Cherry (REWRITE IN PROGRESS)

Chapter 2

*Image created by M.Coise*

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Y'vonnë Redbird; 21

"Hey, baby girl! Come over here!"

She ignores the outburst as she continues walking down the street from the condo. She's aware of her lateness and mentally winces at the thought of being screamed at by her manager, Gavina.

Better known as Vagina.

The witch never considered New Years to be an excuse to close shop that day.

Y'vonnë speed walks up the street, letting the unsavory rantings fade behind her.

It's 9:30 in the morning.

Entering the sanctuary of the diner, she's greeted by Lucille as she serves a large stack of pancakes to a businessman. Her dark violet lips curl up into her signature smile upon noticing her friend, and she rushes over with the empty tray. Y'vonnë can't help but smile back and feel welcome like always.

Lucille's smile has always been the medicine for the pain.

Some would assume that getting dumped by a guy shouldn't do that much harm.

It would be true if Y'vonnë hadn't given everything to him, hoping of a long, committed relationship. Now, the young woman can only blame herself for her past submissiveness.

It's only broken skin compared to losing an older brother who meant the world to her.

She'd lost both men nearly at the same time.

Lucille helped Y'vonnë settle down in California, once she left her home in Arizona. What the rest of the family couldn't do emotionally, she and Y'vonnë's grandmother did. They were the only support Y'vonnë had.

They didn't even object to her decision to leave on the day of her brother's funeral.

Y'vonnë had graduated from college early, and there was no need to linger while lost in grief. She had plans to see the world someday. Her brother, Abel, would always encourage her to pursue that goal, and she would shy away from the idea, lacking in motivation.

His death is what finally convinced her to leave.

It hasn't given her the most pleasant dreams at night.

"Sleep well last night?" Lucille asks, wiping the counter. Y'vonnë nods and sets down a plate of eggs and bacon with a cup of black coffee in front of an elderly man as he hums a French tune, a newspaper in his hands.

"Your eggs, Mr. Peyton," she says with a smile. "Just the way you like 'em."

Distracted from his reading, he sets his paper down and eagerly digs in. "Thank you, dear," he says in between bites. "That old Vagina needs to give you a raise someday." The girls laugh amongst themselves.

He's in on Gavina's nickname as well.

Better yet, he came up with it.

"I'll give her a raise when I feel like she's made some damn progress around here."

A hoarse voice laced with a thick, Italian accent is heard from behind. The laughs end abruptly as the subject of discussion marches to the counter. She just finished speaking with the delivery man about her last minute order for fresh tomatoes.

That was an order meant to be made a week ago.

It's moments like these that force Y'vonnë to wonder why Jared, the assistant manager, hasn't taken her place already. She's completely unfit to manage a restaurant that runs as smoothly as it does today.