UNEXPECTED | UNEDITED

04 | Pancakes and Warnings

Good.

Good. Good was all that Milver had said when Carly responded to his question. They had exchanged numbers the night before during her last shift. A part of her was happy that he had reached out and seemed to enjoy her company. But the other part wondered why he did. As far as Carly knew they didn't have much in common. At least so far. He was difficult to get to know, he was very guarded. No matter how hard she pried with questions, his answers always seemed very calculated.

Carly kicked small rocks on the side of the road as she walked, headphones in her ears. Time of the Season by the Zombies played in her ears as she walked in the dimming sunshine. The song had always been a favorite since she first heard it. Something about the lyrics drew her in, allowing her to live out of her fantasy of being a young nymphet for the duration of the song. Writing out her many fantasies her virgin mind could conjure up before sliding her journal under her bed. Usually, after the song was over, Carly would turn back into her shy and cautious persona.

As the song changed so did her mood, a sweet country love song started playing as she neared the business side of town. She passed the last few houses, waving to the few elderly people who sat on their porches in the late-night air. Broken bits of sidewalk crunched under feet in the aging town as she neared the diner. It was a Monday night, so the majority of the families would have already come and gone but it is a weekday Carly expected the small tides of truck drivers stopping in for a meal before they camped out in their trucks.

The bell above the door rang out as Carly entered the diner, She headed to the back to set down her purse and to hang up her coat.

"Take the garbage out, will you?" Ron said as he focused on flipping pancakes on the griddle in front of him. He gestured to the overflowing garbage can in the back. How could such a little diner make so much garbage in a matter of hours?

"Yeah." Carly put down her belongings before tying the top of the garbage bag closed while trying to keep her hands out of whatever leftover food inside. She took it out back, into the small alley behind the diner. Carly had rushed back into the small diner kitchen away from the creepy dark alleyway. Typically, during the day it wasn't that scary but at night Ron, the cook, was usually the only one who had the guts to spend time out there. She started washing her hands and Ron looked up at her.

"Is everything alright with you?" Ron asked, now finished with the pancakes and now making them presentable on the plates. He added a few pieces of bacon as Carly looked over him with furrowed eyebrows. This was the most he had ever spoken to her since she was first hired a few months back.

She dried her hands off as she turned around to look at him. "What do you mean?" Carly questioned. "I'm fine."

"I heard about what happened with your mom," Carly blushed at that, embarrassment easily readable on her face. She hated the way news got around in Stonelin. It was like a bad game of telephone. "and then the cop came in here last night."

"Oh..." The teenager said uneasily. "Yeah, everything is fine." The way Carly said it made it sound like she was trying to convince herself.

Ron stopped what he was doing and put the plates out for Annabelle, the waitress on shift before he turned to Carly. He clearly wasn't finished with what he was saying.

"Look, I may not own this place like Mr. Myroen, but this diner is my life so I can't have you bringing any trouble into it." He said sternly as if he was telling a child to not touch a stove. "Look, I understand that you have problems but they stay outside of here. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Was all that Carly said before he turned his back on her once again. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, was he upset that she spoke to Milver last night? It wasn't like she was neglecting her job. The restaurant was empty besides him being the only customer and she had already done all of her needed tasks. Maybe he just didn't want the tornado of the destruction of a mother to follow Carly into work one night.

She left the kitchen, entering the front of the diner. She started getting herself ready for the shift. There wasn't much to prepare for except a few truck drivers who usually only wanted a cold beer and a hot meal but she expected the blonde cop to come in once again. That drove her nerves up to the wall. If Ron wasn't happy with her, maybe she should tell Milver that if he wanted to see her it had to be outside of work.

A cheery blue-eyed and blonde-haired came up behind Carly, startling her from her thoughts. Annabelle was in her early twenties and one of the other waitresses at the diner. While Annabelle was probably the closest thing to a friend Carly had since she had graduated and all her high school friends had moved on without her she still found herself jealous. Annabelle was a popular party girl in their small town.

"Hey Barley." Annabelle greeted her with an annoying nickname that Carly wished she would forget. The second waitress opened up the register before counting out some change. "I gotta head out early. Jimmy's babysitter isn't feeling well, I already talked to Ron but I just wanted to let you know." Annabelle closed the cash register with her hip. Jimmy was her three-year-old son and had become her main focus since he was born. Carly would babysit for Annabelle on occasion when her main babysitter wasn't available.

Carly looked around the diner as she answered, "Yeah, that's fine." Noting the elderly couple in the booth that Carly and Milver had sat in last night. "Are they almost finished up?"

"Yeah, they just need their change and then they are set," Annabelle answered as she strode over to the couple with a smile. When she returned she left for the kitchen before returning in a large black sweater covering her yellow outfit.

The two girls said their goodbyes before Annabelle left. Carly could feel Ron's watchful eyes burning into the back of her neck. She had never caused any trouble since she first started. She hadn't any reason to. She had been extremely grateful that she was even given this job. The burning only intensified when she heard the bell above the door ring out and a familiar face enter the diner.

Oh dear.

Edited 6/29/2020