Blind

Chapter 1

I remember the first time I saw him. I was working my late shift at my Dad's restaurant; The Steamboat. My dad had always loved to cook, and he made the best steamed oysters I'd ever had in my life. He'd opened the restaurant when I was young, always talking about how the restaurant was the future of our family. I just wasn't ready to be the one working my ass off 24/7.

My dad was almost never at the restaurant. Something about how a good boss leads from afar, but in reality he doesn't want to deal with the stress. So, he leaves all the actual business to my mom and I. My mom is the general manager, always making sure that our staff is in line. I, however, am one of the many waitresses.

"Table 12 is ready! Coconut shrimp special and a side of oysters. Chicken tenders and fries. 1/2 pound of crab legs and a large Caesar Salad!" Yelled Scooby.

Scooby was our head chef. He was an African American, in his 40's, but he always told the staff he was 25. His real name was Micheal, but we all called him Scooby because he'd dressed up as the famous dog for one of my many birthday parties at the restaurant. I had started calling him Scooby after the party and the name just stuck. "Thanks!" I yelled, grabbing the tray and exiting through the swinging doors.

The restaurant wasn't very large. The dining area sat about 150 people, the bar being able to hold 20 more. The bar was always popular on the weekends, around 5Pm-9:30pm. We closed at 10PM, and it was only 8. I'd been working since 5, clocking in right after my last class for the day.

I was a second year medical student at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM), the top medical school in Florida. I had no clue how my parents managed to cover my tuition, but I didn't ask too many questions.

I headed for my table, a booth in the back corner next to the large picture window. There were four people there; a woman who looked to be in her late 40's, a man in his early 50's, a teenaged girl, her nose buried in her phone, and a man who looked to be in his early 20's.

I approached, smiling as I started to pass out the food. Once everyone was settled, "do you need some more Mountain Dew?" I asked the young male, looking at his glass. He smiled and nodded, looking in my direction, but not looking exactly at me, "yeah. That'd be great." He said, his voice deep, yet pleasing.

He reached to grab his glass, however his hand bumped it. The glass toppled over, spilling ice and soda all over the table and the floor, splashing my top and jeans, before almost falling to the ground. Luckily, I was able to catch it,"oh god I'm so sorry!" He said, fumbling with napkins and picking up ice cubes, "no it's ok. I'll get you a new glass and clean up." I told him, making sure the rest of the family was doing well.

I then sped back to the kitchen, tossing the glass in the sink before making a new drink, and grabbing napkins, the broom and dustpan. I returned to the family, setting the drink on the table before attempting to clean up the mess. The family tried to make small talk while apologizing, the teenage girl thinking the whole situation was funny.

"Alright, mess is cleaned, do you need anything else?" I asked the table, the family shaking their heads and saying no. I smiled and walked away, dumping the dustpan and tossing the wet napkins in the trash before heading back into the kitchen.

"Whoa, you look like you just fell into a shower." Giggled Ashely, one of my coworkers. I said, "yeah. Some dumbass at the table I was working spilt his damn drink all over me." I huffed, getting napkins and trying to pat dry my clothes.

Ashely smiled, "well at least your table didn't try to flirt with you. I'm on table 4, group of frat guys out for the weekend." She said, crossing her arms. I laughed some, "need me to go beat 'em up?" I joked, the girl laughing with me, "Nah I can handle them. If I've learned one thing from being a bartender slash waitress it's keep the drinks coming and everyone's happy." She said, one of the kitchen assistants yelling that more orders were ready.