Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
The party ended, the parents thanked Tanya, and slowly the kids left. Petal made her way over to the corner. Tanya’s little girl was sitting at the table, coloring.
“Thank you,” Tanya said, already helping to clean the mess.
“Don’t worry about it. You’re our customer, and I can clean this up.”
“I can’t let you do all of that.”
“Trust me, we make sure to charge a clean-up fee in the price,” she said, smiling.
Tanya chuckled but still she helped. Petal had a feeling she didn’t like to be sitting around while other people worked. It made sense, she was the same. She didn’t like not working. Being in a big family there was always something needing to be done, and people that needed to do it. She glanced over at the little girl.
“Did Leanna enjoy her birthday?” Petal asked.
“I did, thank you,” Leanna said, looking up and smiling. The little girl was only five years old, but she looked so grown-up.
She turned to Tanya, to see the woman smiling. “I’m glad, Pumpkin.” Tanya went to her daughter and kissed her on top of her head.
“Do you guys want anything else? Tea? A milkshake? Milk?”
Tanya and Leanna shared a look. “Chocolate milkshake.”
Petal chuckled and promised to have them right out.
They were in their lull, just before the dinner rush. Rosalie would help later. They really needed to hire someone.
So far, they had gone through four women, all of them club women, and none were ideal. All four had been caught with customers. She and Rosalie didn’t want to deal with angry wives or girlfriends. Also, they didn’t want to risk their diner getting a bad reputation.
Warden had allowed them to send out an advertisement, and so far, the only people to respond had been students who were not interested. They had come to their job interview stoned or playing on their cell phone. Not ideal candidates. It was like the job wasn’t taken seriously because it was a diner.
Petal remembered when she got this job. She had considered it a great opportunity. Sure, Al had been handsy, but he wasn’t a bad boss. He wasn’t a great boss, but the pay was okay. He just liked to see his waitresses in tight uniforms, and he liked to touch.
Of course, she didn’t realize what an asshole he was going to be, and a coward. Siding with the Evil Fuckers MC and getting Rosalie hurt had been the end of him.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she finished the milkshakes and carried them over.
Tanya smiled. “Thanks, uh, I was wondering, is the position open for a new waitress?”
Petal was taken aback at first, the question didn’t seem to register with her, and then when she realized what had been asked, she nodded her head and smiled.
“Uh, sorry, yeah, it is still open.”
“I was wondering if I would be able to apply?”
“Of course. I mean, don’t you have the DIY store?” Petal asked.
“I do, and I still work there, but Harry is cutting back the hours the store is open, for his health, but also because the foot traffic is not happening. I’ve told him he needs to get online, but he doesn’t listen. I need to make up the extra hours.”
“Have you waitressed before?” Petal asked.
“I did it before I got the job with Harry. I worked for Al when he owned the place.”
“I didn’t realize that.”
“I was actually one of the first women to give him a black eye for putting his hands on me.”
Petal laughed. “Wow, I had no idea. I mean, I heard the tale of someone giving Al a black eye, but I didn’t realize it was you. Can I have your autograph?”
Tanya began to laugh.
This would be awesome. Tanya working for them, and Myth coming in for his burger. She never considered herself much of a matchmaker, but she had a feeling this could work. Her best friend finally got the woman of his dreams, and she got to see true love spark.
“How about you write down the hours you’re working for Harry, and I’ll talk to Rosalie, and we come to some arrangement?”
“That sounds great to me.”
Tanya took one of the pictures that hadn’t been colored in, wrote down the hours, and handed it back to her. She looked over at Leanna, offered her a quick smile, and then made her way back behind the counter.
Just before the dinner rush, Tanya and Leanna finished their milkshakes and then headed out. Petal watched them go. It had been a long time since she felt that slight pinch in her chest.
She watched mother and daughter, hand in hand, walk back to the car. In that moment, she missed what she didn’t have. She knew that in raising children there would be good moments and bad. Kids were a combination of angels and devils.
One day, she would know what it was like to be a mother, it just wasn’t going to be anytime soon.