edit posted on 3/11/2018
3.
The Honey Eyed Sweet Shack was a local establishment that I had found one day early on in my first days of living here. From my research this was the only one in the world, which made me feel elated to know that others wouldn't get this experience anywhere else. It was like coming home in a sense.
I even had my own personal table from coming in so often which probably wasn't the best thing given what they served. I didn't always eat, sometimes I just came in with a book or to people watch inside where it was much cooler. It didn't matter really, I enjoyed my time here which was one of the reasons why I suggested it to Sam. The other reason being that I hadn't been here since before my mama passed away.
She loved their apple crisps. I would get her a few portions anytime I came. Knowing that when I left I wouldn't necessarily need to brought the somberness back to me tenfold.
It was as I began to drown in those thoughts that he appeared. Sam, sunglasses on and a goofy grin on his face. It did change my outlook for the better, I admitted.
I stood as he strode over not really sure what I was going to do but he was the one who reached out for a quick squeeze (hug) before sitting across from me.
"Man, I haven't been here in a few years."
I chuckled, as he looked around.
"I, on the other hand have been here almost every week. Probably shows." I tapped on my belly. I wasn't small by any means but I had never minded it. Some people liked eating extra and that was perfectly fine.
He waved it off. He decided to pick up a menu even though we literally would have to go up to order what we wanted. I hadn't gotten anything yet, deciding to wait until he got here to figure out if I wanted anything at all. I was still undecided so I looked over the choices again even though I knew what was served here.
"What would you recommend being a veteran and all, Miss Bee?" Miss? I tried not laugh. It was hard for me to be able to take that from Sam. Steve Rogers? Yes. Sam Wilson – and I knew I hadn't even known him that long or spoken him much in the past few weeks – I didn't see that coming from him. Yet it had.
"You can never go wrong with cobbler." I decided. All their cobblers were decadent. I knew how to make a pretty good peach cobbler. Thank you, mama.
"Which one?"
Albeit my nerves were shot now knowing what he was up to outside of his work helping people I was feeling a bit bold today. I could blame it on the anxiety I was feeling waiting for this moment to come.
"Surprise me." I told him.
He didn't say anymore just got up and slipped into the small line of people who were waiting to order.
I waved to one of the women behind the counter who I knew. Her name was Trinity and she was a very lovable person unless she was angry. Today her cornstalk blonde hair was pinned back out of her face – a difficult feat considering how wild her hair was – and she was dusted with flour. She shot me a smile from over one of the customers who was asking her a question.
After she finished with the man she surveyed the patrons for a second before locking her eyes on Sam as if somehow she had known he was there with me.
I groaned in my seat as I watched her whisper something to her coworker who was beside her kneading dough before ducking to the back. I knew she was probably going to wash up before coming out and trying to talk to either Sam or I, or possibly both at the same time.
It wasn't too hard to imagine what she was thinking. I didn't bring people around here who weren't my mama and even then I had only brought her along twice before she died.
I was lucky enough to have Sam come back before Trinity came out.
"I have to warn you, I'm friendly with one of the bakers here and she's about to come out to talk to you or me – I don't know which one yet."
Sam, who had bought us each a slice of peach cobbler a la mode with Coca-Colas just took all of this for a moment before picking up his fork to take his first bite of the heavenly goodness.
"Hmmm." He hummed.
I waited unsure if it was about what I had just shared with him or the fact that he was deciding how he felt about the baked goods he was slowly consuming. "It's good. Really good." He mumbled.
It was then that I realized I hadn't touched my plate yet. Instead of starting to eat I grabbed my drink and took a small sip through the straw.
This place was setup close to an old diner only half the size of a big one. It was meant for a 'grab 'n go' types of people but there was enough space for a few booths and tables to be tucked in there without it being overly crowded. It gave the place character. That and the fact that the menus that were hanging behind the counters were drawn in a cartoony style that was amusing to look at. I had never asked Trinity who had done them before. Maybe I would today.
"So…" I started.
He put his fork down as if preparing himself for my onslaught of questions. It had been clear by my messages that I had plenty of questions for him. I didn't want to rush this.
"I just have one question today."
"Just one?" He asked, eyebrow arched up slightly in surprise.
"Yep. One single question."
He looked at me for a few seconds as he pushed his plate over slightly to move it out the way so he could fold his arms on the table. "You got my attention."
"I also grabbed it yesterday when you swooped down in your suit. The question is about the suit, by the way."
"No one ever asks about the suit." He seemed happy about the fact that I was being different than everybody else. A part of me was happy too. It was because I knew it was unexpected and different that I chose not to ask all the other question.
As I opened my mouth to ask him though, Trinity finally appeared.
"Bee, how are you?" I turned to her with a smile on my face. She was stalling but as much as I liked her I wanted to talk to Sam. I decided not to be rude. It wasn't in my nature to be so, instead I grinned at her.
"I'm okay. Busy day?" This was supposed to be normal but from the way Sam was staring between the two of us I could tell that it wasn't. Perhaps I seemed like I was forcing it? It was possible. I was distracted. He was distracting.
"Oh, you know the same old though we got a custom order that came in that's going to wipe us out once this rush dies down.
Who's your friend?"
"Your subtly needs work." I laughed as I gestured to Sam. "This is Sam Wilson, Sam this is Trinity – she owns this place."
Sam got to his feet though he didn't have to and gave that smile again towards Trinity.
"Nice to meet you. Nice place you have here."
The blonde beamed at the happy customer who looked equally as elated. "Thank you. I see you enjoyed the cobbler."
It went like this for a little while. I sat there watching the two of them talk about baking and Sam's work with the VA. I learned a few more details about that while doing so, then Trinity was pulled away by a younger guy who needed her help with something in the back.
I noticed that the rush had died down a little which meant that it would be easier for us to talk too.
"I have a cousin like her back in Atlanta. Trinity is a bit nicer, I will say."
"Yeah? Why is she in Atlanta when you're here?" That was curious. I only knew that his parents were dead. I would think that any family that he had would have wanted to stay close to him.
"Ah." He started, sighing a little. "I suppose I could expand on my tragic family ties a bit." He chuckled shortly. "When I was younger it was seen as a really bad thing to be around me. Someone who had lost so much of their family because of what they were doing or even what they weren't doing right. For family it is hard to deal with all of that so they had the choice to move away."
That was sad. I had my grandparents at least though they were strict about some things.
"That sucks." I mumbled as I scooped up some of my ice cream on the spoonful of cobbler I had tucked into. "I have my grandparents. They were very concerned when I told them that I followed you to your house after running in really bad weather."
That brought a small smile to his face. "I'm not so bad."
"No, but they don't know who you are. It kind of like having a second set of parents although much older and wary of everything. That wasn't the question I wanted to ask. I was distracted."
"By my charm?"
I rolled my eyes at him. "You superheroes really like your ego to show." I was kidding. I had already gathered that Sam didn't have much of an ego to show. At least not about that. He seemed to not care all that much about the superhero aspect unless he was helping Steve.
"Nah, it is a fun job."
I took a few more bites of the cobbler before straightening up and finally asking the questions. "Why the suit? It looked very tech savvy. I guess I'm curious as to how it works and where you got it."
He leaned closer to me across the table as if this was a secret. "I can only answer part of your question because the other part is really hush hush and even though you're good peoples Bee I can't divulge confidential information."
I suppose that was fair. I nodded and waited as he continued to speak lowly to me. "I used to use the suit when I was in the military. When I left I left it there but I still knew how it worked even after all those years. It's getting an upgrade soon since certain events have happened."
I had no idea what he meant by 'certain events' but I would roll with it. It was pretty easy to just roll with things when it came to Sam. He was very chill, something I admired in him even when I was sure his job could get very hectic.
It took me a moment to realize that I had seen it in the photo of Riley and Sam. They both used to pilot the Falcon suits as I believed they were called. This was all very strange but clear enough for me to get.
"Riley too. Sorry." I started as if catching myself from saying something that I wasn't supposed to say or that I didn't need to because Sam already knew this. I was just catching up.
He didn't look pained today which made me feel a bit better of him dismissing my apology as if I had done nothing wrong. Instead he said, "I have a question for you too."
As I downed the rest of my drink, I gestured for him to go. He had the floor.
"Steve was wondering if you wanted to come to the party that we're throwing for that mutual friend we were throwing idea around for two weeks ago."
I didn't totally believe that this was Steve's ploy but I was curious as to who else they wanted me to meet.
"If I'm not working. When is it?"
"Tuesday night."
"I will let you know."
As it was customary in this budding friendship of ours his phone went off. He immediately took it out. "There goes my afternoon. Sorry Bee, Cap needs me."
It was lucky that I hadn't much more else to say for the moment. "Shoo go do your super cool things." He grinned while donning his shades again.
"See you soon."
There was that line again. For today I knew that it had to be true. We had more questions for each other and I was wanting to attend an Avengers party. Surely I could find some way to make that happen. This wasn't an everyday occurrence. It would just have to make a really good reason to be absent from work.
I sat there for a few more minutes before my own phone started going off in my bag. I struggled to fish it out, but upon doing so I found the word PA with a picture of my grandfather on it. "Hey Pa. What's going on?"
Trinity had popped from the back to gather the combined dishes that Sam and I had used. She was quiet as I spoke on the phone but continued to linger. "We need you to come over to finalize the details on the house. It's yours but they still need confirmation."
I sighed, it was good that I hadn't moved anything into Mama's place just yet. "Okay, I'll be there shortly. Have you eaten dinner already?"
"Not yet. I was going to ask you to go by that chicken place down the street to pick up the order. Grand-mummy won't be here tonight so it'd be just you and me Bumblebee." I tried not to laugh at that old nickname but it was Pa.
"Alright, I'll see you soon."
Goddammit Sam Wilson, now I will just associate that phrase with you.
"Bye."
I turned to Trinity. "The order going well back there?"
"More or less. Ren messed up the first batch. We'll be fine. Sam seems nice." She was smiling and I just shook my head at her as I got to my feet and slung my bag over my shoulder.
"Stop. I barely know the guy." He invited you to hang out with all the Avengers, though.
"O..kay. Tell Pa I said hello. If I had time I'd get you a pie to take with you. I know he's a fan of the blueberry."
"Next time you owe me one then."
She gave me a quick hug as she put the dishes down and then I was heading out the door.
Time to have a night in with Pa. I was actually looking forward to it.