray from Sonya, and I realize that the second tray is Mason's order. I tell Samuel who that tray belongs, too, and he takes the food to Mason as I sit down across from the man with a tiny smile.

Once Samuel has walked off with both empty trays, I say to Mason; "We are slow, so Samuel told me to take my lunch now instead of later."

Mason nods with a huge grin as we start eating in silence for a moment before he asks; "May we ask each other questions, so we can start knowing each other better?"

Shrugging my shoulders in response while mumbling; "Sure. I do not see the harm in that, and you can go first?"

Dunking a corner of half of the sandwich in the steaming, creamy soup as he asks; "How old are you?"

"I turned twenty-two last month on the thirteenth," I answer before taking a bite with a soft smile. "How old are you?"

"I turned twenty-five seven months ago," Mason replies with a grin as he eats before asking another question. "Do you have any siblings? I do not have any."

"I have three brothers," I say, feeling a little bad for him because he does not have any himself. "One older, Lyric, and two younger, Lake and Lochlan. Do you get along with your family that you have?"

"Damn," he mumbles to himself before answering my question with a fond smile. "Yes, I am close with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins."

"That is nice, especially if they are not toxic," I mumble, not from personal experience, but from hearing horror stories of toxic families, or toxic family members.

Mason hums as we eat for a minute before he asks; "May I ask how you ended up with a prosthetic? If it is too personal, I understand if you do not want to answer."

Internally sighing, I decide to give him an honest answer; "During a family vacation to Dayton Beach in Florida six years ago, my dad, brothers, and I were out surfing. I was attacked by a Great White Shark, and the attack was unprovoked. I have no idea even to this day as to why it happened, but I am glad no one else was hurt."

Mason sits like a statue for several seconds with wide eyes, his hand gripping his fork tightly before he lowly speaks; "Holy hell. I am sorry you had to deal with such a horrific event in your life."

Giving him a tiny smile in appreciation; "I appreciate that, but there is no need for you to apologize for that event. An unprovoked shark attack rarely happens, but sadly these do happen at times. Over the years, my anger has grown into acceptance of my attack. Does this make sense?"

Mason nods briefly as his eyes hold an emotion I cannot read as he mumbles; "Yeah, that makes sense. Have you been back in the ocean?"

Shaking my head as I mumble; "Nope. I have managed to sit on the beach, but no where near the water. I miss being in the water, miss being on a surfboard, catching the next wave, but I cannot bring myself to purchase a waterproof prosthetic to even try. Besides a waterproof prosthetic is expensive, and my insurance will not cover the cost of that prosthetic."

Holy crap, why in the bloody hell did I just word vomit all of that to him? I barely know the man, and I just admitted all of that to him. Focusing on my food, I dig back into it, hoping I have not just embarrassed myself in front of him, but maybe he will back off if I did. That would be the best thing for him to do anyway. Most people do not want someone who is broken. Let's face the facts, I am broken because I cannot drive myself anyway, it takes me forever to shower, and I walk at a slightly slower pace than most.

"You know, this is a long overdue question, and I feel horrible for not asking earlier, but what is your name?" Mason asks, guilt dripping from his voice.

"My name is Larken," I simply answer, and I had wondered how long this question would take for him to ask.

"A pretty name for a pretty young man," Mason grins with a wink as we finish our meals.

My skin instantly burns at his compliment, even if I believe that it is false, and I mumble; "Thanks. I better get back to work, and it was nice having lunch with you."

Taking our dirty dishes, leaving him with his drink to finish, I walk behind the counter to place the dirty dishes onto the window for someone to grab.