( 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 )
DELILAH CAME TO know of The Beef through one of its chefs— Tina Marrero.
She became friends with Tina after she had covered for her groceries when the older woman was short on cash. Ever since then, Tina has become one of her closest friends in the city, the older woman serving as her mother figure.
The sandwich shop was a well-known local spot and a handful of people she's met during work has spoken of it.
The bells chime as Delilah opens the door. It's smaller than she expected. Messier too. There was still visible dirt on the tile; dust and grease on the counter and table- she bites her lips, her hands twitching to clean every crevice of the shop.
(As she truly takes the restaurant, all thoughts like of calling that favor from JJ to replace the god-awful lights or that favor from Ate Banjee to get those brooms- she's getting ahead of herself.)
Her eyes find the hanged pictures on the wall of what she presumed were staff and regulars. Their smiles were contagious and clearly, they love this place. Perhaps she should keep to her
"Hey."
She turns away from the pictures and faces a tall, lanky man. "We ain't open yet sweetheart." Delilah blinks and checks her watch, 7:00 A.M.
Delilah looks back at the hours by the door and winces. God, her first impression she made was to be the worst kind of customer.
Maybe coming right after a rough night shift wasn't the right move.
She clears her throat and gives the man a small smile, "Sorry, I was just wondering if you're hiring. I'll just come back though! I don't want to be on stand in the way as you open- "
"Lily! You actually came!"
"Oh, dear, you look so tired. Did you come in after a shift? Ay dios mio, I told you that you come in during your day off-"
The man stops Tina's mothering, "You're the girl that Tina is talkin' 'bout? Why didn't you say so?" Delilah gives him a shrug, "Okay, jus' stay there! 'Kay? I'll just go grab Cousin."
Tina sighs and pats her cheek, "I'll go make you some coffee, okay?"
"You really don't have too- Nope! I won't take no for an answer." Before Delilah can even argue, Tina disappears into the kitchen. The shop comes to life as shouting and clanging of metal fill the room. She has a good feeling with The Beef and whatever she'll earn will be enough to cover her expenses as well as have some extra cash too.
Her phone vibrates in her pocket. Delilah opens her phone and was greeted by a picture of Ellie beaming surrounded by friends at what seemed to be a Jollibee from Desmond.
"Birthday nung bestfriend niya, pagod, so baka hindi kami makatawag ngayon. Love you, ate." She swipes to the next photo and snorts at the selfie of Dez and annoyed Ellie.
School is going to end soon and she makes a mental note of sending money for her family to go to the beach— it'll be a nice way to start off summer vacation, she thinks.
"Ayo! You still here?"
Richie shouts as he comes out of the kitchen with Carmen following close behind him. A melodic laugh follows, "I'm still here!"
"Hello." She greets with the same enthusiasm making the lanky man laugh.
"This is her, Cousin. Try not to fuckin' maul her, alright?"
"Shut the fuck up, man." He comes forward and towards the counter. Carmen looks up and his breath hitches.
"Hi, I'm Delilah but everyone calls me Lily."
Lily greets Carmen, as Tina calls her, who is clad in a brown tank top; a white long linen skirt; sun earrings, and brown curls tied in a barely held-together bun.
It is her warm smile that, embarrassingly, makes him speechless. And makes him forget to take the hand she intended for him to shake.
Carmen shakes her hand. He tries to not be fucking weird and not to notice the calluses in her hands or the faded red nail polish.
Maybe the woman felt his nervousness because her smile softened, reassuring. He gulps and finally replies, Hi, uh, Carmen. It's nice to meet you."
"Pleasure, Chef."
Delilah extends her resume and Carmen grabs it. Richie stands next to him and leans in to read it beside him. It's filled to the brim with jobs and varied- from a barista to care-aid, it was no wonder why her hands are callused.
"I have a lot of experience in restaurants as well as fast food chains. I was a manager at a bakery in another city I used to live in the state. I've worked as a server, washed dishes- uh, I've pretty much-done everything."
"Dang, girlie. You've been working all over." Richie says with disbelief. Carmen watches as her lips turn into a tight smile. "This resume is like a fuckin' book. How did you even have the time?"
"Kids?" Delilah nods and a bright smile makes it to her face, "A daughter. My mom and my younger brother."
Richie smiles back, "I'll compare baby pictures later. See who has the cuter baby and shit."
"I think we know who'll win in this one, sir." Delilah quips. "Oho, pulling sir won't change the fact that you implied that I have an ugly baby."
"Well, I didn't say that," Carmen rolls his eyes and chuckles, "Anyway, setting aside ugly babies— Hey! It seems like you are very qualified to work here. But it looks here that you have three part-time jobs. A baker, head barista, and uh, care-aid? You're already jugglin' all that, think you can handle this?"
A determined look flashes in her brown eyes and she nods, "I can handle it."
"And bonus, I'm technically still a licensed nurse. So, I can take care of any of y'all when injured. I am quite literally the full package." Carmen lets out a small laugh which makes Delilah beam. He tries not to flush under her gaze.
"Welcome to the team, Delilah." Carmen gives her a small smile,
She lets out a sigh of relief and bows deeply, "Thank you. I, uh, can start now?"
"Yeah? Then, what are we waitin' for? Let's grab you the nicest lookin' apron and a tag. We need 'ya as front of the house- Desperately, especially with Cousin fuckin' 'roud- 'scuse you! I'm a fuckin' delight!" Delilah laughs at the two of them.
It is looking to be a good day at the shop today, Carmen thinks. It's the happiest he's been ever since he came here. With Richie bantering with him respectfully and the staff amiable with him, maybe hiring Delilah is a sign.
Tina comes out of the kitchen with a tray of four cups of coffee and a sandwich. "Did she get hired? Jeff, I swear to god- She did. Delilah is startin' today."
The older woman sets the tray down and embraces Delilah, "Finally another woman in here! But before that, I need to get some food in this girl's stomach. She has been working since 7 PM!"
Richie's eyes widen, "Fuck, really? Sit your ass down and eat then! Jesus. You want to faint in your first day here?"
"You don't have to start today. You can start tomorrow." Carmen looks worriedly at Delilah and sees the dark bags under her eyes.
"Nothing food can't fix! I'll be fine, Chef."
Carmen sighs and can already feel how difficult it is for him to argue with Delilah- especially with those eyes.
"Fine but as soon as I see you yawnin' you're gettin' set home, you hear?"
"Heard, Chef. Looking forward to working with you!"
Carmen nods and makes his way to the kitchen, his steps a little lighter than when he first stepped foot into the restaurant.
&& AUTHORS NOTE !!
- as much as i love the original beef shop, god, was it a mess. genuinely felt bad for carmen cleaning overtime and like did the chefs not clean? so, delilah's urge to clean is very much the nurse in her coming out lol. seriously, learning all that shit would make the world gross to you !!!
- so yes, syd and delilah? running the shop like the fucking marines.
- it is very fun writing how each character bounce off lily esp carmy because he is . . . very awkward (affectionate).
- translation: "it's her bestfriend's birthday, today and she's really tired. we probably won't be calling today. love you, big sis."