Chapter 1
A young girl set the couples plate down and smiled gently at them. Saying just loud enough for the couple to hear, she wished them a good day and walked away to take the next tables order. She just got done working 6 of her 12-hour shift and she was already ready to leave. The girl walked to her next table to see a family looking at their menus. Their children, no younger than 8, rambled off what they wanted and then seconds later change their minds to a whole different order. The girl had to smile; it brought back memories when her family use to do the exact same thing. Spend time out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon going to the beach or shopping and then stopping for a late lunch. But those memories brought back the painful memories that she just shoved them far back into her mind and left them there to slowly disappear in the back of her mind.
"May I take your order?" the young girl asked putting on a fake smile while the family looked up at her and smiled. The father looked around the age of 35. He was slowly going bald but seemed to enjoy life to the fullest. The mother had long blondish red hair with bright blue eyes. She looked around the same age as her husband. Their kids, twin boys, both had reddish blond hair with bright brown eyes. Eyes that looked so familiar to the girl that she looked down to her notepad to avoid them.
"Uh, yes. My wife and I would like a cheeseburger with fries and a coke with those. My kids would like a kiddy meal." The girl wrote it down and looked up and smiled.
"That will be about 10-15 minutes." Taking their menus and turning away she walked back to the kitchen and gave the cook the order. She then went back to the main lobby and refilled drinks and cleaned off tables until the order was up. Hearing the bell, the girl walked over to the kitchen, grabbed the tray and delivered it to the family. After the family ate, paid their bill and left. The girl walked over to the table and started cleaning the table. Seeing that they left a tip, she picked it up and saw two dollars. Giving a heavy sigh, she finished and then slowly went back to work when her boss called her in.
Thomas Steal was the owner of this little diner. He loved this diner almost as much as he loved his family. He put all his time that he had left from his kids into the diner. Tonight was like any ordinary night. The place was full of customers and they were getting plenty of business. Thomas was giving the change back to one couple when he noticed one of his waitresses. She didn't seem like her normal self tonight. The young girl, barely 20, looked unhappy and upset. After seeing her last table leave, he called her over.
"Sakura, what's wrong? You're not your normal cheerful self tonight." Thomas asked the young girl. He saw her give a fake smile and lightly say,
"Nothing's wrong. Just tired. I'll be better in the morning." Thomas gave a sad smile. He knew Sakura was working a lot of over-time. But he never realized it was affecting her so much. Looking down to her belly that now started to show her 3 months along, he then knew that Sakura needed to get off her feet for the rest of the night.
"Sakura go home. The diner is starting to slow down and I'm pretty sure the rest of the waitresses and I can handle the rest of the night." Sakura looked up at him surprised and then gently smiled.
"Thanks Thomas, I'll come back tomorrow morning." Giving one more smile, the girl walked into the back room and clocked out.
Sakura walked out to her car and quietly got in. Giving a grateful sigh, she started the car and put it into gear. Slowly pulling out of the parking lot, she headed for home. The drive was only 15 minutes, but for some reason, it felt like years to her. When finally pulling into her apartment complex, she gave another grateful sigh. Turning her car off, she got out and went towards the elevator. Pushing the top floor, she waited while the light elevator music played in the background. Reaching her floor, she got out and went to her one bedroom apartment. Unlocking the door, Sakura went in and kicked off her shoes. She then ran a hot bath; soaking for a while. Then about 20 minutes later, she was asleep in her bed. Dreaming about the night her life changed for the better and the worse.