Chapter Text
“That man is back in your section.” Eden looked up from filling a glass of orange juice as Mabel sidled up next her. “And he’s looking more worn out than usual.” The young woman turned around, setting the orange juice on a tray with some waters and picked it up, taking it over to a table of six hungover college kids. While setting the drinks around the table, Eden flicked her eyes up to the man sitting alone in a booth, looking over a menu. After taking the tables orders, she moved behind the counter, sticking the ticket on the carousel at the kitchen window and grabbed a mug and the pot of regular coffee, taking it over to the booth.
“Good morning.” Eden greeted him with a small smile, setting down the mug and pouring in coffee. “How are you doing today?”
“I’m okay.” the man answered, his deep voice a bit raspy. “You?”
“I’m doing well, thank you.” Eden replied. “Are you ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?”
“I’m still thinking it over, thank you.”
“Okay, I’ll come back and check on you in a few.” Eden went back behind the counter, handing napkins to a woman who asked and put the coffee pot back on the warmer. The only people in her section at seven-thirty in the morning were the college kids and the lone man, and she took the moment to take a sip of ice water from her cup under the bar.
“If you ask me, he’s mighty handsome.” Mabel let out a soft whistle, nodding her head towards the man. His dirty blonde hair was nearly shoulder length, falling in his front of his tired blue eyes as he looked down to sip from his hot coffee carefully. Eden smiled and shook her head.
“Mabel, may I remind you, you’re a married woman?” the older woman rolled her eyes and shushed her.
“Thirty-five years of marriage is more of an incentive to look, if anything.” Mabel chuckled, handing someone sat at the counter a menu. “And besides, that was more of a nudge for you.”
“A nudge for what?” Eden scrunched her nose. “Mabel, I am not going to hit on my customers, handsome or not.”
“So you do think he’s handsome. You should ask him his name!” Mabel grinned. Eden glanced over at the man in her section, who had now opened his menu and started reading his options. “He must like you. He’s only ever sat in my section twice, and those were both days you weren’t here.” Eden shrugged.
“Coincidence.” she told Mabel as the cook put orders up in the window, dinging the bell. Eden grabbed the warm plates, placing them on a tray and picking the tray up, balancing it on the palm of her hand. “I’m not going to indulge in your delusion anymore.” with that, Eden carried the tray over to the table of students, who were now starting to get over their hangovers. She handed out the dishes from memory, and cheered to herself when she remembered every order. As she walked back to the counter, she put the tray away and grabbed the coffee pot making her way over back to the man in the booth.
“Refill?” she asked. He looked up and nodded, giving her a grateful smile. “Have you decided on what you’d like to order?”
“Yeah,” Eden set down the coffee pot and reached into her apron pockets, bringing out a pen and order pad. “I’ll just have some eggs, over-medium, sausage and some toast. Wheat please.”
“Anything else?” Eden asked, her pen poised after scribbling down the order.
“Could I get a water, too?”
“Of course.” Eden stuffed the pen and paper back into her pocket and picked up the pot. “I’ll put that in for you, and it’ll be up in just a few minutes.” The man gave her a smile again and she walked away, putting the ticket on the carousel and made her way around the restaurant with coffee after filling a glass with ice water and setting it at the man’s table. She gave a bill to the college students and took their empty plates, going to the kitchen and placing them in the wash basin for the busboy, who was due to be at work in a few minutes. As she walked back out, the bell in the kitchen window rang, and she grabbed the plate of food, bringing it over to the man and setting it down in front of him.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” she asked. He shook his head and Eden was about to walk away when she stopped and turned back. “I’m sorry to bug you, but you’ve been coming here for weeks now, and I don’t know your name.”
“Do you make it a habit to know all your customer’s names?”
“Just the ones who come in all the time.” Eden told him. “I mean, my name is on my name tag. I’m at a disadvantage.”
“What name tag?” Eden looked down at her chest and saw her name tag wasn’t there and sighed.
“Must’ve forgotten it this morning. I’m Eden.” the man raised his eyebrows.
“Like the garden?”
“Yeah, something like that.” she nodded, a faint blush crawling up on her cheeks. The doors swung open and Eden looked over her shoulder as the group of students walked out, all talking animatedly about something that happened at the party last night.
“It’s pretty, I like it.” Eden turned back and gave him a small smile and stuffed her hands in her apron pocket. “I’m Ryan.”
“Well Ryan, I’ll let you enjoy your breakfast. Holler if you need anything.”
“Thanks, I will.” he said, unwrapping his silverware from his napkin.
“His name is Ryan.” Eden told Mabel as she walked back behind the counter
“He even puts his napkin in his lap, you don’t see a lot of men do that in this place.” Mabel whispered to her.
“Good for him.” she said, taking a long sip from her water. “I’m sure his mom is very proud.”
“Honey, I’m just trying to get you to loosen up. You work so much, when do you have time for any fun? Who knows, that guy could be a really nice man with a good job. He could be rich with a nice house up in the hills and treat you right.”
“Or he could be a psychopath who wants to murder me.” Eden gave Mabel a small glare. “Please stop trying to set me up with strangers. I have fun, I promise.” Mabel looked at her skeptically and Eden shook her head, grabbing a rag and beginning to wipe down the table the students had vacated. She saw her tip on the table and thumbed through it discreetly. “Three dollars for six people. Awesome.” Eden shook her head, stuffing the bills in her apron pocket and continuing to wipe down the table, scrubbing hard at the syrup rings the kids had left on the plexiglass covering. Once she was done cleaning the table, Eden started on refilling the sugar canisters, occasionally glancing over to Ryan’s table and seeing where he was at with his meal. He’d gotten up and grabbed a newspaper at some point during Eden’s cleaning and she watched as he stopped Mabel as she went by, speaking to her before she pulled a pen out of her apron and handed it to him with a smile, batting her eyelashes at him before walking away.
“Don’t say a word.” Eden shook her head as Mabel sidled up to her again.
“All I was going to say was he has very nice eyes.”
“Why thank you, darling.” the cook poked his head through the window. “Have you seen my damn busboy? He was supposed to be here half an hour ago.”
“No, Harold.” Mabel shook her head. “I’ll give him a call, see if he overslept again.”
“No good kids these days. No work ethic.” Harold grumbled to himself. “I built this restaurant from the ground up. It’s an institution in this city! Nowadays it wouldn’t happen. You kids have no patience for anything but your phones.”
“Harold, I think something’s burning.” Eden told him, sending him a look. He sniffed the air and turned around fast, cursing at the old toaster. Eden finished filling the canisters, and went and set them back out on the counter and tables. As she passed, Ryan’s she slid his bill on the table and took his empty plate, telling him to pay whenever he was ready, noting the half complete crossword puzzle.
“Well, our busboy didn’t answer his phone.” Mabel came out of the back office and into the dining room. “Looks like we’re waitin’ and bussin’.”
“Like we usually do anyway?” Eden chuckled. “Watch my tables for a sec? I have to use the restroom.”
“Sure thing.” Eden went and used the restroom, making a quick stop at her employee locker in stock room to swipe some lip balm on her lips and fluff up her ponytail, noting how tired her eyes looked in the reflection. When she came back out to the restaurant, she looked over to her section and saw Ryan was gone. Eden grabbed a wet rag from the basin and went over to his table tucking the newspaper under her arm and the pen in her pocket. She reached for the tip on the table and saw a small piece of receipt paper on top of it.
‘Keep the change. -Ryan’ Eden set the note down and picked up the money gasping and turning quickly, seeing him walking across the parking lot.
Eden ran out of the diner, looking around the parking lot and seeing him get into a sleek black car. Dashing over to it as he shut the door, she knocked on the tinted window, which was promptly rolled down.
“You uh, you forgot your change.” Eden told him, trying to catch her breath and handing over the money.
“I wrote keep the change on my bill. That’s your tip.” the man told her, squinting in the bright morning sun.
“That’s a seventy-two dollar tip…” Eden said slowly. Ryan gave her a smile.
“Treat yourself to something nice.” he told her, then rolled the window back up and backed out of the parking space, driving out of the parking lot and away from the diner. Eden stared after him for a few moments, sliding the money into her apron pocket before walking back inside.
“What was that all about?” Mabel asked as Eden came back inside.
“He uh, he forgot his change.” Eden told her. “Mabel, he left me a huge tip. Here, you should take some of it.” Eden pulled the money back out of her pocket, but Mabel stopped her.
“Keep it. Get some groceries or a new pair of shoes.” Mabel moved away and Eden nodded, letting the bills fall back into the pocket and moved to finish wiping down the table. She picked up the note again, looking at the neat handwriting and smiling to herself as she tucked it into her apron, getting back to work.
~ ~ ~
“Dad? Sam?” Eden called out as she shuffled through the door of a small house, a heavy paper bag in her arm. With some of the tip Ryan had left her, she decided to go to the store and buy a few things for her half-brother and dad, knowing the latter didn’t exactly buy much other than lunchmeat, corn chips and beer. “I brought some groceries!”
“Edie!” a small voice called as she walked into the kitchen. The thumping of feet could be heard and soon small arms were wrapped around her waist.
“Hey Sammy.” Eden smiled, reaching down and ruffling the young boys hair. “Where’s dad?”
“He said he was gonna be late for work, so he left.” Sam told her as she set the bag down on the counter, tossing her keys next to it.
“He just left you here by yourself?! How long ago did he leave?”
“Only a couple of minutes…” Sam frowned. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just watching cartoons!” Eden crouched down and looked Sam in the eyes.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” she explained, giving him a soft smile. “Dad should know better than to leave an eight year old home alone.”
“I’m a big boy.” Sam muttered.
“I know, Sammy, I know.” Eden stood up, rifling through the bag. “Have you ate anything today?”
“Dad let me have cereal this morning, and I got to pour my own milk!”
“Oh wow!” Eden chuckled. “Well, if you’re hungry for some lunch, Mabel sent me home with a turkey sandwich just for you. Oh and this big piece of chocolate cake.”
“I want cake!” Sam jumped up and down excitedly.
“You’ll have to eat your sandwich first, buddy.” Eden told him. “Go wash your hands and I’ll get it ready for you.” Sam bolted out of the room and Eden put away a few of the groceries. She had gotten animal crackers, apple juice, a bag of grapes and a small bag of baby carrots for Sam, along with a loaf of bread. Eden took out the carry-out box from the restaurant and put the sandwich on a paper plate, taking a few of the baby carrots from the bag and rinsing them before setting them on the plate. Sam came back from the bathroom and Eden carried his plate into the living room, setting it on the coffee table and sitting down on the floor next to him as he dug in, his eyes staring at the bright cartoons on the television.
“Oo ouu wan fom?” Sam held a half of the sandwich out to Eden, who shook her head.
“I ate before I left work.” she told him. “But thank you. And don’t talk with your mouth full.” Sam nodded and went back to watching the TV. A pinging noise came from underneath Eden and she lifted herself up, puling her phone from her back pocket and checking the message.
Lydia: Do you work tomorrow morning?
Eden: I work the dinner shift tomorrow, why?
Lydia: Then when you get home from babysitting, we’re going out. I’ve had the worst clients today, and I need to drink and dance.
Eden: I’m not sure I really want to go clubbing tonight.
Lydia: Then we can just drink at a bar and I’ll dance to whatever crap music is playing. Deal?
Eden: Okay, deal. I’ll let you know when I leave tonight.
“Who are you talking to, Edie?” Eden set her phone down and looked over to Sam, who had finished his lunch and was staring up at her.
“Lydia.” she answered. “You remember her, right? My roommate with the rainbow hair?”
“I wanna say hi!” Sam said. “Can we send her a picture?”
“Sure.” Eden smiled and unlocked her phone, opening up her photo-sharing app and pressed the forward-facing camera, smiling with Sam and snapping the picture, sending it to Lydia, telling her Sam’s message. “Now what do you want to do?”
“Let’s watch Aladdin!” Eden withheld a groan and nodded, letting Sam set up the movie for the eighteen-hundredth time that month. It was going to be a long night.