Elliot couldn't come and help, for which he sent his condolences, so Collin, Cassidy, and I were shouldering the breakfast rush all on our own. We had more impatient customers than I could count, so when Ashton walked in, I hugged him, I was so happy.
"What's going on?" He asked, looking around at the customers.
"Half the staff quit yesterday, and I couldn't get anyone to cover the breakfast rush," I told him quickly before retreating to where a meal was ready, delivering it to an annoyed customer.
Ashton followed behind me as I did so, saying, "I can help, point me toward a pen and notepad."
I smiled at him, leading him into the kitchen. I threw him an apron and pointed him toward the pens and notepads before returning to the dining area. Ashton picked up a waiter's role quickly, taking orders and delivering food.
Even with Ashton's help, however, we were still drowning. Not even ten minutes after Ashton began to help, the bell above the door rang for the umpteenth time and three familiar faces walked in. Ashton immediately greeted them, catching my attention.
"What's going on?" I asked, mind still racing about which tables needed to be attended to most urgently.
The darkest complected of the three, who I recognized to be Calum, said, "We heard you needed reinforcements. We're here to help."
I smiled gratefully at Ashton, knowing he had requested help from his band mates. I turned back to the others, saying, "Thank you."
"Where do you need us?" Michael questioned, truly ready to help.
I began to give out orders, "I need one of you in the kitchen to help Cassidy. Do whatever she says," Calum moved to the kitchen and I moved to the next job, "I need a host to seat people at tables as soon as they're free," Luke took that job, so I turned to Michael, "That makes you a waiter. Congrats," I handed Michael a pen and notepad before telling him which tables were his to wait on and getting back to work.
With the help of Ashton and his band, we quickly got into the rhythm of things and got through the lunch rush much smoother than expected.
By the end of the day, for which the boys stayed the entire time to help out, we were all exhausted. As soon as I flipped the sign to say 'closed,'