siempre

diner talk

After Saturday night, Emilia could not stop thinking about Isaiah. No matter how hard she tried. There was next to nothing to do on Sunday besides chores, so Emilia came up with things to do to keep her out of her own mind. She had to admit though, his smile is adorable. 

The rest of the weekend is quiet, and her Sunday night shift at the diner is smooth, except for her occasional run ins with Javier, but he doesn't seem to bother her as much. That's a plus. 

~

Monday evening comes around and Emilia decides to make a run to the grocery store after work. She just needs some small things to pull together dinner for the week. After grabbing all of her items, she stands in the express check out line, but it's not very express at all. Instead of waiting there, she decides to go to self check-out. The line is a little longer, but seems to be moving pretty quickly. While waiting she checks her phone to pass the time. It's her turn, but before she could move, a lady cuts in front of her, taking her spot. Emilia is about to call her out, then she hears her name called.

"Hey, Emilia, this one is open."

She turns to the speaker and notices Isaiah checking out and next to him an open register. Emilia nods and walks to the register.

"Thanks, I was about to give her a piece of my mind," she places the crate down and begins checking out. Isaiah chuckles a little.

"I could tell. I saw it in your face," he smiles, but Emilia's face turns red. "Don't worry, I would've done the same," he adds to try to reassure her. Emilia was a little embarrassed. She didn't want to seem like a hot-head. Instead of responding, she continues to scan her items. Isaiah finishes up and grabs his receipt. 

"Will you be at the diner this weekend?" he asks shyly.

"Yeah. I almost always work the weekends."

"Cool. See ya," he waves quickly and leaves the store. Emilia is not sure how to respond to that. Does it mean he's going to come back to the diner? She wonders. Her transaction is complete and she heads home to make dinner for herself and Moises. 

~

Much to her dismay, Isaiah did not show up Saturday or Sunday night. Emilia was actually looking forward to seeing him. His absence didn't ruin her weekend, necessarily, but it did bum her out. While they have only been friendly in conversation, she couldn't help but feel at ease when around him. Talking was natural for him and she always felt safe in his presence. Safe to be herself and not anyone else. The same way she felt around Esther is the same way she feels around him, and she craved more of that. 

Nah.

She tries to convince herself not to get involved with guys anymore, even if they are nice. 

~

Tuesday comes around and she has a shorter shift at the diner. Upon entering through the back door, she sees Esther with a small smile on her face. They don't exchange words, but she knows Esther enough to know something is up. Emilia clocks in, grabs an apron, and sees why Esther was smirking. Isaiah is at the diner sitting in a booth by himself with a book and a notepad. Seeing that he already has his milkshake, she finds a different table to serve. As soon as she opens her mouth to greet her table, she notices him lift his head from his book, but she pays him no mind. After taking their drink orders, she glances at his table and his head is back in the book again. In haste, she grabs the drinks for her customers and leaves them to decide on food for a few minutes. Emilia goes to the back to restock items for up front and she locks eyes with Esther, who is standing on the other side of the kitchen. Esther is on her way to the front, but her eyes stay on Emilia. As they pass each other, Emilia could sense she wanted to say something so desperately, but decides not to. Esther simply glides through the double doors to the front of house. Emilia sighs softly and grabs napkins and silverware. She also wanted to talk to Esther, but didn't know what to say. She knew an apology was owed, but didn't want to hash it out at work. Maybe after work?