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Reddi Wip. Chocolate drizzle. Cherry on top. Cute striped straw.
Done!
I wipe my hands on my pink and white polkadot apron, happy with the formation of my customer's chocolate shake. The grin on my face instantly fades when I remember I'm not the one who gets to eat it.
My eyes trail up to the little boy and his mom across the marble counter. The freckles on his nose scrunch with impatience. But I smile at him, sliding his shake to him.
"Have a wonderful day!" I tell them. The boy's mom gives me a look that I think says What is wrong with you? I smile at her, too.
Some people need to see a smile before they can smile.
I wipe down my workstation, since I made a complete mess. Whoops. The whipped cream is all over the cold table, chocolate drizzle splattered everywhere, and the sprinkles must have spilt at some point. I don't even think I used sprinkles.
My boss, in his large white apron, approaches me. His name is Dan, and he's not the thinnest old man, so I call him Big D. He doesn't like when I call him that, for some reason.
"Athalia, I need you to close tonight," he says, restocking the tall glasses in the shelves underneath the counter. He scratches his gray beard. "Unless you'd prefer Fran—"
"No worries, Big D," I cut him off. "I'll close for ya."
He sets his last glass down, then crosses his arms. "Don't forget about what we talked about last time you closed."
Big D has a fatherly voice. He treats me like I'm his own kid, and I like to think of him as a father figure in my life. Considering my real dad hasn't been home in years, it's not too hard to imagine someone else in their place.
I nod. "Right. No making myself any Heavy Duty's."
Heavy Duty's are the most delicious shakes. I made them up myself. They usually consist of multiple ingredients. My personal favorite would be the Heavy Duty 3, which is both vanilla and chocolate ice cream with an unhealthy amount of Reddi Wip, chocolate and carmel drizzle, rainbow sprinkles, and three cherries.
It's worth the awful visit to the bathroom afterwards.
"Alright," says Big D, Boston accent thick as ever. "I'm leaving now, call me if anything goes wrong."
He unties his apron and hangs it on the butterfly hook I installed for him a few weeks ago. I make sure he safely gets across the street and into his car before checking the time.
8:53pm
Okay. You are the boss now, Athalia. I straighten my posture and roll my shoulders. Okay.
"Dan's Diner closes in 7 minutes!" I announce to the mom and her son, the only two customers still here.
They begin picking up their table and throwing their red-patterned napkins away, standing to leave.
