𝑀𝐴𝐺𝑀𝐴 | 𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

𝟏𝟔 | 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇

・𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐀・

𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇 escaped Reina's lips as she stepped into the home.

Today had probably been one of the busiest days in the café. Summer vacation had just begun for students, so it was packed the entire day, rather than just the morning rush and lunch time. And after experiencing today, she wasn't really looking forward to this being the new norm for the next couple of months.

And, even worse, the café was now open a couple hours later than normal, given that there were going to be more customers. She managed to squeeze in a quick sandwich for dinner, though most of it had been shoved in her mouth and partially chewed.

Her body was sore as if she had done an intense workout the night before. She was honestly surprised the shift had gone as smooth as it did—not a single broken machine or nasty customer. She sure as hell wasn't going to complain about that.

Unfortunately, there had been only crumbs left of the day's pastries, so she wasn't able to bring anything back. She was sure there were a couple desserts left in the fridge from previous days, though if it continued to be like this for the next little while, Milagro and Rudy might not be so happy.

A faint scent of the night's dinner was wafting through the home, but judging by the fact that Rudy and Alberto were watching TV, they had already finished eating.

"Reina!" Rudy exclaimed, turning toward her as she took her shoes off. "How's—wait a minute."

"Hello, Reina," Alberto greeted with a smile, grabbing the remote and lowering the volume of the soap opera they were watching. "How was your day?"

"Whoa, whoa, never mind that." Rudy waved his hands, his eyes narrowing. He pointed an accusing finger at her. "Why do you have nothing in your hands?"

"I'm sorry, Rudy," Reina laughed. "It was super busy today; there were no desserts left for me to bring home."

Rudy deflated. "Man, I was looking forward to those eclairs."

"Sorry," she said again, giving him a sympathetic smile. "You know what, I'll set one aside for you tomorrow."

He grinned. "You are my favourite."

"Ay, Rudy, why don't you give her some money to pay for it?" Alberto tsked at his brother. "It's still her job."

"Are you kidding? Free is my favourite flavour!"

"Don't worry about the money," Reina reassured both of them. "It's only a couple of dollars."

"See, Alberto?" Rudy gave him a shit-eating grin. "A couple of dollars. No biggie."

She told the two that she'd talk more with them later before peeking her head into the kitchen, and she found just the person she was looking for: Rocio, who was scooping leftover chili into Tupperware. Jaime and Milagro were also there, washing the dishes, though she didn't pay much mind to them aside from a wave.

"Hi, Reina," Rocio greeted as Reina stepped into the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I can make you a bowl."

She shook her head. "I ate at the café, so I'm okay. Thank you, though."

Rocio nodded. "How was work?"

"Super busy. I'm exhausted," she sighed. "And speaking of work, I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" Rocio placed the large, now empty pot into the sink for Jaime to take care of, and then turned to Reina with raised eyebrows.

"I just got my paycheck, and I stopped by the bank—" Reina quickly opened her purse and picked out the white envelope. She took a few steps closer and held it out to Rocio, whose eyebrows swiftly furrowed. "This is for you."