Flowers & Bruises

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Lou's Pie Shop. Otherwise known as my second home for the last two years.

 When I'm not at home or school, I'm here. Waitressing to save up money for college. The owners are an elderly married couple, Mr. George and Mrs. George. They were the only ones who would hire me, even with my lack of experience. They've owned the diner for over 40 years. Mr. George bought it for his wife for their 5 year anniversary and named it after her. He said her pies were so delicious that it'd be a crime not to share the deliciousness with others. They've been running it together ever since.

All of the pie recipes originally came from Mrs. George's late grandmother, and you only get to know the recipes after you've worked for them for a certain period of time. They don't want their beloved recipes being stolen by other diners in town, which is understandable. Of course we serve more than just pies. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But the pies are a delicacy. Even I think so, and I've always hated pie.

It's 7:27 PM right now, which means I have roughly 30 minutes until Liam shows up for our date. The diner is slightly packed, so I'm questioning if my shift will end on time. There's only two other waitresses working right now, and I wouldn't want to leave them to handle the diner all by themselves.

I'm wiping down the counter when I hear the familiar jingling of the diner door opening. Then another familiar sound fills the entire diner.

"Charlie!" Malcolm yells loudly, receiving several glares from some of the customers.

"Hi Malcolm," I say cheerily. I set down my rag as Malcolm sits down on the bar stool in front of the counter, almost missing the stool entirely.

"The usual?" I ask.

"Do you even need to ask?" He wonders with a large grin on his face.

"Nope."

"You know, it will never get old." He says with my back turned to him while I place a piece of pie on a saucer. I look over my shoulder at him, and notice a new customer sitting in a booth that I need to tend to.

"What won't?" I set a plate of chocolate crème pie in front of him, his favorite.

"You. Happily working your butt off in this diner while other kids our age are either out partying, or working and complaining about it," he takes a bite of the pie. "It says a lot about your character Charlie," he says while chewing. "God, this pie is fantastic!"

"Always is," I answer.

"I don't understand why you don't like pie," he says in disbelief.

"I like Lou's pies," I defend.

"I like all pie," content fills his voice.

I pull a pen and the order pad out of the apron tied around my waist. "I have a customer. Be right back," I walk around the counter and ruffle up Malcolm's hair on my way over to the customer. The man seems to be around 50 years old and is wearing what looks like a very expensive suit.

"Hi, welcome to Lou's. Sorry about the wait, my name is Charlie. What can I get for you?" I smile down at the man.

"That's alright. Can I get a slice of Georgia Peach and some coffee, please?"

"Regular or decaf?"

"Decaf," he answers, fidgeting with his Rolex.

"I'll have that right out for you," I click my pen and tuck it back onto my apron.

"Are you Farrah Jackson's daughter?" He asks, which catches me off guard.

"I am," I state. "How did you know that?" I put a hand on my hip.