The Orphan Waitress

A Long Night

Hi guys. I know it's been a while, but I've started something new. I didn't really like where Begging For Forgiveness was heading, so I'm taking a break from that and working on some short stories. I might come back to BFF though, so if you liked it, don't delete from your libraries just yet =). I really hope you guys like this! Enjoy!

All Mary could do was stare. How could her mother, her own mother that gave birth to her and raised her, propose something so...so atrocious?! She knew...she knew that Mary would have no interest in attending some ridiculous work "function" with her parents. And, she couldn't even bring a friend?! Did they want to bore her to death? These functions were filled with boring middle aged people who were uptight and only interested in talking about stocks and which product would be the next big thing. But, Mary's mother, Suzy, didn't seem to understand that.

"Have you told dad yet?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her mother, who averted her gaze sheepishly. That was all Mary needed to get the answer she wanted. "Mom, you know dad hates going to these things almost as much as I do. What, are you going to force him to go too?"

When Suzy stayed silent, Mary knew there was more. "Mom? What are you not telling me?"

"Well...honey, you know, your father is awfully busy. So...he can't...come tonight."

That was all it took for Mary to lose the calm she had been trying so hard to keep. "What?!" she screeched. Throwing her head back, she let out a loud, exasperated groan. Her dad was the only thing that made these parties almost bearable. She couldn't believe this. Her mom was making her go to her boring work functions, without her dad, and she couldn't even bring a friend!

"Sweetie," her mom's firm tone brought her out of her thoughts, "please don't be so over dramatic. A lot of my friends are bringing their kids. You're coming and that's final."

Huffing, she stormed out of the kitchen, heading for her dad's office down the hall. Barging through the door, she faced her father with a betrayed expression. "How could you, daddy? Leaving me to fend for myself when you know how much I hate going to these things? Not cool, dad."

Paul, her father, shrugged his shoulders, smiling apologetically at his only daughter. Mary knew he would give in with a little pleading from her. Her father and her had always been close, closer than she was with her mother. She was definitely a daddy's girl.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin. I would come but I have a lot of work to catch up on from when I was ill. I missed a lot of days of work, Mary." Pausing to gather his thoughts, he continued, "Maybe it won't be that bad. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? You might be bored for a while, but maybe you'll make a new friend there. Your mother said her friends are bringing their kids. Maybe you'll bond with one of them?"

Great. That was just what she needed. To become friends with the boring kids of the boring coworkers from her mother's boring job. Without replying to her dad's hopeful words, she walked up the stairs into her room and decided to take a nap before the dreaded "function."

Stepping out of her mom's car, she stared up at the familiar flashing lights of the sign that boldly stated Grand Plaza. She didn't like the fact that she had recognized this sign from a mile away. Sighing defeatedly, she followed her mom inside to the hall that had been reserved for her mom and her coworkers.

Suzy, seeing that her daughter looked quite gloomy, intertwined arms with Mary, and said, "Cheer up, Mary. At least try to have some fun tonight."

"Mom, when will you understand that I don't want to spend my Friday night at a boring work party? I don't even know these people. Nor do I want to know them."

Her mother sighed. "Look, you don't have to become their best friend. Just bear with it for a couple hours, okay?"

Mary stomped her foot on the ground, not caring that it made her look extremely childish. "But mom! I was going to have my friends over tonight. You ruined all our plans."

Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere, Suzy just rolled her eyes and walked over to a table where most of her friends were sitting. Groaning loudly, Mary followed behind, not really seeing any other option. This was going to be a long night. 

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Mary was so bored. What did her mother expect her to do here anyway? She didn't like any of her mom's coworkers' kids. They were all snobby brats. Sure, Mary wasn't the most sensible person, but they were much worse. She was only proven right when she heard a teenage daughter of her mother's boss complaining to someone on her phone about how "the waiters weren't quick enough and the room wasn't air-conditioned enough". The room wasn't even close to warm.

"Stop slouching," her mother whispered harshly in her ear.

Mary rolled her eyes, but sat up straight anyway. Looking around, she noticed that only two other adults had brought their children, and they were herded together in the corner of the big hall.

A tall glass of lemonade was placed in front of her. Looking up, she was about to say "Thank you" but the look on the waitress' face stopped. What in the world could make someone look so sad, so...dejected?

"Um, are you okay?" Mary couldn't help but ask.

The girl blinked at her. She was a pretty dark haired girl, no older than 18. Even with her slouched posture, you could tell she was tall, at least 3 inches taller than Mary.

"Uh, are you talking to me?" The girl asked, pointing to herself.

"Yeah. You seem kinda upset."

"I-I'm fine. Enjoy your lemonade," she muttered and then quickly rushed off.

Mary stared after her. "Well, that was weird." Shaking her head, she took a sip from her glass and turned back to her mother.

"Mom, I'm gonna walk around for a bit," Mary said, interrupting her mother's conversation with another woman. "I'm getting bored just sitting here."

Her mother hesitated but then said, "All right, but stay in the building."

After walking around the building and not finding anything interesting, she decided to go outside to get some fresh air.

Going out the back door, she saw a figure leaning against the wall, hidden behind shadows. Walking closer, she was surprised to find the waitress from earlier, holding a cigarette between her fingers.

"You know, smoking is really bad for you." Mary said in a matter of fact voice.

The girl turned to look at her with an empty look in her eyes-the same look that had been there earlier-and scoffed, "I don't have much to live for anyway."

Mary didn't know what to say to that. What could she possibly say to someone who thought that they didn't have anything worth living for?

Wanting to change the topic, she extended her hand. "I'm Mary Hamilton. It's nice to meet you."

The girl warily flicked her gaze down to Mary's hand, but didn't extend her own. "I'm Heather Sullivan."

"So, you work here?"

"Yeah, for over a year now."

"Wow that's a long time. I bet you get paid really well too. This is a really fancy place. I wish I had a job, so that I could earn my own money, but I guess I don't really need it. I-"

"God, do you ever shut up?" Heather exclaimed.

Mary blinked. She hadn't been talking that much...had she? She didn't think she had been very annoying. This girl was just very grumpy.

Heather sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. I've had a bad week and I'm taking it out on you."

Mary grinned. "It's okay! We should be friends. Here I'll put my number in your phone."

As the two girls exchanged phone numbers, Mary thought, maybe this night wasn't so bad after all.