Maybe Then...

Chapter 6: if I weren't an Ingridson

If I weren't an Ingridson,

and I weren't blessed to have the family I have,

maybe then, I wouldn't have gotten such an amazing opportunity.

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Grandpa wasn't kidding when he said that they're a family-owned business. The woman that had served me when I got my ice cream, Ariel, turned out to be Robert's daughter, and the boy that had forgotten to put up the help wanted sign was his grandson. 

My training started Monday, and was taught by none other than Robert himself. It was mostly lessons on how to be hygienic when serving a customer, how to run the cash register, and what to do in the event of an emergency. I was expecting a little more explanation on how to prepare the food itself. I don't know why, though; it was just scooping ice cream and sprinkling toppings. 

"Any questions?" he asked once he's wrapped it up. 

I squinted at the menu and chewed my lip. "Yeah, uh...am I supposed to learn how to make the shakes, root beer floats, stuff like that?"

"Oh, don't worry about that right now," he waved his hand in dismissal of my question. "Ezekiel is in charge of that." 

"Who?" 

"Ezekiel, he's my grandson," he proudly. "Boy's a hard worker, but honestly," he lowered his voice, "I think he's only in it for the money." 

I grinned. 

He walked me to the back where none other than Ezekiel himself was, cleaning off the dishes. Robert took an apron off of a line of hooks mounted on the wall and tossed it to me. 

"This is for you, dear."

Ezekiel turned his head to our conversation while simultaneously drying a plate. "Hi," he smiled. "You're the new worker, I'm guessing?" 

"That I am," I returned his smile. "And I'm guessing you're Ezekiel?" 

"Yes, but only old people call me that," he glared at his grandfather. "I prefer to go by Zeke." 

"Zeke it is."

"And this girl here is Amelia," Robert announced. He put his hand on my shoulder. "If you have any questions when I'm not around, you can ask this boy here."

"Will do."

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"So did you have a good first day?" aunt Ruby asked unpacking the grocery bags. 

"Wouldn't really call it a first day; more like a training day." I picked at a piece of hanging skin on my finger. "And yeah, it was good. I'm the only one there, though, that isn't related to the rest of them."

"They're the kind of folks that treat good friends like family, so I don't think you'll have any troubles there." 

"I didn't really think so," I mumbled through a yawn. 

"Did training make you that tired?"

"No," I rubbed my eyes. "Just didn't get enough sleep last night." 

"Oh no, are you having sleeping problems again?" 

I blinked at her concerned expression. "I haven't had those in years."

"I know, I know," she defended. "I just didn't know if it's hard for you to sleep in a place that's still fairly new. I just want to know that you're settling in okay now." 

"I'm okay," I confirmed. "Actually, this place is starting to feel a little more like home now."

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The following day I clocked in at the time I was told to be there, threw an apron on over my overalls, and got to work. Well, under Robert's supervision, of course. He said he wanted to make sure I had picked up on everything. 

"If you have the cash register down by the end of the day, I'll let you run it by yourself tomorrow," he offered. "Does that sound alright?"

I nodded. Once again, it must have been my last name that let him give me the benefit of the doubt. After all, would you rather trust a new employee with your box full of money, or a new employee whose legal guardian is your buddy?

The first few hours of my shift were far from busy, though I don't think most people buy ice cream in the morning. Around lunch time and the rest of my shift thereafter was fairly busy, though it was nothing I couldn't handle. Nothing was out of control, given the exception of some rowdy kids every once in a while.

Given the fact that it was my first day of actual work, Robert let me go home by 2:00.

"First day on the job," he patted me on the back. "You did great, kiddo! I think you should go home and get some rest for now."

"Thank you, Robert!"

"Please, call me Rob," he insisted.

I smiled at him. "Alright, Rob. What time should I come in at?"

"Are you up for a challenge?" he grinned mischieviously.

"What?"

"Do you want to work the busy hours? The store's usually busiest after dinner time, so you'd be getting here in the afternoon and leaving at night."

I sucked in a right breath. "I don't think I can. My family usually has dinner together, and I don't know if I feel comfortable walking home alone in the dark."

He nodded knowingly. "I understand. But if you change yer mind, I'm sure that Ezekiel wouldn't mind giving you a ride, now would ya, boy?"

He smiled at us from where he stood at the counter, blending a smoothie. "Not at all," he confirmed.

"I just need to talk to my grandpa about it, is all," I said sheepishly.

I wanted to work those hours, and I really didn't mind eating dinner earlier or later for them. I just hoped that grandpa would let me miss those hours, and that maybe his friendship with Rob would come in handy once again.

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Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading! I hope that my character dialogue isn't too boring. Do you guys think that I should write less discussion and more action? Or maybe less discussion and more description? (Of people, places, scenarios, feelings, ect.)

So now that I got that out of the way, what do you think of Robert and his relationship with Amelia's grandfather? What do you think about Ezekiel so far?