Big thanks to Pharmergirl, libllama, ki4pak, and monkeybaby for reviewing the last chapter. Only one of you guessed correctly how she gets found out about the job, and I like that one of you focused more on why she got the job than why she was lying about it.
About a week after Anna started waitressing for Lou's diner, a few of her friends came in. "Well, if it isn't my favorite pitcher," Ray said as she walked over to their table.
"What do you want, Ray?" Anna asked softly.
"Just to say hi. Oh and maybe some of that pie, I hear it's the best pie in all of Staten Island," Ray answered.
"Okay, Mr. Poet." Anna rolled her eyes. "And for the rest of you?"
"Are you going to give us anything for free?" Derrek asked.
"You know I can't do that," Anna said. "On second thought I can, water all around?"
"Oh come on, Anna, live a little," Derrek said.
"You want to get me fired?" Anna asked, resting one hand on her hip as the other hung limply by her side. Her eyebrows raised and he smirked.
"I've been trying to get you fired for six weeks, it hasn't worked," Derrek answered.
"Derrek, be nice," Krista scolded.
"Yes, ma'am," Derrek answered.
"Water and apple pie is fine," Krista said.
"For everyone?" Anna asked. Emma nodded. "Alright, be back in a second."
"You know if it was Jim asking, he'd get free pie," Derrek muttered. Anna tried not to roll her eyes as she walked back to the kitchen.
"He would not, he's tried," Ray told him. True enough, he had been in the day she had first started training to be a waitress and tried to wrangle free pie out of her but Anna hadn't given in. Not even the best friend card had worked.
"He should just ask her out and be done with it. Everyone knows how he feels," Derrek said.
"Everyone but her," Ray answered.
"And stay out of it, it's their business," Emma said. "Hush, she's coming back." Since Anna had been in the kitchen she had missed the last few moments of their conversation.
The following week, Danny stopped her as she was headed out the door. "Where are you headed?" Danny asked.
"Uh ... Sarah is having a movie marathon," Anna said.
"Why don't you come see a movie with us? Mom and Dad are going to take us," Sean said.
"Even pick up dinner on the way home," Danny said.
"Mom said I could go," Anna complained.
"And I'm not saying you can't. It's been a while since we've done something as a family," Danny said. Jack and Sean looked up at her pleadingly.
"Maybe next weekend. I've already promised Sarah I'm going to be there," Anna said.
"And dinner? You gotta eat," Danny said.
"I'll pick something up later."
"Spend a little time with your family," Jack said.
"Jack, I'm 16. When you get to my age, the last thing you want to do is spend time with your family over your friends."
"And one day you'll look back and wish you had spent more time with them," Danny said.
"Sure, can I go now?" Anna asked skeptically.
"Yeah." Danny nodded. Anna grinned and raced out the door. She went to Sarah's and watched a few movies before heading to work.
It was a semi-busy night so Anna ended up taking her break later than usual. If she had taken it at the normal time she probably would have had some advanced notice of the family at table 4. Instead she missed them coming in and since she was on break, Lou had taken over for her. He was speaking with them, probably keeping them distracted enough that by the time they were ready to order, Anna would be back on shift. As she walked over towards them she saw him look over at her then smile at the table. "But for now, I will leave you in the hands of my best waitress. If you need anything just ask. She'll take care of you like family," Lou told them.
"Thank you," the woman at the table said.
Lou walked away and Anna stepped up with a bright smile on her face. "So, what can I get for you tonight?" She looked up from her order pad and her smile faltered. "Let me guess, you'd like to start off with an explanation or perhaps you're just going to go ahead and ground me?" Anna suggested, trying to keep her voice even and knowing the inevitable was coming.
"Anna? Are you ... you work here?" Danny asked, staring down his daughter.
"Nope, just volunteering for the past four months," Anna sassed.
"Knock the attitude," Danny answered roughly. When she only looked at him he sighed. "You've been lying to us for four months?"
"I've never flat out lied to you," Anna said softly, averting her eyes.
"You're doing it right now. The movie marathon?" Danny said.
"I went to the movie marathon; I just didn't tell you how long I was staying. I never flat out lied, Dad, I just didn't tell you everything. What teenager does? Can we not do this here?" Anna asked softly. She really didn't want to attract any attention but knew it was probably too late. She had a feeling that everyone was watching her. Jack and Sean were staring at their menus but she knew they were glancing at her out of the side of their eyes, from time to time and her mom was looking from her to Danny.
"You want me to let you get away with it?" Danny growled.
"Danny," Linda said. Her eyes darted around the room and he looked around. His jaw tensed and he let out a deep breath.
"Fine, but you come straight home."
"Yes, sir. Now, what can I get you to eat?" Anna said submissively. She really didn't want to push him any farther and make it worse for herself. She already knew it was going to be bad.
Anna got their order and went back to the kitchen to put it in. There she was stopped by Mr. M. "What was that about? Was he accusing you of something?" Lou asked.
"Lying to him." Seeing the confused look on her boss's face, Anna sighed. "Remember when you hired me and you mentioned my dad was a detective? That's my dad."
"But why would he ...? Did you not tell him about working here?" Lou was definitely worried. She knew that if she didn't have parental permission, he could be in deep trouble.
"I didn't, but Mom signed the form so you're covered. I just never said anything to my dad. He's a little angry about that but don't worry. We always figure it out." Anna smiled and Lou nodded. Anna put the impending doom out of her mind and finished her shift in what seemed like no time. She walked as slow as she possibly could but eventually she did reach the house. Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, she walked inside and found both her parents on the couch across from the door. She swallowed and leaned back against the front door noticing her brothers were nowhere to be found.
"Sit down and start talking, kid," Danny said. He stood and planted his hands on his hips.
Anna swallowed again and slowly sat down on the couch across from the TV. She looked over at her mom who was only looking at her expecting an answer. Anna bit her lip thinking of the best way to explain it. She looked up at her father then back at the floor when she saw him staring at her. She wondered if this was how perps felt when they were in the box with him. "The definition of a lie is a false statement used to deliberately deceive. What I did was completely different. Everything I told you was the truth. When I told you that I was hanging out with friends, I either started out there or ended up there. Even if I did lie, which I do not admit to nor do I remember doing, I never lied to you," Anna explained softly.
"Lying to your mother is the same as lying to me," Danny snapped.
"So it's more okay to lie to me?" Linda asked. Anna looked at her mother, as she bit her lip.
"I—I didn't say that," Anna said. She scratched the side of her face feeling terrible.
"Don't you have to have our permission to work during the school year?" Linda asked. Thankfully she sounded less angry and more worried about Anna, which gave Anna hope she wasn't completely in trouble.
"Do you remember when I told you I needed you to sign those forms? That they were baseball and school stuff?"
"The forms I've read before so I didn't have to read them again?" Linda asked.
"I didn't actually lie about them. They were for baseball and school."
"Don't blame this on your mother," Danny snapped.
Anna couldn't stop what she said next no matter how hard she tried. "Then don't interrogate me like I'm a perp," Anna snapped. Danny stared at her in disbelief and Anna instantly realized what she had just said and how it could come across. "Sorry," she instantly backed down. She swallowed and looked back down at her hands and her lap. "I'm sorry I didn't explicitly say that I had gotten a job or tell you that's where I had been going a lot of the time," Anna said softly.
"Why didn't you just tell us?" Linda probed gently.
"I don't know. I guess I just thought you'd say no," Anna said, glancing up.
"We didn't say no when you asked to babysit in the neighborhood," Linda said.
"Yeah but—" Anna stopped and looked down again.
"But? What? You thought we'd ask why you thought you needed a job?" Danny asked.
"Yeah." Anna's voice was thick with tears. She was starting to see that she had done the wrong thing and was in big trouble. Her parents were angry and it wouldn't be long before they threw the book at her. There was nothing she could say to defend herself anymore. Not with the way they were looking at her. They looked really disappointed. All she could do was wait and hope the punishment fit the crime and wasn't excessive though she wasn't sure where that line was.
"You lied to us, Maryanna. You're grounded. One month," Danny laid out.
Anna's head jerked up to look at Danny. "But Dad—" she protested.
"Month and a half," he corrected, "Wanna go for two?" Danny said, staring at her.
Anna bit her lip hard to keep from saying anything and looked over at her mom. Linda shook her head indicating Anna really shouldn't argue. "No, sir."
"Good, now go to bed before I change my mind," Danny said. Anna bit her lip and went up to her room. Biting down on her lip was twofold. It was stopping her from saying anything and it was also to keep herself from crying.
"How much time are you in for?" Jack asked as Anna reached the top of the stairs. She swallowed down everything that was building up inside her to reassure her brother that everything was okay.
"Grounded," she stated. "One and a half months." Anna entered her room and flopped down on her bed.
"That's like the middle of August," Jack said.
"Yeah," Anna answered. "Good thing I've got forty hours for driving so ten hours over two weeks isn't going to be difficult."
"They really think you lied?" Jack said. Anna sat up and stared at her brother.
"Eavesdropping little brother?" Anna asked, smirking at him.
"How do you think I learn anything good?"
"A lie of omission is still a lie," Anna said as she sent out a mass text saying she was grounded for a month and a half.
"Jack, do you want to join your sister?" Danny asked, sternly from the doorway. Jack, who had been standing right inside the doorway, looked back at his dad. He glanced at Anna then looked back at his dad. Jack shook his head vehemently.
"Come on, Dad, I'm grounded not in prison. Maybe that's the difference though. At least in prison they have visiting hours," Anna said.
"Drop the attitude or I'll make you call in sick for the next week and a half," Danny told her.
Anna instantly felt smaller than the tiny speck of a spider crawling around the molding at the top of her wall. "Sorry," Anna said softly. Jack saw that as his cue and he bolted from the room.
"Computer and cell phone, hand them over," Danny told her. She was going to protest but the stern look on his face and Joe's voice screaming in her head told her not to. She unplugged her computer from the charger and gave it to him followed by her cell. "Charger for your phone." Anna sighed and handed that over as well. "You'll get the computer back when you grow some brains and not lie to us again and you can only have your phone when you leave the house for work. It'll be plugged in downstairs next to the TV."
"What if—" Anna started.
"No overtime either. You work the schedule he gives you and no swapping. You're being punished here, Anna. You respect my rules under my roof until you're 18."
"Yes, sir."
Keeping quiet at Sunday dinner was probably the most difficult thing Anna had ever faced, especially when the table was always full of differing opinions. Being in trouble often made her pensive and a bit reluctant to speak up. What made her even quieter was the fact that she still felt like she was being unfairly punished and didn't want any of the family to try to defend her and make her father angrier at her and punish her more. Jamie gently prodded a few times but even that didn't get many words out of her. "Anna, are you alright? It's not often you're this quiet," Jamie said.
"I'm fine," Anna answered.
"You know being grounded doesn't bar your opinion from this table," Danny said.
"I know but I don't want to cause any trouble," Anna said softly.
"Grounded? What did you do?" Erin asked.
"Were you gambling again?" Jamie asked smirking. It would be just like her to be gambling again. She really was too good at it.
"Nothing like that," Anna said solemnly.
"Anna," Frank prompted.
"I just don't want to talk about it, please," she said.
"She lied for four months," Danny stated.
"Maryanna," Frank scolded.
"Wait till you hear the backstory, Grandpa, it's great," Sean said.
"You want to be part of that story, Sean?" Danny asked.
"Threating another kid with punishment, I do want to hear this story," Frank said.
"If lying is what you want to call not revealing my entire daily schedule, then sure, I lied," Anna sighed, knowing there was no way out of it now.
"It doesn't matter how you phrase it, a lie is a lie," Danny answered her.
"I still contend I did nothing wrong."
"What did you do?" Henry asked, looking at his young granddaughter on his left.
Anna stared at her father and he looked at her. "Your great-granddaughter has been working at Lou's Diner for the past four months without telling us," Danny explained when Anna held quiet.
"You're mad about that?" Erin asked in confusion.
"He's mad because when I had to work, I'd tell them I was hanging out with friends. To be fair, I did either go to said friend's house before or after work. Technically not a lie. It just wasn't entirely the truth," Anna explained.
"That's why we grounded you for a month and a half and not four," Linda said.
"But it's still not fair," Anna answered.
"You already babysit in the neighborhood, Anna, so why the extra job?" Jamie asked. Anna stared down at her plate as the room went silent and everyone looked at her. Anna muttered something and Jamie looked from her to Danny who shrugged. "Wait, you're telling me you didn't ask her why she got the job in the first place?"
"They seemed more concerned with why I didn't tell them about it," Anna said softly.
"And why she got the job couldn't have the slightest effect on why she didn't tell you?" Jamie asked.
"Have a kid before telling me how to parent," Danny snapped.
"Anna, why'd you get the job?" Henry pressed. "Are you in some kind of money trouble? Something you don't want to ask your parents for? You know you can always ask me or Francis."
"Nothing like that," Anna said. "Not really. I mean ... I'm 16 and I'll be graduating high school in two years and it's time I took—I can't and shouldn't expect them to keep paying for everything." It wasn't the real reason but it was close enough that she hadn't really lied again.
"That seems really responsible," Nicky said.
"You really think we would have said no to that?" Linda asked.
"I don't know, maybe." Anna shrugged. "So Uncle Jamie, what are you getting me for my birthday?"
"It's a surprise. Like it is every year," Jamie smirked.
Anna shook her head and the conversation moved on. When they got home, Danny sat down with Anna on the couch and asked her the one question she didn't want to answer. "Why did you really get that job? It's my job to take care of you." Danny said.
"Just what I said. I shouldn't expect you to pay for everything," Anna answered.
"Anna, I can still tell when you're lying most of the time."
"I just wanted to help. I know that you're my dad and the parent here and like you said, it's your job to handle everything but, I want to help. It's what family does."
"You think I can't afford something?"
"I didn't say that." Anna chewed on her lip. "But three private school educations, seven sports a year, five mouths to feed ... It's not cheap, not even in Staten Island, I just wanted to help." Anna shrugged looking away from her dad.
"I've got it covered," Danny said gently, keeping his tone even. He needed to make sure she didn't think he was mad at her.
"You say that and I believe you but I still want to help. It's what family does. Right?"
"I can understand where you're coming from, even if I don't agree with you," Danny said slowly.
"Dad—" Anna started.
"You know, your mom figured it was something like that. That maybe you had overheard us talking about refinancing the house or which bill to pay to keep the lights on, but we would never let it get so bad that we couldn't feed, clothe or shelter you."
"I know but if I could pay for some of that clothing or equipment or food, then you can focus on my little brothers. I'm not trying to make this look like I'm growing up too fast, I just know that I'm not as naïve as I used to be. I know the world, kinda, and no matter what, I'm always going to love and need my dad."
"I know," Danny said. "Doesn't make it easier though." He wrapped an arm around his daughter and pulled her to his side. Anna leaned against him, seeking comfort which he happily provided.