“Morning, Redd!” I chirp cheerfully as I clean the tables with a Clorox wipe. “Beautiful day, isn't it?”

“Ugh. I've seen better.” She moans. Redd has never been a morning person, unlike me. Her brown hair is pulled into a messy bun in the back with a few strands hanging around her face.

I look up and smile. “Coffee time?” I ask. I watch her smile before I walk to the coffee pot. My pale fingers wrap around the black handle to the pot as I pull it out. Two cups are poured and I finish it up with the homemade creamer in the fridge and sugar. I mix the substances before I walk to my friend and handing her one of the cups as I take a sip from the other.

“Thanks, Angelica.” Redd smiles at the cup before she took a sip. “Mmm. Alright, ” She laughs. “ I can work now.” We both laugh now.

“I sure hope you can, people will be coming in soon. We need to start cooking.” After placing the cup on the counter, I open the fridge.  “Should I get started cutting up the veggies while you get the omelet started?”

“Do I have a choice?” She asked half serious. She holds up her left hand symbolizing for me to hold on to my response. “No, let me guess… No.” She smiles, finishing up her coffee before tossing her cup into the trash. As she walks towards me, I take out a few eggs and hand them to her. She gently juggles them in one hand as she walks to the cabinet before taking out a small glass bowl.

I pop my fingers before getting to work. I look back in the open fridge and notice that the supply was running low. “We’ll need to get ingredients on our lunch break.” Closing the fridge, I faintly hear the door open.

“No need, I went shopping this morning before work.” Rose placed the bags on the counter. “Sorry, I’m a little late. The shopping center was packed.”

I close the fridge and turn around. “No big deal. Thank you.” I take out a twenty from my back pocket. “Here, I’ll pay it back a little.”

Rose shook her head. “Consider it a birthday gift.”

“But… I...you...” I smile. “Thank you,” I said, putting the money back in my pocket. “Will you start making the toast please?”

“Sure, Our first customer should be coming around,” she looks at the time, “ten minutes if she is following her usual schedule.”

“You know what the famous baker once said. ‘Let’s get started’.” Everyone laughs at the reference before we started to work.

I grab bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and a few other things. Frozen for a moment, I had a sudden urge to open the rose-gold locket around my neck. I miss my parents more than anything. More than my dog, more than my childhood friends, more than my ex who I had caught cheating. There was nothing in the world that I missed more than my parents. I grab the cutting knife and cutting board and sat it next to the ingredients. I take off my locket and open it. The black and white image was the same as it was when I last opened it. My mother, Emma, is standing next to my father, Rick. It has only been two or three years since father found a job in a different state. However, I had to stay where I was due to school. Now I’m here; goofing off with my closest friends as they worked. I close the locket and start cutting the food as I wait for Redd’s call.

A few minutes go by and we have some food ready to go, and a few other coworkers cooking and chopping. I plate the first meal as I hear the door open. “Good morning.” I look up at the door, “ How can I help you?” My voice trails off and I stare at the customers. “Mom? Dad?” I knew who they were, no doubt. But I was shocked.

“Happy birthday dear.” Emma gushed walking over to me. She opened up her arms to give me a hug.

Tears fog up my vision as I hug back. “I missed you guys so much.”

“Eh… I guess we missed you too.” Rick said hugging me as well.

Both my mom and I roll our eyes.

Everyone stands up again and I see Rose recording. “ Aww! Hashtag family reunion.”

“Rose!”  I sneered snatching her phone away to look. “You better not post it on Facebook.”

“You know I will” She smiles innocently like. “And there is nothing you can do to stop me”

Mom took the phone away from me. “Now girls, let's be nice” She looks at the phone for a few minutes. “Almost done”

“MOM!” I sneer. “NO!” I gasp realizing what she was doing. “Please, no.”

She gives off a small laugh. “And… Post!” She hands back the phone to its proper owner.

I mumble under my breath and softly smile. “What can I make you today?”

The diner is filled with happy customers chatting and students working on schoolwork as they drank coffee. It's a good day, even if I was socially embarrassed. And my friends ask me why I’m not on Social media. I look at the time, counting down the minutes to my lunch break. As I pate the next customer's food, Rose taps my shoulder. “What is it? Refill? Complaints?”

“New customer.” She said pointing to the small line. “Brace yourself; he’s a cutie.”

“You always say that Rose” I roll my eyes looking at her.

“But It’s true. I think he’s the one. He’s different from the others, he’s… dreamy.”

“Come on, Rose. Let's be real now.” I said turning my head to the line and my jaw drops. He is dreamy. His black hair is gelled to one side and his phone was up to his ear as he talked to someone.

“I say this time to time again. WE are never going to get back together.” He hangs up the phone and stuffed it in his back pocket.  He looks at the menu.

“Come on girl!” Rose whispered yelled in my ear. “It's time to use that pick up line I taught you.”

“No! Are you crazy?” I ask whispering back.

“Come on, take a break… Seems like he’s single.”

I roll my eyes as I push her back away. “Ticket number five o’ six is waiting.” I look back at the mysterious dreamy man. “Hey, umm…” I glace at Rose, who is watching closely. “um… I… eh… could have your number?” I look down and twirl my long blonde hair. “I… Er… lost mine.”

“Lemme guess. Desperate girl for a boyfriend but is too shy to ask, so she uses the worst pick up line ever.” He laughs.

I look at him and sigh. “ Is that obvious?”

“Not at all” He laughs. “I’m just good at these type of things.”

I laugh along. “In that case… would you like to be my boyfriend?” I wince, ready to get rejected as I have always been.

His hazel eyes glisten at the question. “No, I wouldn't.” He shrugs.

I look down disappointed. I put myself out there and embarrassed myself only to get rejected once again. Tears start to form in my eyes.

He chuckled at my reaction and places his soft hand under my chin and pulls it up gingerly. “Couldn't hurt to try, right? I would love to be your boyfriend.” His velvet like hand strokes my cheek. His shaggy blonde hair swept to one side of his face.

I smile not knowing what to say. I look down again taking out the small notebook in the pocket of my apron. I remove the pen that was connected to the spine and write down my number on a spare page. “My name is Angelica… Angelica Pierce.”

“Nice to meet you, Angelica… I’m Bryan. Bryan Wills.”

Redd bumps her way into the conversation. “Well, things are pretty slow here A.” ‘A’ was a nickname she gave me a few weeks ago. If anyone wanted a new nickname, they never ask Redd. Not to be mean, but… She's not the best with making nicknames. But I love her anyways. She looks at the empty space behind Bryan. “How about you to go eat somewhere and I wait for more customers.” She flashed me a smile.

I shake my head. “I would love to. But Remember what happened last time when I left you alone with Rose here?” I look at her dead serious, but couldn't help but laugh as she thought it through. “The place looked like a winter wonderland! Flour was everywhere, and all on your freshly steamed aprons!”

“First of all, that was a year ago. Second of all, It was your birthday cake that we made… And finally, you sound like a grumpy old lady”

“HEY!” I screeched as I grabbed flour from the mixing bowl and tossed it at her. We laugh for a little bit. “STILL! Do you really think I'm going to leave just like that? The last thing I want is to be holding a broom and a dustpan at the middle of the night. My name is Angelica; not Cinderella.”

“Okay! Okay. No cake, I got it.”

“And no mess?”

She sighs. “And no mess.”

“Good. I’m going to hold you to it.”

“Okay! Now off with you, go have some fun!” Redd rolls her eyes.

I unite my apron and hang it up. The white cloth drapes over the small silver hook waiting to be used and get even more dirty. “I’ll be back in exactly two hours!” I call to Redd as I put on my back leather coat. The zipper glides up smoothly as I lightly draw it up. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Don't rush, A.” She grabs my gloves, handing them to me. “Everything will be under control, I promise.” She walks to one of the empty tables waiting to be cleaned. “But if you insist, I promise I will call you if I need something.” She moves to look at Bryan. “If you hurt her, I’ll hurt you.” She flashes a slight smile.

“No need for that. You don’t have to scare them away like that all the time.”

“I do! No one is good enough for you!”

Bryan smiles holding in laughter. “Hey!”

“Ya, says the person who wants me to have a date.” I roll my eyes.

Redd shook her head. “I guess you have a point…”

I walk out from behind the counter and next to Bryan. “Where too?”