The Sullivan Sisters

Wilfred's Burgers and Shakes

"Why'd you leave?"

Quinn yanked the damp dish towel from off of her shoulder and began drying the small stack of white china that awaited her. She maintained her focus, ensuring that she kept up with the assembly line that she and Charlie, who was tending to a sink full of dirty dishes next to her, silently agreed upon.

"She pissed me off."

Charlie flicked some of the bubbles away from his hairy forearms then glanced at her. "So, you just left? Your sister seemed pretty upset."

The redhead shrugged. "It wasn't the nicest thing I've ever done but she's over it now and so am I."

"Did you get in trouble with your parents?"

Quinn briefly paused her task to stare back at her reflection the pristine dish presented her. "Nope." Before Charlie could as a follow up, she awarded him a polite smile. "It was just between my sister and me. She made it clear that she was a little mad at me for jumping ship, but we talked and everything's fine now. She's actually here now for dinner."

She yielded the dish, stacking it on top of all the rest who'd received a thorough bath. When Quinn took a little longer to accept the next soapy plate that Charlie was handing her, he looked over and caught her somewhat sneaky smirk.

"My sister also mentioned that she had a little help from a certain someone during her hunt for my whereabouts. She said she couldn't quite remember his name but he was 'decent'." Giving him a glance, she caught his grin. "That's a half-assed compliment, I know. As a matter of fact, it's bordering on insulting considering all that you did, but that's pretty good coming from my sister." A humble laugh escaped her throat. "Trust me."

Charlie's viridescent eyes flashed to a dish as he scrubbed away at the particularly stubborn stain that laid claim on it. "Well, like I said, she was upset and needed help, so..." He shrugged. "Besides, we were closing up and...hey, it got me out of toilet duty."

"Well, I'm glad to see that some good came out of it. But I highly doubt that you or your grandfather typically join search parties for missing employees. Especially when said employees are off duty. So, I appreciate it. Even if, at the time, I didn't wanna be found."

Charlie's dimpled grin couldn't have come to fruition any faster if he wanted it to. "No problem." The acknowledgment alone was enough to convince him to push a little further. "But I was wondering...why didn't you come here? Yesterday, I mean."

"I didn't have a shift, remember?"

"Ouch." He freed a guttural laugh that captured Quinn's attention. "You can still come by when you're not working, you know. Admittedly, I had a shift yesterday but since my grandpa's the owner, I could've worked something out. I mean, I practically live here. I'd love to do something other than work with someone that's not my grandfather."

"Don't you have like a ton of friends?"

"Says who?"

Quinn met that with a knowing smile. "I've seen you around. At school and here. I'm a pretty observant person and, from what I can tell, you're at least a moderately popular guy."

Charlie dipped his head as he chuckled. "I can attribute that to the burgers. Not much else. Everyone loves a good friend-of-the-owner's-grandson discount." His gaze traveled the kitchen as though he were observing a bald eagle flap its wings in the morning sky. "This place has been around since before I was even born which means the city's pretty accustomed to it, and us, too, I guess."