THE LADY BY THE SEASIDE

[Continuation of Part two]

𝘈s dinner service continued, I still had a lot of customers to serve, but I made sure to leave their food ready. Time passed by quickly, and before I knew it, it was already 6:30 p.m. I looked out the window and noticed that Mizuki and her mom had already arrived. I breathed a sigh of relief and prepared myself to greet them. By the time they arrived, the restaurant was quite busy, and I was already serving several customers. But when I saw Mizuki and her mom enter, I immediately put down what I was doing, walked over to them and greeted them warmly. Mizuki's smile was as radiant as ever, and her mom seemed impressed by the restaurant's atmosphere and decorations.

    As Mizuki and her mom were seated at their table, her mom couldn't help but comment on the decorations I had done. "Wow! I really like how you decorated the restaurant!" her mom said, looking around with a smile. It was a heartwarming compliment to hear, and I was happy my efforts had been appreciated. Mizuki also smiled at me warmly, and I felt a rush of happiness knowing that she enjoyed the decoration as well. I grabbed their food and went out to their table to serve it to them.

    When Mizuki's mom saw the meals in front of her, she looked at me with surprise and said, "We haven't ordered yet, but you already prepared the food for us?"

     "Well yes, ma'am," I responded with a smile, "I wanted you to try my most ordered recipe."
Her mother smiled back at me widely and thanked me profusely for the gesture.

    I could see that Mizuki was already drooling over the food I served them, and she turned to me and asked, "What about you? Have you eaten yet?"

    "No, not yet," I responded with a slight chuckle, "I'm still busy serving customers and I only eat after my work."

    Mizuki looked at me with concern and said, "But that's bad for your health if you don't eat in time!" I shrugged at her and said, "I have a choice but to finish my work first".

    "What if you eat with us?" Mizuki's mom asked. "I mean, look at this, we can't finish this just the two of us."

    "Oh no, ma'am," I responded nervously, "It's really okay. I'll just wait until after my shift is over to eat. It's no big deal." Mizuki's mom kept insisting that I sit down and have dinner with them, but I kept politely refusing.

    Mizuki grabbed my hand and gently pulled me over to the table, causing me to sit down beside her. As she sat down, Mizuki chuckled and said, "Oh come on! You can't say no to my mom." Her mom looked at me warmly and said, "Mizuki's right, you know. It's not good for you to keep working without eating anything. Please, sit down and have dinner with us." Realizing that I couldn't say no to Mizuki or her mom, I sighed and finally agreed to sit down for dinner with them. I couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed as I sat down beside Mizuki, not knowing how to react to the situation. Nevertheless, I appreciated the kindness and hospitality that Mizuki and her mom showed me that night. Mizuki's mom placed a plate of food in front of me and smiled at me warmly. Mizuki also smiled at me as she sat down at the table and started to serve herself. We all enjoyed the meal together and soon, our plates were empty. The atmosphere was light and playful, and I felt incredibly grateful to Mizuki and her mom for allowing me to dine with them.

    After a while, I stood up and thanked Mizuki and her mom for the dinner. Mizuki's mom smiled and said, "Oh well, I guess we were the only customers left."

    I laughed and told her, "No, no need to pay, it's on the house. After all, you let me dine with you, that's good enough for me!"

    Mizuki's mom laughed too and said, "Well alright then, if you insist."

    After I had cleaned up the table, I went to the kitchen to put the plates away. I was just about to start washing the dishes when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I flinched and looked back, and it was Mizuki. "Eh? What are you still doing here?" I asked her. "I'm gonna help you clean, don't worry about it." She replied, smiling at me.

    I was surprised by Mizuki's offer to help, but I didn't want to keep her too long either. "Wow, that's nice of you Mizuki, but don't you need to go home too? Your mom is probably waiting for you."

    Mizuki chuckled and said, "Oh, don't worry about it. My mom told me I can stay a bit late to help you." I was touched by her gesture, and I appreciated the extra help.

    As we started to wash the dishes together, I wondered if it was okay for me to keep Mizuki away from her mother. However, I also didn't want to refuse her help, as I really could use it. Mizuki was working hard to help me, so I decided to let her stay and finish up the tasks. I was glad to have Mizuki's help, and as we continued to wash the dishes together, I started to ask her questions about herself, such as what she liked to do and so on. I wanted to get to know her better since we would be working together, and I was hoping that we could become closer friends. Mizuki seemed like a nice and friendly person, so I hoped we could get along well and have a good working relationship at the restaurant.

After we finished cleaning up everything in the restaurant, I turned off the lights and locked the door before saying goodbye to Mizuki. It was getting late, and I knew that Mizuki would want to head home soon. As I was about to leave, Mizuki stopped me and said, "Oh, can you walk me home? I'm not sure if it's safe at night by myself." I was a bit surprised by her question, but I immediately agreed to walk her home. After a while, we arrived at her house, and Mizuki smiled and thanked me for the walk home. I waved goodbye to her, and with a smile on my face, I started walking back to my house.