South-Side Renascent || c.g.

More Pie, Please

Cailee

Carl and I strolled into Patsy's, hand in hand, and sat at the bar. The place wasn't too busy— mostly older couples occupied the space. We heard what seemed to be dishes crashing.

Sierra walked from behind the counter, shouting at someone in the kitchen. When she saw us her frown turned into a hearty smile.

"Hey, lovebirds, how's it going? What can I get you?"

I waved, "Still in waitress mode, manager Sierra?"

"No shit, you're the manager now?" Carl asked her.

"Yep, Fiona let me take over. Pays a bit better too," she smiled and pulled two cups out from under the counter. "Same as usual?" Carl and I nodded. We always got Sprite when we'd go there to eat.

We heard yelling coming from the kitchen as soon as Sierra filled our cups. She sighed and went to see what was up. I took a gulp of my pop and Carl followed suit, nearly downing his entire cup.

"Thirsty, huh?" I chuckled.

"Yeah, but not for the Sprite," he said looking me up and down. I blushed and took another sip of pop, crossing my legs.

"What the fuck!" Sierra's voice boomed from the kitchen. Carl and I shared a quick glance before getting up and bursting into the kitchen ourselves.

Glass was on the floor and two of the workers were arguing.

"You know what, both of you leave. I'll send your last paychecks in the mail," Sierra said sternly. The workers gave each other dirty looks before throwing their aprons to the floor and leaving. Sierra put her hand to her forehead. "Great, now I'm short four hands."

"We could step in," I said quickly. Carl raised a brow. "Kinda need Jobs right now." Sierra perked up and hugged us both at once.

"Thank you! You can start now or tomorrow."

Carl

Well that escalated quickly. We had jobs— legitimate, paying, legal jobs. And I was actually gonna get to work with my girlfriend?

Sierra broke down everything we needed to know about what we'd be doing. Cailee was on cleaning duty and I was preparing food. I could fix a mean meal, courtesy of military school.

"Well that worked out," I laughed.

"Now it's time to actually work," she kissed my cheek. A waitress came to give me an order and I fired up the stove.

_

The street lights glowed on the sidewalk, making cigarette butts and old candy wrappers along the curb visible. The sun had set and the usually hectic, violence-filled streets were quiet. It was nice out, for once.

"I'm fucking beat," I sighed as Cailee and I got back into the car. She rolled her neck with a sigh.

"And that was only half of day one," she said, reclining her seat a bit, "Imagine a full shift."

I grabbed her hand and interlocked our fingers, "Hey, we'll make it work." She smiled and I started the car.

We pulled up to her house within 5 minutes and I walked her to the door. I leaned her against the front door and pressed my lips onto hers.