Be My Soldier

Chapter Eleven

I drop the sheets of music that Theresa let me play, and somebody helps me pick them up. I look up. and grey eyes meet mine.

"Thanks," I say.

"No problem," he says, giving me a friendly smile that any girl would fall for.

"I'm Nathan," he says, holding out his hand. I shake it.

"Kendall," I say.

"How long have you been working here?" he asks.

"A week. I started on Sunday," I say.

"Your voice is really pretty," he says.

"Thank you. I love singing," I say.

"I meant just your voice in general," he says. I blush.

"Thank you," I say. I turn to the piano and put the music in the seat.

"So when are you playing next?" he asks. I walk over to the schedule.

"I am working tomorrow night, Tuesday night, and Friday afternoon," I say. I notice that Toby's also working Tuesday night and Friday afternoon. He's working tomorrow afternoon.

"I'll be there," he says.

"You don't have to," I say.

"Well. my aunt wants me to be here to watch the acts sing, so I'll be there," he says, gesturing to Theresa.

"Oh, you're Theresa's nephew! Yeah, she told me that you were coming. By the way she talked about you, I thought you were younger," I say.

"Well, I'm fifteen," he says.

"I'm turning fifteen this summer," I say, grabbing my phone and bag.

"I have to go, but I will see you tomorrow night," I say, noticing Braiden's truck pull up.

"Is that your boyfriend?" he asks, watching Braiden get out of the truck. He walks in.

"Who, Braiden? God no. He's my friend. He's like an older brother to me," I say.

"Oh, cool. See you tomorrow night," he says. I wave goodbye ans walk over to Braiden.

"Who's that?" Braiden asks.

"Nathan. He's the nephew of my boss," I say as we walk out. I climb into the truck, and we leave shortly after.

I walk in on Tuesday night alone. The McDonoughs had to go visit a sick relative, so they're going to be gone all week.

Nathan sees me and smiles.

"Wow Kendall, you look amazing," he says. I curtsy.

"Why thank you," I say. He chuckles. I'm wearing the pink dress again.

"My aunt said that the person that usually sings with you will be gone all week," he says as we walk over to the piano.

"Yeah. He's visiting a sick relative, so he'll be gone until Friday," I say as I sit down at the piano. He walks back to where he was sitting when I arrived.

I warm up and check the microphone. I then start singing. Every note that leaves my mouth echos through the restaurant. Some people look familiar, and they're smiling, watching me. They all leave tips after every song, and some new people tell me that they're going to come back soon.

A few people request a song, and I'm glad that I know them. They leave extra tips for knowing the songs because some of them are jazz songs from the thirties and forties. It's a good thing that I love jazz music.

When my shift ends, everybody claps, and some actually whistle. I bow and walk over to Nathan, holding my tip jar.

"Think I have enough?" I ask.