cupid's arrow » bill anderson | mamma mia

nine

"I hate the squeak sound." I complained, scrubbing down the front desk. It had been a week since Bill's departure and I had been utterly infused by work; taking on more shifts, cleaning the entire restaurant at least three times. It was odd but I enjoyed it.

"Someone's work ethic is very high.." Antonia trailed off, raising an eyebrow. I could hear some positivity in her tone; she was always one for hard work — something I admired. I only really worked hard if I had a sudden spurt of motivation, or something to avoid.

"I am, as ever, your humble servant." I jested, teasing her. She laughed a little, nodding.

"Humble isn't the word I would use." Antonia responded, shaking her head. "You have quite the ego."

"I don't!" I exclaimed, throwing my cloth at her. "My wish is your command. Whatever you want, I will do it."

There was a glimmer of mischievous intent in her eyes. Antonia's smirk grew and she skipped over to the bench, picking up the plunger.

"Mind unblocking the toilets?" She grinned, throwing the plunger at me. I caught it and groaned, nodding.

"The only thing I feel now is regret."

Cleaning the toilet was not a perk of the job. Perks were things like discounts and the view from the entrance — not cleaning the toilet. This was more a requirement; a disadvantage. At least I was getting paid for it. I picked up my weapon of choice and made my way to the toilets, sitting on the cold floor in front of the toilet.

It was filled to the brim with water, presumably blocked from someone's misuse.

"Here goes nothing." I grimaced, pushing the plunger down. Water to seeped over the top and spilled onto the floor. It flooded around me, soaking the black fabric I wore. Standing, my legs dripping down - completely soaked, I trailed into the back kitchen, grabbing a new pair from my locker. I hastily pulled the wet ones off and put them on the bench, patting my legs down with a cloth.

"There goes my new leggings." I murmured, groaning to myself.

"Toilets?" Angelique spoke up, giving me a sympathetic glance. I nodded, pulling my new pair of leggings up.

"I hate that bloody plunger."

My days continued, slowly, almost painfully. I regretted volunteering for the toilet - I was running out of dry trousers to wear. Customer after customer, day by day; Bill had become more of a memory in my mind than an actual person. I felt like an old woman whose memory was fading with age — in just a month I'd nearly forgotten how tall he was. Albeit that was easy, I was too short to fully see his height anyway.

"Happy birthday!" Antonia jumped out from behind the bar, squealing. She was holding a huge cake, though I had little time to see it as her sudden appearance threw me into shock. I wobbled back and couldn't regain my balance, falling head first into the ocean. It was a shock to the system, that much was obvious to me. I resurfaced to a giggling Antonia standing at the top of the stone, where the ocean ended and the restaurant began but it was too high for me to climb up.

"You'd better have a spare uniform for me." I tutted, chuckling. "Though in this heat I think I may dry off quite quickly."

I swam towards the port slowly, making sure to look out for boats. I wasn't in the mood to get shredded by an engine; it would be a tragic way to end my birthday. I climbed back up and walked back to the restaurant, my hair utterly soaked by the sudden clash with water.

"I need to dry off." I spoke. Water dripped down off me, leaving a trail of path. "And maybe a shower.." I trailed off, removing a handful of seaweed from my shorts.

Angelique entered and eyed me, confused at my dripping hair and seaweed sticking to my thighs.

"Did you have an accident?" She teased, giggling to herself.

"Piss off." I muttered, grabbing the towel from the table. "I'm going in the shower."

"Enjoy." They called after me as I walked into the back, grabbing a spare uniform from the shelf. I quickly undressed, though I had a hard time pulling squelching denim off my body. I hung them up below the window, in direct light, knowing the sheer heart of the Grecian sun would cool them off before the end of my shift.

I hummed to myself as I turned on the hot water, burning myself with the sudden splash of boiling water. The mirror began to steam up and the glass surrounding me did the same. I turned to face the wall, searching for the shampoo. I had forgotten to pick it up in struggle to pry the wet fabric off of my body. I opened the glass door, creaking a little, and wrapped the towel around myself for some decency. I left the shower running and tiptoed over to the shelf, standing on the step to grab the bottle. It was a little too far for me and I leaned my spare hand on the shelf, hoping my towel was wrapped strongly enough to cling to my body.

"Shit," I breathed as I got a hold of the shampoo, my foot wobbling slightly as I retreated back from the shelf. Within an instant, as I had done earlier, I fell back, though this time my descent was stopped by strong, warm arms.

I looked up and saw Bill's wide smirk, a small wet patch on his shirt from where my hand had attempted to clutch onto it. It was only for a moment as my clutch pulled him down with me, both of us falling straight back onto the cold floor.

I chuckled, facing him. He had exceptional timing; the best birthday present I could've got was his return.

"Hello, Bill."

He smirked, pulling me closer to him with his arm. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my wet forehead, still smirking.

"Did you miss me?"