Eggs On Toast

Beth was late to work. It was the first time that she had been late since the time her brother had been in a car accident and she had spent the night at the hospital. But that time it was – thankfully – not a family crisis that had held her up. Georgia was far enough down south that most of the weather they got in the winter was nothing more than rain, but nature had decided to throw a curve ball and grant Georgians a taste of snow.

Which meant that there were a bunch of people driving in weather that they didn't know how to. Which meant a huge influx of car accidents. Beth had sat in her old car an extra thirty minutes waiting for a car to be towed off the road.

She rushed in the back door to the diner where she worked, not even taking the time to put on anything farmer than a thin, yellow sweater despite the cold trip from her car. The diner was right off of the highway, a place called Louise's. She had no idea where the name came from. There was nothing around it for miles in either direction, except a small gas station across the street from them.

Beth usually liked working there just fine, but that was when she wasn't late and her boss was in a good mood.

"Sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly, shoving her pen and pad of paper into her apron pocket.

Her boss didn't even bother turning around as he flipped a pancake on the stove. "Shut up and get to work, miss Greene. Haley already had to pick up two of your tables."

Beth nodded, a little bit sheepish. It hadn't been her fault that she had been late, but her boss' temper had that effect on her. It was like whenever her Daddy would catch her doing something that she should've been, only her boss didn't have any kindness to him at all.

"And you're not getting paid for the time you missed," Her boss added, although Beth thought that that was pretty obvious. She tried not to let her boss' mood affect her all that much.

The bell sounded at the front of the restaurant and the kitchen window allowed her a view of a new customer. The man made his way to the back tables, disappearing out of view. Beth moved aside for Haley, who was coming off the floor with a nearly-empty pot of coffee in her hand, and made her way over to the table the man had sat at.

The man ordered coffee and eggs. Beth nearly rolled her eyes. Everyone ordered coffee and eggs. Technically, it was eggs on toast, but still. It was like they didn't have anything else on the menu.

She had only one more table in the next hour. It was another solitary man who ordered – of course – coffee and eggs. The only good thing was that she had gotten good tips off of both tables. Beth found herself leaning her arms against the front counter, gazing out mindlessly at the slow flutter of snowflakes that had continued on and off since before she had gotten there.

It was her second Christmas that she wouldn't be spending at her parents' farm. The death of her parents in a car crash two summers ago had resulted in the sale of their family farm. She lived with her older sister and Shawn would be there in the next few days, but it wasn't the same. It seemed stupid – of course it wasn't the same, and would never be again – but she couldn't help but be a bit surprised by it. Christmas had always been her favorite holiday, and she-

"Hey, earth to Beth." Haley nudged her hard in the ribs.

Beth jumped out of her reverie, blinking several times at her coworker. "Huh? What?"

Haley jerked her chin over at a table. "You take this guy, alright?"

The customer in question was seated with his back towards her, and seemed to be slouching a bit in his seat. He didn't seem agitated or angry to her. And it wasn't like Haley to give tables away.