Together Under Our Roof

When Michael left to go job hunting, Misty cautiously emerged from her room. She went into the kitchen, and prepared her lunch before she had to go to work. When she saw that she there was nothing in the refrigerator, she sighed and slammed it shut. She would have to go buy something for dinner later after work.

At work, she felt miserable. She was working at a near fast-food joint and hated the horrible stench of the grease and the oil that roamed free. The place was always loud with tens of customers trying to get to work or waiting for their lunches impatiently during their break. The teenagers who came in always caused loud noises and irritated the other customers frequently.

Misty felt relief whenever she reminded herself that she would not hear any of this at school and that nobody would try anything with her because they were all too preoccupied with whatever was up their noses already. Misty always made sure she always found jobs in areas where she knew no one from her school would be so that she would find at least some piece when she was working.

For the rest of her shift, Misty took orders and tried to settle an argument between two customers who both claimed to have been at the front of the line before the other.

When her shift ended, she rushed to her next job at a quieter diner a few streets from her last job. Here she felt more relief because she knew of no one who would want to even eat at a diner, let alone an old one like the one she worked in.

It would be the last shift of the day and she would be able to go home earlier. When the bell clanged as she burst into the diner, she yelled out a greeting to the old man behind the counter.

“Afternoon Mr. Callahan,” Misty yelled out. The man behind the counter looked up from the newspaper in his hand and gave a big smile to Misty before going back to his comics. Misty shuffled around the small diner as she went from one customer to the other, greeting the frequent guests before going to the back where she changed into her work clothes.

For the next few hours, she chatted and served some of the customers, who were returning customers and who were like family to the diner. She was carefree here and knew almost everyone who came through the glass doors to this diner.

When the bell rang above the door, Misty whipped around with a big smile as she greeted the new comer. When she saw who had come through the door, her smile dropped. She had not expected Michael to come through the door into such a small diner.

When Michael met Misty’s bewildered eyes, his mouth slightly fell agape as his eyes widened. They both froze, what had happened that morning playing back in both of their minds. Misty wondered why Michael was at the diner and Michael wondered what Misty was doing working in such a place.

Misty was the first to break the connection, turning away to avoid his staring eyes. She turned to her other customers and laughed as one of them told her a joke about something she could not make out well as she felt Michael’s constant staring knowing at her from behind.

“Welcome there young fellow,” Mr. Callahan greeted excitedly with a slight thump on the back as he moved around Michael. “Have seen you here before,” he continued. Michael broke his gaze away from Misty and smiled at the old man.

“I just moved here sir,” Michael answered brightly. He moved toward a seat by the counter where the old man returned to. Michael looked at Misty as he told the man. When she did not return the look, he turned his attention back to the man who was now asking some friendly questions.

Misty looked over to where Michael and Mr. Callahan were talking. She watched in the corner of her eye as Michael laughed at something Mr. Callahan had said. She had never seen such a happy face on Michael and was surprised to think that he looked mature in his suit while talking to an older man. She had never thought that he would look so good with such a smile. She was curious about what they were talking about.

Suddenly, Michael and Mr. Callahan burst out laughing, turning to look at Misty who had whipped around when she saw them turn to her. Her face reddened as she continued to sweep the floor, feeling the two men stare at her back as they continued to laugh heartily. When the laughter died down, Misty dared herself to turn towards them, but when she did, she saw that Michael was still staring at her and Mr. Callahan had disappeared.

When he had caught her eye, Michael motioned for Misty to come to him. Cautiously, misty moved slowly toward Michael, wary about what he would do next. When she got closer to Michael, he stood up to tower over Misty. He looked down to her and smiled.

“Are you ready to go home?” he asked brightly before grabbing her wrist. Before he could drag her away, Misty pulled her arm away.

“Where do you think you’re taking me,” she growled. Michael stared down at her, startled by the sudden retreat.

“Mr. Callahan said your shift was over so I was going to take you home,” Michael said calmly, curious as to her behavior. Misty glared at him, not budging until she finally heard Mr. Callahan scoff to assure her that it really was the end of her shift. Misty looked over to the old man and set her gaze on him until he finally waved her off.

Sighing, she trudged to the backroom and changed to her clothes before slowly making her way back to the diner area where Michael and Mr. Callahan both waited for her. When she saw Michael, she felt a heavy lump in her chest. She did not want to walk home with this man.

When Michael saw Misty, he brightened up as he waited for her to come closer. When she did, he grabbed her arm and almost dragged her out of the diner before saying goodbye to the remainder of the diner’s people.

Outside, it had gotten dark and was very cold. Misty tightened her jacket around her and tried to curl herself closer to her core when a sharp wind bit at her body. Michael saw her suffering and offered her his scarf, which she politely refused. They walked in silence when Misty stopped abruptly.

“I forgot!” she exclaimed. She slapped her forehead and had turned around. Michael was startled and watched as she turned on her heels but grabbed her before she could walk off on her own.

“What did you forget?” he asked concerned. He let go of her arm when she turned back around. She looked worried as she shifted on her feet.

“I forgot to get food for dinner. I need to get to the store before they close,” she exclaimed before turning on her heels again. Again Michael stopped her before she could move another foot.

“Wait, you can’t just run off. Where is it? I’ll go with you,” he offered. When Misty stayed silent, he took it as her consent and dragged her down the street until she took charge and led him to the nearest store. They walked silently in the cold until they reached the store of Misty’s choice.

When they got inside, Misty headed for the vegetables and looked through various foods before she moved on to the fruits. Michael followed close behind, watching her every face action as she went through the good things and the bad. She went slowly, scrutinizing the many items before choosing the best.

Michael waited patiently as she went around. She only went for the necessary things and disregarded the junk foods and packaged items. He noticed that she only went for the fresh organic foods that she could make herself. When they got to the meats, he saw her expression glow. She almost skipped down the meats aisle, a smile plastered on her face.

She went through each of the containers of meats and carefully decided what she would be getting for the night. Michael was intrigued by her sudden happiness as she finally chose two beautifully cut rib-eyes.

When they had finished the shopping, Misty skipped out of the store happily with the bags swinging around her. Michael grabbed the bags from Misty who jumped back, startled.

“You seem happy,” Michael commented. Misty turned a slight pink under her already cold blush.

“Well yeah. I’m about to make a great dinner,” she answered nodding at the bags. Michael smirked as he watched her stare at the bags hungrily.

“In that case, let’s get home fast! Right little miss piggy?” Michael teased, walking off toward their home. Misty jogged after him, her eyes still glued to the bags in his hand.

Michael turned around, waiting for Misty as she tried to catch up to his wide strides. He smiled as she almost tripped over an invisible rock before her. Her gaze never left the bag as she followed Michael home.