empty gesture ㅤ𝐣𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬

𝟬𝟭. congrats, it's a boy

"Sorry, I can't hear you. My music is too loud." Ines pouted with a shrug as she pointed to the earbuds in her ear. Her father rolled his eyes as she waved mockingly, before closing the door behind her.

She took a deep breath as she began to walk in the direction of the Don Cuco, a mexican restaurant she waitressed at.

It was a nice place that earned her decent wages but it wasn't exactly immune to the frequent white ladies that tended to make Ines job harder than it needed to be.

Ines made it to work in record time, a smile on her lips as she greeted the owner Frank Castillo who had opened the restaurant twenty years ago with his wife. His wife Sheela had been a wonderful person but sadly she had passed, and Frank had kept the restaurant open to honor her memory.

"Morning, Mr. Castillo." Ines greeted the elderly man who opened his arms to hug her as he always did. She obliged giving him a hug as she went to the hook that held her uniform.

As she tied her apron around her waist letting it sit over her black skirt, she adjusted her black polo shirt with the restaurant logo on it. She immediately grabbed her notebook and pen stuffing it inside the apron as she made her way to her section of tables outside.

Her shift passed relatively peacefully as she approached a family of six who seemed to be celebrating someone.

She smiled at their close relationship with one another as they talked in Spanish, occasionally smiling brightly at the boy who sat on the other side of the table.

"Hello, and welcome to the Don Cuco. My name is Ines, and I'll be taking care of you today. Can I get you all started on some drinks?" She greeted them kindly, her notebook open as she held her pen.

The family turned to her with genuine smiles, as whom she assumed was the mother of the family greeted her, sharing that they were celebrating their son Jaime Reyes graduation from college.

"Oh Congrats! What did you major in?" Ines asked as she looked to the boy, who she now knew to be Jaime Reyes.

He met her eyes, his mouth opening, and closing as he stuttered, placing an elbow on the table to try for a 'too cool' persona.

It failed as he slipped nearly falling into the salsa, and chips that were on the table as a complimentary appetizer.

Ines had to push her tongue into her cheek to hold in a laugh as she cleared her throat, and held her notepad out.

"Sorry about him, I'm Milagro his sister, and apparently his translator. He studied pre-law." Milagro said with a roll of her eyes, her red glasses suited her face nicely, and Ines noticed the whole family was rather good looking.

"Oh, that's pretty neat. You must be smart." She told Jaime before turning her attention back to the family.

"Sorry, I'm being a little too chatty. Are we ready to order or do I need to come back in a few minutes?" She asked. The Reyes family laughed shaking their heads as they put out their orders, along with a few sodas and a ice bucket of coors banquet.

She smiled at them one more time, missing the awed look Jaime gave her as she grabbed their menus, and retreated into the inside portion of the restaurant to place the orders for the cook Margarie.