Jenny's Heart

Chapter 3

"I'll have the No. 5 along with a coffee."

"Black?" Jenny asked as she glanced up from her notepad. 

When Mr Walker's sapphire eyes flickered to hers with a raised eyebrow, she quickly ducked her gaze back to her notepad and cleared her throat.

"Yes," he replied, not sounding at all perturbed over the fact that she knew how he liked his coffee.

"Anything else?" she asked, keeping her gaze focused solely on her pen.

"No, thank you, Jenny."

She paused for a moment, her gaze slowly drifting back to his eyes before giving a shy smile and looking away from his unwavering gaze. 

"Coming right up," she said. 

She tore off the paper, stuffed the notepad and pen in the front of her apron, and made her way to the kitchen to place his order.

It had been a few days since that evening, and Jenny was still slightly unnerved by the fact that it felt like someone was watching them. Although she didn't experience the feeling again, she still didn't like it. It unsettled her because she didn't know what their motive was ... or whom it was the person was targeting.

Of course, Jenny didn't tell her niece any of this. She didn't want to alarm her, but she had emphasized to her the following morning to remember 'stranger danger'.

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, the door to the diner burst open, and little Isabella rushed into the establishment. Jenny immediately thought the worst and quickly ran out of the kitchen to her flushed niece.

"Isabella? What are you doing here? What happened?" she asked as she crouched down in front of her and immediately surveyed her for injuries.

"I'm fine," Isabella replied with a smile as she tried to catch her breath. "The library was closed, so I ran here. I know you don't like me walking alone."

"You ... ran here?" Jenny asked in disbelief. 

Isabella had just sprinted over ten blocks in afternoon traffic? 

The young woman grew silent as she stared at her niece in horror. Of course, she was still a child; she didn't know the dangers of the world. 

But Jenny did, and the possibilities of what could have happened rushed through her mind.

However, instead of screaming at the little girl, she merely pulled her into a tight hug and tried to calm down her anxiety by repeatedly telling herself that Isabella was safe. 

"Please, don't ever do that again," she whispered into her niece's hair as she tried to hold in the tears.

"I ... I'm sorry?" Isabella responded, extremely confused by her aunt's behaviour.

"Jenny! What are you doing? Why aren't you working?"

The young woman closed her eyes tightly for a moment before she released her niece from her hold and turned to face her boss. Mr Swindler was a short, chubby man with a prominent bald spot and a receding hairline.

"I'm sorry, Mr Swindler. I-" Jenny began, but the man interrupted her.

"I don't care. You are here to work! Not play house-house with this ..." he paused for a moment as he gestured to Isabella, pulling his face as though he smelled something nasty, "thing."

Jenny's eyes narrowed, her five foot eight height allowing her to look down at his slumped figure as her shoulders tensed.

"And you!" the man spat as he pointed a grubby finger at Isabella. "You either buy something or get out, you worthless brat!"