Shawnee has been saving money since she was a teen with the hopes of getting custody of her little sister. Biggest issue: her main source of income is dealing and running errands for a gang she's been in since high school. She wants to get out and g...
[A/N: guess who in the header🤭] ~~~~ About three years later...
After getting done cleaning the basement from the woodwork I was doing, I walk around and double check our storage and supplies for the summer since I really hate going food shopping in the middle of the summer. We just have a decent amount of canned goods, some fresh herbs growing under a UV light in the corner and a good amount of pickled veggies Trina had just recently started preparing but it looks like we have a good start going for when the cold months come back around.
So far, Trina and I have finished up our classes and worked on advertisement and menu creation but we still have a good year until we're really ready to open up this restaurant as long as the health department deems it worthy. Right now, we practice some recipes with the intention of sharing with our neighbors but until we get our permits we're not actually selling any food. Soon, though!
For now, our hired hands work on installing the large stove we ordered and build the metal rack and freezer in the room behind while I make sure everything looks good. Once I realize there's an extra head in the room behind the main kitchen, I put my hands on my hips and sigh. Niquey is rotating a bunch of cans which is funny because we keep telling her that she can't keep wandering around after breakfast, pretending to work.
"Nique, what you doing?" My voice makes her jump and I let out a laugh.
"Sorry Shawnee, I saw the rack empty. I was just trying to be helpful." She replies, standing up and scratching the side of her head, shyly.
"It's all good but I don't want you to get hurt while no one is supervising you. Come on." I wave her to my direction and she walks up to me, with me laying my hand over her shoulders.
She's much taller than she was a few years ago, and gentle coaching helped her speech impediment improve immensely both at home and at school. Now that school is out for the summer, she's trying to be more useful with the last couple installments of the restaurant but I just want her to have a good time just like any other kid.
"You washed up after breakfast?" I ask the pre-teen next. She nods and rubs her face into my side as we make our way to the back gate that blocks the upstairs where we live. I look back to the workers, letting them know to get us if they need anything and that I'll come back in an hour or two to help the transition to lunch and let them get a break. Then, I double check with the cameras and locks so that I can see if anything goes wrong.
Despite the restaurant not being open yet, we get decent interaction from neightbors, passersby and people have even asked about the location from my TikTok and Trina's where she uploads weekly to talk about each special that she thinks about adding to her menu. Hopefully the hype keeps up and our hired hands will learn just enough to keep us afloat on opening day.
"I'm gonna start my homework packet." Niquey lets me know, before stepping away to her room. She's dead set on finishing it before it gets too deep into the summer so she can do whatever she wants for the rest of the time. I was never that committed to school but I love that for her. She's smarter than I ever was, that's for sure.
I make my way to Trina and I's room, hoping she's still resting on her day off as she should be.
When I creak open the door, I'm grateful to see that it's still dark and that she's still under the covers. She overworks herself way too much so I made her sleep in. I just quickly grab my iPad- with the hopes of doing some work but when I bump into a tiny body on the way out, I panic.
"Oh shit." I look down and see Malakai on the floor with a big ole frown and watery eyes. He's just a crybaby like I was at one point.
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