A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Monday morning comes all too soon, and I quickly get ready for work. "I'll come pick you up before I go to the hospital, okay buddy?" I say to Harvey before crouching down to kiss his head and hurrying out the door.
The drive to work is quiet, and I put on some music to keep the torrent of thoughts and emotions from filling my mind. When I arrive, I'm the first one there. Groaning, I step out of my car and unlock the diner to begin opening.
I didn't know who was supposed to be opening, but my guess was Jennifer and Timothy. For some reason, Larry always scheduled them to open, but they were always late. Normally, I would just get everything done as quickly as possible, but today I start with the easy, mindless tasks. Five minutes before we open, Jennifer and Timothy finally show up. Luckily, they get to work right away on the things that still need to be done. I don't miss the concerned glances they share as I continue to work silently, but I ignore it.
The first part of the morning goes by quickly, thank goodness, but I know the remainder of my shift is going to drag by when I see the next group seated in my section.
"Shit..." I mumble under my breath, my frown only deepens when I see that it's only Jim, Carl and Joe. Dan isn't with them today. "Hey, Jennifer. Would you mind taking over table five for me?"
"Sorry Aspen, I've got my hands full." Jennifer responds before hurrying off.
"No worries." I reply to her retreating back.
Except lots of worries. All the worries. My mind argues. I take a deep breath before slowly approaching the table. Joe's eyes meet mine first, and I fight a shiver before pulling my eyes away. I try not to take note of the ugly, greedy look in his eyes.
"Aspen! We've missed you. Where have you been?" Carl says in a surprisingly polite tone.
"You haven't been avoiding us again, have you? I might have to talk to your boss if so." Joe says, and I raise one eyebrow. "Oh, yeah." He continues. "Larry and I go way back. I bet he'd be able to do something to make sure our favorite waitress is the only waitress to serve us from now on."
Serve you and your nasty, cheap ass friends and get nothing in tips back? Hell no.
But he was right. Larry was my boss and if he and Joe were buddies, I might be out of luck.
"What can I get for you this morning?" I ask, choosing to ignore his words.
"Well, hey now. You didn't answer my question. We're your favorite guests, you wouldn't be avoiding us, right?" Joe's voice had taken on a new tone, one I didn't like.
"No, Joe. I've just been busy." Dealing with my abusive ex, my dog, and my girlfriend who is currently in a coma. Not that I'd spend any of my energy on you even without those things.
"Hmm... I've heard that before. What did you do to your arm?"
"Nothing. Now, I've got things I need to get back to, other customers that need to order. What can I get y'all?" My patience was running very thin. Today was not the day to test me, and yet, that's all Joe wanted to do.
"You're awfully short with us this morning. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"
"Joe, we've been busy today. I'm just trying to stay ahead of the rush. Would you like me to come back when y'all are ready?"
"Well I'm sure Larry wouldn't appreciate knowing his best waitress is being short with his paying customers."
I'm going to lose it. I am going to kill a man today.
"Let me get y'all some drinks while you decide what to order." I say abruptly, knowing that if I didn't walk away, someone would be leaving in an ambulance. Someone whose name started with a 'J' and ended with an 'oe'.
"You okay, Aspen?" Barry asks me from the kitchen as I fill three mugs with coffee.
"I'm fine." I reply, instantly regretting my short tone instantly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be short with you. I've just got those guys at one of my tables."
"Oh. Are they being rude?" Barry's eyes are wide.
"It's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry." I give him a reassuring smile before placing the mugs on a small tray and heading back up front.
Joe's face isn't exactly happy as I return, and I warily approach the table.
"That was awfully rude to leave in the middle of our conversation, Aspen."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Joe. Like I said, I've got several tables to keep up with, and I'm trying to stay ahead of the rush. Did you decide what you'd like to order?"
"What happened to your wrist?" He asks again. "Was it that boyfriend of yours? What was his name, Rylie? I'd be happy to take care of him."
Lord help me now. "No, it wasn't."
"Well then what happened? I don't take you to be the clumsy type."
"Joe, please..."
He cuts me off. "I'm not appreciating your attitude. I'm being polite, just asking you a simple question because even though you don't seem to realize it, I care about you and I want to know what you did to your poor wrist. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if your boyfriend did do it if you were treating him at all how you're treating me. I'm half tempted to do the same since you're being such an ungrateful bitch."
The silence that follows his words is nearly deafening, and I assume it's because of the roaring in my ears. If I'd had control of my body, I would've looked around to see every eye on me and Joe. But I didn't have control, so I'm not able to do anything as my fingers take hold of one of the mugs filled with steaming coffee, and I watch as the hot liquid suddenly splashes down his face and onto his lap.
"What the fuck!" He screams, wiping the hot liquid from his eyes. He starts to speak again, but I cut him off.
"Get the hell out." My voice threatens to shake, but miraculously stays strong.
"Who the fu-" I cut Joe off again, this time with a glare. Suddenly, Barry is by my side.
"I'll have to ask you men to leave." He says curtly. "Now." Surprisingly, they listen. My face feels hot as I watch them leave, and I realize every eye in the diner is still on me.
"Aspen," I hear a voice from the back, and turn to see Larry in the kitchen doorway with his hands on his hips.
Well, damn.
"Thank you." I say softly to Barry before setting my tray on the table. "I'll clean up this mess after I talk to him. If I'm not fired. But there's a pretty big chance I am..." I ramble.
"Hey, it's okay. I got it. And don't worry, everyone heard what he said to you. You're not to blame here."
"Thanks, Barry." I reply, but I don't feel confident. I was pretty sure I was about to be fired.
Larry doesn't say anything as he leads me back into his office, he only points me to an old wooden chair before shutting the door behind us.
At least getting fired will give me more time to be with Rylie.
"About what happened out there..." Larry starts.
Suddenly, I can't stop the words from spilling out of my mouth. "I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me. He just started talking about Rylie thinking she was my boyfriend and she's in the hospital and it actually was my ex boyfriend that did this to me and..."
"Aspen-"
"I'm really sorry, Larry. I understand if you need to fire me."
"Aspen, I'm not going to fire you."
"I- you're not?"
"No." He chuckles. "Although I don't condone making it a habit to spill hot coffee on paying customers, this one deserved it. Plus, he didn't ever pay much, anyway."
"He said you two are friends..."
Larry barks out a loud laugh, and the sound echoes around the small office. "He did, huh? I wonder what his definition of 'friends' is. He screwed me over years ago but refuses to see a problem between us. Thinks he's paying me back by eating at my diner and harassing my best waitresses."
Best? I thought he hated me.
Larry sees the change in my expression. "Don't let it get to your head." He says, and I laugh. "Anyway, I heard what Joe said. Barry noticed him getting upset, and pulled me out to come talk to him. We were just in time to hear his threat and see you spill the coffee."
"I didn't really mean to, honestly. I was just so... angry. I didn't really have control of my body."
"Yeah, that'll happen when you're really, really angry." Larry chuckles. "So Aspen, there's one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Rylie's accident. I'm impressed you even came in today at all. I'd been a little annoyed when you asked for last week off in addition to the last couple weeks, but if I'd known why, I would've gotten you more time off." He pauses, struggling to find his words. "I know I rarely show it, and I sure as hell don't act like it, but I do care about you, Aspen. You are a very hard worker, and the customers love you, as do your co-workers." Despite my best efforts, my eyes fill with tears.
"How's your wrist?" Larry asks.
I clear my throat before answering. "Good. The cast is hopefully coming off Thursday."
"Good. How much time off do you need?"
"I... I don't know. Because work keeps me distracted, but then I can't stop wondering if she is actually awake and no one has told me."
"What about if I only schedule you a few days a week, and only for a couple of hours?"
"You would be willing to do that?"
"Believe it or not, there is a lot I am willing to do. I just want you to be taken care of."
"Thank you, Larry. That sounds great."
"You're welcome. I'm also going to make sure Joe and his friends don't come back."
"Except for Dan, he was always nice to me."
Larry chuckles. "Dan's a good guy. He just needs better friends."
You can say that again.