Before we go in, May ties Alex's collar to her belt loop and straps his vest on. His vest has "SERVICE DOG" in the center, and 1 at each side. Along with 2 flowers pins, and a patch under them in a rainbow saying "Do Not Pet Me!". There's 1 more patch saying "Not All Disabilities Are Visible."
"That's one cool vest, colorful. But, I thought service dogs don't have to be on a leash?"
"They don't, but we like to have one on because other people have "service dogs" that will attack other actual therapy dogs. Luckily that's only happened to us once, but we had a leash on Alex so we were able to pull him away."
"Dang, that's freaky..."
"Yeah, I was livid."
"I would be too."
----
"Deven, good to see you, honey," a woman around her 40s hugs Deven, she pats Alexs head then turns to Maiya. "Maiya, how have you been?"
"I'm okay."
She turns to me, then looks at Deven with a questionable glance.
"Jessica this is Max, Max this is Jessica. Jessica is friends with my aunts and uncles, a family friend. Max is a good friend of mine."
"Good to meet you," she smiles and hugs me. "You know," she backs up. "He hasn't brought anyone here in a while, so I'm glad he brought a friend this time."
"I'm glad too."
"Anyways," Deven breaks the moment. "Is our normal booth open?"
"Not this time, sorry. Sunday morning after church, ya know how that goes. Follow me though," She quickly grabs 3 menus and sets of silverware, then guides us away.
Once she places us at a booth, I'm seated next to Deven, May sits across from us, Alex slides in next to Maiyas feet. I noticed people would stare, but not say anything. Though, an old lady looked disgusted by it. Deven and May don't seem to care.
"Sadly, I don't have this section, so you'll have to deal with an unfamiliar. Are you okay with that?" She looks at May, then Deven.
"Yeah, Alex is here, and so is Max and I. It'll be okay, thanks for the warning though."
She hums and nods, then walks over to a girl and says something to her, and points at us. The girl nods and walks over.
"Hi, my name is Britney and I'll be serving you today. I apologize in advance if we are a little slow today, a full house. But, can I start you off with some drinks?"
We tell her, then as she looks down at her paper, must be new, she sees Alex. She looks shocked at first, then turns back to Deven with a sad look.
"Sorry, animals are not allowed in here."
Deven sighs, whispering "I knew that would happen", then turns back up at her. "It's a service dog, he's allowed in."
"I'm sorry, but animals aren't allowed inside, "service dog" or not."
"Okay, clearly you are new and I can understand that. I've been going here for a long time, every time I'm here with my sister and her service dog we never have a problem. He sits under the table and monitors her because it's his job. He is an actual service dog, I have the papers to prove everything which, legally, I don't have to show to anyone. Please, don't make a big deal out of this. He's allowed to stay, and so are we."
She stands there, mouth agape, then shuts it and goes to grab Jessica. May looks at Deven and I concerned, but he just grabs her hand with a smile and nods.
Jessica comes back over with Britney.
"This again?" Jessica asks Deven, he nods. "Right. Bri, Who was your mentor?" The lady replies with a Dan so Jessica sighs. "Okay, I'll talk with him. But, Alex, the service dog, is allowed to stay. As I'm sure Deven has already said," she motions to Deven. "Alex watches over Maiya," she motions to May. "And Alex is a needed service animal. All service animals are allowed In, it's the law. He's sitting quietly under the table, not causing any problems."
YOU ARE READING
Serenades of Second Chances (BXB)
Romance"That's all in the past now..." "Why's that?" "I 'Woke The Hell Up'." After a night of drinking with his friends, the anonymous ex-musician Maximilian, who went under the name Fallen Angel, wakes up to find a man in his bed with him. Max, who's stra...
