Change of Law and Heart

Chapter 1: The Return of an Old Friend

The sign above the twenty-four hour open restaurant read 'Sunshine Hill's Restaurant'. The outside of the building was a bit worn down, that's the usual in these old towns of Maine; they don't receive a lot of love and are left to the care of everyone in said town. 'Sunshine Hill's Restaurant' is, in my opinion, an amazing place for pancakes.

Shelly, one of the waitresses, greeted me and my co-worker, Zeke, before calling out to Zane, the owner of the place and cook, to place 'The Wardens Usual'; we come here often. We sit down on the bar stools near the door, you never know when a call will come up and we need to leave quickly, and both give our smile and nod of appreciation to Shelly.
Zeke Decker AKA Warden Decker swivels in his spot with his right arm resting on the counter and his body facing me. "So, have you heard about the new base being built in my section? They even told me they have a "new warden" to watch over that area and no longer need me there to patrol the area," Zeke strikes up a conversation.

"Yeah," I answered and nodded my head to help with my answer. "Have they told you who the new warden is?" He opens his mouth to answer but I knew what he was going to say before he even said it. "And before you go 'do you agree with them?'; to answer that stupid question, remember not an idiot here, no."

"I was not going to ask that question," he blurted quickly with his arms crossed over his chest. I rolled my eyes in retaliation and he swats me with the back of his hand. "Shut it. Anyway, no they didn't tell me who the warden is; just telling me, with a threat, not to ever go in that area again. Tipps can be mean sometimes," he mumbled the last part.

A barked laugh escaped my lips and I covered my mouth with my hands in embarrassment of catching everyone's attention in the place. Zeke snickered silently at my expression but stopped when his eyes saw the sight of our food. My mouth was watering at the sight of the food steaming with heat.

The ginger waitress brings out of the usual for us: me with three fluffy pancakes, two over-easy eggs, and a glass of orange juice. While Decker has hash browns, three over medium eggs, and a glass milk. My stomach growled not-so-silently at the sight of the food and a blush of embarrassment grew on my cheeks.

My partner in crime gave me a small glare, knowing the reason of me being hungry before turning his gaze to the steaming hot pile of food in front of him. I turned my gaze to Shelly, mouthing 'thank you', then eyeing the food in front of me. I dug in and groaned at how amazing the pancakes tasted on my taste buds.

We ate our food quickly so we can carry on with our conversation about the secret base being built.

"Okay, that was delicious like always; the Tri-Cities never had great food like this. Anyway, Tipps can be but maybe she is trying to protect you from whatever the military is building there. It might be for snoopy adults, putting their noses where they don't belong," I teased the dirty blonde walking with me back to my Ford truck.

He rolled his eyes like it was the stupidest comment he ever heard as we went to our respected sides of the truck. I open the driver side door, hop in the tall truck, and sat my butt down on the leather, semi warm seats. Zeke joins me inside of the truck and puts on his seat belt (safety first), I quickly follow him after.

My hand touches the keys in my front pant pocket, sticking the truck key into the ignition, and start the powerful sounding truck. It rumbles quietly to life and the A/C blows in both of our faces, cooling us down from the heat of spring. Maine does have its cold winters and warm summers; hopefully this spring will bring a bunch of rain this year.

"Anywhere else you need to be princess?" I teased my great friend while giving him a poke in the arm and backing out carefully of the parking lot. They don't make them big enough for trucks like mine to have an easier chance to pull in and out of. We were swiftly on the road, heading in the direction of the stores, I do need some supplies.