HASEN R. WALKER
2022
Hasen pressed her lips together as she scrutinized the food on the white plate, examining it thoroughly. Shrimp stew sat in the middle, and as Hasen continued her inspection, her trainee, Aliyah, stood nervously beside her, silently waiting for a comment.
Hasen looked away from the plate and stepped back, turning her attention to Aliyah, who seemed ready to collapse from anxiety. It wasn't Hasen's stern expression that intimidated Aliyah, but her blunt honesty. Aliyah had spent all week perfecting this recipe, dreading the possibility that Hasen might find it unappealing. She just wanted this to get a pass so Hasen could give her the green light to move on to something new.
"It's good. Let's move on to the steak next," Hasen said. The timid girl let out a breath of relief, nodding in response before picking up the plate and shuffling away.
Hasen lifted her wrist and checked the time on her Apple Watch, seeing that it was nearly 6 PM. With only 25 minutes until opening, she sighed. Preparing to open while training someone simultaneously was challenging. The past two months had been extremely busy for her since Iyanna got her right to work, but Hasen wasn't complaining—she was experiencing and learning so much.
However, this meant her calls with her small family back in New York were limited. Since she's been here, she can only count four times that she's had a conversation with her boyfriend, daughter, best friend, and father.
The limited number of calls weighed heavily on her heart, especially at night when she scrolled through old pictures of her and True and recent photos of Harley. Watching her baby grow through a screen was painful; she felt like she had been gone so long that Harley wouldn't even remember her, which was the worst feeling of all.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Hasen looked up from her clipboard. "Twenty minutes till opening," she announced loudly in the kitchen as everyone moved around at their stations, dishes and metal clattering together. "Hasen," someone called from behind, making her turn around. She saw Iyanna, the brown-skinned woman, standing there in a white dress and black heels, holding a clipboard.
"Hey, girl!" Iyanna greeted Hasen with a smile and a wave. When Hasen first arrived, Iyanna's extremely nice and welcoming demeanor had thrown her off. Iyanna had been waiting at the airport with a big smile and a poster that said "Welcome!"
Iyanna knew that her and Hasen's energies were different, but she didn't mind. From the start, Mr. Carter had told her how Hasen was, and Hasen had definitely started to warm up to her. "Hey," Hasen responded in a monotone voice.
"Where's your trainee? Is she finished?" Iyanna asked. Hasen shook her head. "No, she's working on the steak. After that, I'll have her start on the soup," Hasen replied as she walked over to a rack filled with prepped vegetables in containers, ready to organize them.
Having already approached Hasen, Iyanna stood behind her. She pushed her lips to the side and readjusted her clipboard. "So..." Iyanna began, causing Hasen to look back at her with furrowed eyebrows.
"Did you call your daughter?" Iyanna asked. Hasen shook her head no and turned back around, focusing on her tasks. She picked up a container of tomatoes and placed it next to a container of green peppers.
"You should call her," Iyanna suggested. Hasen shook her head. "I'm busy. She's probably asleep anyway," Hasen responded, which made Iyanna frown.
"I can handle that. You should go call your daughter, or talk to your boyfriend. Just go connect with your family," Iyanna said, setting her clipboard down and moving closer to Hasen to take the container of red peppers. From the moment Iyanna met Hasen, she could tell Hasen liked to work at a quick pace, and she admired her hardworking nature. However, Iyanna also felt it was important for Hasen to take breaks and stay connected with her family.
