Donovan's Desire

Tipping Over

There was one thing Addy had definitely come to hate. Customers who didn't tip. She had ones that were extremely nice and jovial, signing the receipt with just thier name and not a damn thing on the tip line, ones that paid in cash for huge orders and told her to keep the eighty-three cents of change like it was some big damn favor, and the worst kind, those that either forked over exact change or signed, but had a nasty grimace on their face like she was the scum between their teeth.

She wondered what they thought. Was it the two dollar delivery fee? Or did they not understand that drivers were paid the same as servers, relying totally on tips?

People sucked. Plain and simple.

At least the job was mindless. Check the order. Search the address. Take the food to the door and smile, hoping they wouldn't recognize her with a baseball cap. And hoping they would tip anything. Return to the store. Rinse. Repeat.

"Hey, Addy!" Melanie's freckled hand waved desperately from the computer, before stacking three boxes into a bag and setting them by four others.

Leaving the pans on the metal table to be greased later, she hurried through the bustle of dinner time to the only coworker she got along with. Melanie, with her pretty bluebell eyes and unruly red hair, could have passed for Merida from Brave were it not for her extremely shy nature and soft voice.

"What's up, Mel?"

Melanie gestured to the bags, tucking a stray spiral back under her hat and looking at the floor. "I know it is my turn, but I've been out to that house every day this week. I...I don't want to drive out there again."

Addy frowned. "Why? It's only eight minutes. And that's a huge order! Do they not tip?"

"I...um...no, they tip really well. It's just. One of the people there kind of scares me...I'm not saying they are creeps or anything...I wouldn't put you in that position if they were! B-but...I don't know," she rambled, nervously twisting her shirt.

She sensed that Melanie was being honest and took pity on her. Some pot head with the munchies probably ogled the innocent thing. "It's no problem, Mel. I'll take the mileage hit," she laughed.

Melanie's shoulders drooped in relief and she whispered a quiet thank you before responding to the loud shouting that another was out of the oven. Scooping up the handles, Addy left the din of the store for the sweet silence of her car, carefully stacking each bag in the back seat so they wouldn't slide or fall.

She looked at the address, pursing her lips in thought. That was the old Westwood Estate? That had been bought and rennovated a few years ago, but she hadn't been to the small community since before the night her parents died. It would be interesting to see and it was easy for her to get there as the back of the community land bordered the back of hers.

Hopefully, no one had noticed a giant wolf monster running around, at least, no one had said anything yet about it. And the other one was still in the tub, heart beat getting just a little stronger each day. Sometimes Doggie would be there with her. Sometimes not. But the garage door was always locked either way which confused the shit out of Addy. She could only shrug and assume he could teleport or become immaterial, though she had yet to see that happen.

It was already dark, so by the time she pulled up, she could not see the improvements to the gated front except the stone pillars supporting the giant black gates. A large, golden plaque had "STORM CHASER ESTATE" in bold letters, drawing all attention. Below that the no trespassing sign seemed like an afterthought. An imposingly dense forest surrounded the drive to the gates and was too thick to see any houses through it, though her curiosity had her craning her neck to catch a glimpse of a window beyond.