Remembering Sunday.

"Order up!"

Sunny sighed, maneuvering her way across the diner to where Ray Giletsby's order was waiting on the kitchen window. She slipped on her oven mit and carefully lifted the hot plate, using her other hand to grab the ketchup bottle as she walked toward the counter. From the kitchen, Wallis, the main chef at the diner, flashed her a toothless smile, and she quickly did the same--only she had teeth--before hurrying to take out the order.

She had been working at Dixie's long enough to know the order of the tables, and that number 9 was so wobbly that even the slightest of bumps would cause all of the drinks on that table to spill, so she moved throughout the cluttered lobby with ease. She held in another sigh, not wanting to look miserable in front of the customers, as she approached table 7. "Here you go, Ray," she gave the man her biggest smile, although she knew he wouldn't so much as look her in the eyes. "Two eggs sunny-side-up and a piece of wheat toast with strawberry jam." If it were any other customer, they would laugh at the fact that Sunny the waitress was serving 'sunny-side-up' eggs, but Ray Giletsby immediately reached for his toast and ignored the joke completely.

"Thanks," he grumbled under his breath, bread crumbs flying out of his mouth. He was spooning the remainder of his jelly on top of his eggs as Sunny walked away, hoping he'd at least wipe up his mess for once.

Once behind the counter, Sunny felt a migraine coming on. She sank into the wooden chair beside the freezer, her head falling back against the wall. She'd been working the morning shift at the diner for the past week, starting from the day she arrived back in Hatton, and was more than ready for Christmas, the one day of the year in which Dixie's didn't serve. Of course, she would be heading back to University only two weeks after the new year, and wouldn't have to return to Dixie's until holiday break next winter. But the constant shuffle between work, homework, and family was never a fun task.

"Why you look so down, babe?" Gina suddenly appeared around the corner, her red hair tied up into a messy bun, a pair of chopsticks holding it all together. Under her waitressing apron, she was wearing a kimono the color of watermelon. Gina put her elbows on the freezer so that she was closer to Sunny's face. "This ain't the Sunshine I know, girl."

Sunny smiled, remembering why she loved Gina so much. "I'm just tired," she said. "I'll feel better after I get some sleep." She put her fingers on her temples, her head throbbing. Lola had kept her up all night last night, constantly crying until Sunny's elder sister, Reese, put her in the swing. Reese would place the baby in her swing and turn it on, drifting off to sleep as it rocked to the soft whir of the engine inside. But as soon as the swing stopped, the ten minute rock over, Lola would scream her little blonde head off once again, a noise so loud that Sunny heard it through her locked door and the pillow covering her ears.

"Well," Gina said, glancing down at the electric blue watch on her wrist, "Boss Man can show up at anytime between today and Thursday night, so why don't we do some detail cleanin' while service is slow?"

Sunny nodded, taking Gina's outstretched hand and getting to her feet. "Maybe it'll livin' you up a bit, too," Gina winked, looping her arm through Sunny's. "At least I hope so."

"I'll do the windows," Sunny offered as she approached the cleaning supply closet. She dug around on the shelves, eventually finding a bottle of Windex and a rag that had once been the sleeve of an old t-shirt.

"Okay, go head, doll," Gina said, struggling to untangle the head of the mop. "We'll make Charisa do the bathrooms tomorrow." She gave Sunny another wink and a heart-felt laugh before she set off for the lobby.

Sunny covered the windows with the blue spray, hoping her mood would change soon. How fun was break going to be if she felt like shit the whole time? If it wasn't Lola crying all the time, her mother freaking out about Christmas dinner, Mollie wanting to attend every single party in the county, or the crabby customers at Dixie's, it just had to be her own body--specifically the cause of her headaches--that ruined her spirit.

She was thinking about so many things and focusing so hard on her detail cleaning of the diner windows that she hadn't even noticed the crowd forming on the sidewalk outside. Yet as soon as she wiped away the last of the cleaner, it was all she could see.

People were gathered on either side of the street, all of their eyes directed toward the road between them. And if they weren't standing in the freezing, bitter wind outside, they were looking through their windows, all of their eyes wide and waiting for something she didn't even know was coming. "Would ya look at that," Gina's voice suddenly sounded behind her, making Sunny jump.

"What are they doing out there?" Sunny asked, confused. She sat the rag on the window sill and started walking toward the door.

"Sunshine, wait," Gina called after her, but Sunny was already out in the cold, joining the group.

She hugged her arms across her chest, shivering, as Gina slid in beside her, a coat over her shoulders. "Take this," she said, handing over a jacket. Sunny put it on, and then waited.

"Hun, maybe we should just go inside," Gina insisted, and Sunny could tell by her voice that she knew exactly what these people were wanting to see. "I'm sure it's nothin', probably just a carnival or somethin'."

"Gina, it's winter. There are no carnivals." Sunny glared at her before turning her focus back to the street. What the hell was going on? She tried to recall any winter events that went on in Hatton, but she couldn't seem to put her finger on any. She thought she at least would have heard about it before now. But no, she hadn't heard a thing.

And so they waited.

Sunny's toes felt like ice through the thin fabric of her moccasins, so she began stomping her feet, hoping to gain some heat. She was finally beginning to feel warmer when they started cheering.

The people standing beside them were jumping up and down, nearly screaming, their voices directed toward the edge of town. She squinted in the sun, the reflection against the melted snow blinding her, struggling to see what had them all acting this way. It took her a few moments to finally see the shape of the bus, heading straight for Hatton. And that was when her heart sank.

"No." The word came out almost like a cry, and Gina immediately reached for her hand.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine. I tried to tell you, but I couldn't," she rambled, squeezing Sunny's freezing hand. "No one knew how to tell you. We didn't want you to get upset or leave town or somethin' so we just kept quiet--"

"I'M HERE, HATTON!" His voice was as clear, loud, and exuberant as ever, shouting out of the tour bus window as it approached the cheering crowd.

Sunny's heart was beating nearly out of her chest, his voice ringing in her ears. No, she repeated in her mind, but she couldn't stop reality. As much as it killed her, she just couldn't. At that moment, as the tour bus rolled past, that name swarming her vision, a decade of memories came flashing right back.

ALL TIME LOW, she read, barely believing her eyes.

And then she fainted.