desertion

133

LYDIA

The scent of garlic and oregano hit me the second I walked into the pizzeria, and I couldn't help but smile. As much as I complained about this place sometimes, there was something comforting about it. It was my home away from home-or maybe just another chaotic family dynamic I'd somehow fallen into.

The sound of Tyler and Delilah bickering carried from the kitchen, loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Typical. I hung my bag in the back room and tied my apron on, bracing myself for whatever nonsense was happening this time.

"Morning, guys," I called as I walked into the kitchen.

Tyler turned, flour dusting his shirt and hair. "Tell Delilah she's wrong."

"I'm not wrong!" Delilah snapped, pointing a spatula at him like a weapon. "You don't need to fold the dough like that. It's a waste of time."

"It's how I was taught!"

"Well, whoever taught you was an idiot."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Guys, can we not start this early? The day hasn't even started, and you're already giving me a headache."

Delilah huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm just saying-"

"Don't care," I cut in. "Tyler, fold the dough however you want. Delilah, please don't stab him with the spatula. Can we agree on that?"

They both mumbled something that sounded vaguely like agreement, and I sighed.

********

By the time Miles walked in, things had calmed down a little. He strolled in with his usual easy smile, setting his bag on the counter and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," he said. "What did I miss?"

"Tyler and Delilah were at it again," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Shocking," he said, grinning as he grabbed an apron.

"I heard that!" Delilah called from the front.

Miles leaned closer to me, lowering his voice. "Let me guess-Tyler said something dumb, and Delilah overreacted?"

"Pretty much," I said, laughing.

********

The first rush of the day came in around noon, and suddenly, the peaceful lull was gone. The phones were ringing off the hook, customers were lining up out the door, and the kitchen was a madhouse.

"Miles, we need more pepperoni!" I shouted over the noise.

"I'm on it!" he called back, grabbing a container from the fridge.

"Tyler, table three needs their garlic knots!"

"Give me a second!"

Delilah was at the register, her fingers flying over the screen as she rang up orders. "Lydia, we're out of small boxes!"

"I'll grab them!" I said, rushing to the back.

********

It was chaos, but it was a controlled chaos-at least for the first hour. Then the cracks started to show.

"Tyler, you forgot to put sauce on this pizza!" Delilah shouted, holding up a half-finished pie.

"No, I didn't!" he argued.

"Uh, yeah, you did. It's literally dry."

"It's fine, just put extra cheese on it!"

"That's not how it works!"

I stepped in before things could escalate. "Okay, stop. Tyler, fix the pizza. Delilah, stop yelling. We don't need to scare off the customers."

Delilah muttered something under her breath, but she turned back to the register. Tyler grumbled as he fixed the pizza.

Miles walked past me, nudging my arm. "You're like the referee around here."

"Someone has to be," I said with a sigh.

********

By mid-afternoon, things had settled down again. Delilah and I were folding boxes in the back while Tyler and Miles cleaned the kitchen.

"So," Delilah said, glancing at me. "How's everything with Miles?"

I smiled. "Good."

"Ugh, you're so lucky," she said, tossing a folded box onto the stack. "I can't even get a text back from the guy I like."

"Maybe he's just busy," I offered.

"Or maybe he's just not interested," she said with a shrug, trying to sound casual but failing.

Before I could respond, Tyler and Miles came in, their conversation carrying over to us.

"I'm just saying, pineapple on pizza isn't that bad," Tyler was arguing.

"It's an abomination," Miles said firmly.

"Thank you," I said, jumping in. "Finally, someone with common sense."

"Don't encourage him," Tyler said, glaring at me.

Delilah laughed. "This is why you don't have a girlfriend, Tyler."

"Wow," he said, clutching his chest. "That was uncalled for."

********

As the day wound down, the four of us sat around the break table, eating leftover pizza and joking around.

"Remember that time Tyler dropped an entire tray of garlic knots?" Delilah said, laughing so hard she could barely get the words out.

"That was one time!" Tyler protested.

"And it was hilarious," Miles added, grinning.

I leaned back in my chair, watching them bicker and laugh. As chaotic as the day had been, I wouldn't trade this for anything. This place, these people-they made it all worth it.