Diamond In The Rough

*Cassidy’s Point of View*

Ellie was the first person to notice a change in my behavior. A lot of the customers were happy with me. Who doesn’t want a bubbling, smiley waitress serving their table? Ellie pulled me aside during my break and I could tell that she wanted to talk to me about both my recent burst of happiness, and about something else.

“Cassidy, we need to have a talk. First, tell me what happened. That redheaded boy showed up a few days ago, and now you’re on top of the world,” Ellie smiled, pulling me into the kitchen.

“Well, I had a talk with him, and he told me about how…how Dan had gotten so angry about the whole date thing. I went and talked to Dan, and then…well, Dan and I are together now,” I said. Ellie smiled and squeezed my hand.

“I’m glad you’re giving him a chance. He’s a little scruffy looking, but he seems to care about you,” Ellie said. I nodded.

“Yeah, he’s a good guy,” I smiled.

“I’m glad…now Carl and I have been meaning to talk to you about something for a very long time,” Ellie started.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked. Carl and Ellie were getting older, and Carl had a history of heart problems. Worry started to fill my face.

“Honey, don’t worry. We’re both fine. It’s just time that we start thinking about retirement dear,” Ellie said. I sighed in relief.

“You had me worried for a minute there Ell,” I said.

“You always do worry about us. That’s why we want you to take over when we retire,” Ellie said. I stared at her.

“What?” I gasped.

“We want to give Tilly’s to you dear. We’ve earned so much money, and spent so much time and effort on this diner. We don’t want to just sell it to someone we don’t know,” Ellie smiled.

“Ellie, you know I can’t afford to buy the diner from you,” I said quietly.

“That’s why we’re giving it to you,” Ellie said firmly.

“Ellie no, you can’t!” I squeaked.

“We can, and we will. It’s already been put into our wills. You’re going to get Tilly’s sooner or later,” Ellie chuckled.

“Oh Ellie…you know how much this means to me, don’t you?” I asked, tears filling my eyes. She nodded slowly and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Cassidy when we lost Annabeth, we weren’t sure what would happen to us. And then, all those years later, we met you. Honey I know your parents aren’t always the most understanding, or even the most loving, but they are blessed to have you, and we are so grateful that they are willing to share you with us. The paperwork will be filed in a few weeks, if you’ll say yes, and then Tilly’s will be yours,” Ellie whispered. I hugged her tightly, tears rolling silently down my face.

*Dan’s Point of View*

I walked into Lavy’s office like he had told me to, and I froze.

“Seriously?” I sighed, seeing a few miffed officials and Lavy standing around his desk.

“Seriously Dan. You’ve had too many…occurrences like this. You really need to get your act together,” Lavy said quietly. I groaned and wracked my brains, wondering what on Earth I could have done to provoke the wrath of the NHL officials once more.

“Daniel Carcillo, after much consideration, as well as testimonials from your team’s coaching staff, captain, and members; you are hereby suspended from the NHL for no less than three, but no more than six, games. Your on ice confrontations with various members of the Pittsburgh Penguins during Thursday’s game, as well as some offensive comments off ice, have led us to this decision. A formal hearing was not required because you have received quite a few suspensions of this nature,” one of the officials said sternly. I clenched my fists and took a few deep breaths.

“Why do I feel like every time I open my mouth I get suspended?” I grumbled.

“Because you don’t think before you speak Dan. We’ve had conversations about this before. You already missed a few games this season because of stupid things like this. I…I had to go with the league on this one. Clean out your locker and head home. I’ll call you in eight games,” Lavy said. I stormed out of his office, grabbed my bags, and threw my stuff into them. Andrej and Steeg looked at me curiously.

“What’s going on bro?” Versteeg asked.

“Suspended,” I growled, tossing my gloves into the bag.

“For what?!” Meszaros cried.

“Probably for calling Crosby a pussy, telling him to grow a pair, and a few other things I had on my mind after he got away with that cheap ass should-have-been penalty on me,” I snarled before zipping up my bag.

“Dan, you really need to learn how to think,” Jeff Carter sighed from across the locker room.

“You’re telling me,” I said before leaving the locker room. I tossed my bags into my truck and sat in the driver’s seat. I ran my hands over the cool steering wheel and contemplated bashing my head against it. What the hell was I going to do for six games? I’d have to go to the Skate Zone on my own time to skate, but I didn’t know what else I would do. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel, and then an idea popped into my head. Cassidy had suggested I learn guitar…

*Cassidy’s Point of View*

I finished my shift (I always had an early shift on Mondays) around 12, and my phone started to ring.

“Hey Dan, aren’t you at practice?” I asked, answering it as I tossed my apron onto its usual hook in my bedroom.

“I got suspended,” he sighed. I shook my head.

“Why am I not surprised?” I chuckled.

“So…I’ve got a few days off now…do you want to go on a few dates? Like, real dates?” he asked. I smiled.

“That sounds great. I’ve been given a few days off as well to collect my thoughts, so I could go for a few nice dates,” I grinned.

“What do you have to think about?” Dan asked.

“What I’m going to do when I take over Tilly’s,” I said simply.

“Take over…wait, what happened to the old people who own the place?” Dan asked.

“They want to retire, and they said that they’d only trust me with the diner, so I’m going to become the owner in a few weeks,” I explained.

“Great, so we have to celebrate too, huh?” Dan asked. He sounded happy for me.

“We don’t have to celebrate it really. I mean, it’s not a huge deal,” I said.

“Not a huge deal? These people are leaving you their livelihood, it’s a big deal,” Dan said. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed.

“I know…I just…I don’t know if I deserve it is all,” I admitted, flopping onto my bed.

“If they’re giving it to you, you obviously deserve it,” Dan said. I smiled.

“I do work pretty hard there,” I said.

“I know you do,” he said.

“Once I own it, will you guys still come to eat there?” I asked.

“Only if you keep Flyers’ Fridays,” Dan said. I frowned.

“Can I change it to…” I started.

“No, absolutely not,” Dan said. I chuckled.

“Fine, I’ll keep it Flyers’ Fridays,” I said.

*Dan’s Point of View*

After talking to Cassidy for several hours, I was feeling a bit better. We made plans to go to dinner in Philly the next day, and I stretched out on the couch waiting for Andrej to get home. I must have dozed off, because I woke up to Claude jabbing me in the face with the butt end of his hockey stick.

“Dude, really?” I asked, sitting up.

“Yes,” he smiled.

“Don’t you live with someone else?” I grumbled.

“Yeah, but I wanted to come here and say hello,” Claude smirked. I just rolled my eyes and stood up.

“So, suspended again, huh Dan?” Andrej asked, walking in from the kitchen. He tossed Claude a beer, and then me, and I tilted the can towards him before taking a sip.

“You know it,” I smirked.

“You’re a dumbass; you know that too, right?” Claude asked. I chuckled and shrugged.

“Hey, it’s whatever man. I mean, I have some free time now, right?” I asked.

“Dan, it’s only November and you’re suspended for six games?” Andrej asked.

“Three to six,” I corrected him.

“You know they’re going to give you six,” he sighed.

“Yeah, I know,” I shrugged. It was annoying, yeah, but I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it.

“You’re just happy because you can spend time with the girlfriend,” Andrej said.

“And?” I asked.

“That’s so unlike you,” he smiled.

“I know,” I said quietly, but a smile still filled my face. I didn’t know why, and I was still a little confused and uncertain about the whole thing, but Cassidy was special and I planned on keeping her around as long as possible.

-The Next Day-
I met up with Cassidy outside of the restaurant we picked, and we quickly snuck inside. Granted, I never got as mobbed as some of the other guys, but I didn’t want to risk getting caught in public, especially after being suspended again. Cassidy was wearing a beautiful black dress with purple and blue flowers on the skirt of it. She had a thin black sweater on top, and I couldn’t help but realize how lucky I was to have such a gorgeous girl with me. She smiled as we sat down and I took her hand in mine.

“Cass?” I asked.

“Yeah?” she asked in return.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I smiled.

“I am too,” she blushed.