Fantasies

Darlie

My life here has become pretty simple. I start work at nine and come home at around eleven. I only have off on Saturdays. Fridays and Sundays I work from ten to five. It keeps me busy, I guess. I don’t have to worry about anything else. I just work to eat and I already have a place to live. It’s not a hard job either. I serve food to whoever comes in, simple enough. People aren’t as snotty as I expected them to be. Most of them are nice and are regular customers.
Most of them have become familiarized with my name and now call me ‘Candy’.

It’s not a hard name to get used to.

I usually go spend time at the orphanage on Friday afternoons. The kids there are really sweet and enjoy my many different accents. I sometimes wish I could take them all with me. Thankfully, the three women who have taken over the orphanage are sweet and considerate towards them.

I walked towards a table where a bald man was seated. He looked upset. Oddly, I have never seen him around here before. He kept pressing his hand on his chest and bent down when he did so. He seems as if he’ll break down into tears any minute now.

I walked in front of him, trying not to look suspicious, and realized he was an Asian man. He had tears in his puffy red eyes.

“Would you like some coffee?” I asked, faking an accent. I’ve become so used to it, that it
doesn’t even seem as if I’m faking it anymore.

“I don’t have money. I’m just cold and hungry.” he cried.

“Oh, don’t you worry about that. You look like you can use a good meal.” I smiled. He slowly looked up at me but quickly put his head down. I ran to the back, ready to get him a big plate of food. Since this is a family restaurant, I don’t have to worry about giving free meals and them subtracting off of my paycheck.

They’re very considerate and even think of me as being one of their daughters. The woman who owns this restaurant had a daughter who passed away because of illness. I guess that’s why she treats me so well. I smiled at the chef, who happens to be the woman’s son, and ordered the man a big plate with eggs, pancakes, bacon, and cheese.

I walked towards the coffee and poured him some of the hot liquid.

“Would you like creamer? Or just sugar?” his eyes widened when I set it before him.

“I-I don’t have money.”

“I already said that it’s on the house.”

“Oh,” he put his head down, almost embarrassed. Thankfully, the only person in this early is Ms. Jamie. She certainly is not someone you should be intimidated around, “What kind of creamer do you have?”

“We have French Vanilla, Almond, and original. We have more, I can go back and check if you’d like.”

“I’m used to the caramel one.”

“Oh, we don’t have that one because Ms. Jamie here used it all up. I highly recommend the almond one. I was hesitant at first, but once I tried it I was having coffee every morning.”
he smiled and nodded in approval.

I walked back to the counter and got the Almond flavoured coffee creamer. I walked back to him and poured it in.

“Do you just like a little bit, or do you like to go all out like me?”

“All out.” he laughed. I poured him some more and took the spoon, moving it around.

“Try it and let me know if you want it sweeter.”

His eyes widened when the creamy almond taste surrounded his tongue. He let out a big smile and continued drinking.

“Candy!” Josh, the chef, yelled. I ran towards him and took the plate of food. It was steaming hot since everything here is prepared fresh. I placed it in front of the man and his eyes widened once more.

“I-I can’t.” he said, putting his head down.

“What do you mean? You said yourself that you’re hungry. Go ahead and eat. The chef here makes everything perfecto!”

As I was walking away, he held onto my wrist and I turned, “Thank you so much. I just lost my job. My wife passed away last year and I’m still busy caring for all the bills from the hospital and funeral. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a real breakfast.”

“Well, you know, whenever you’re hungry you should come here. Don’t be shy. I was shy and almost took this place for granted. They accepted me though I was as lost as you are today. Be strong and keep your head high. I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure she was a lucky woman.”

“She indeed was.” he whispered. His head was once again down.

“W-well…Hurry and eat your food before it cools down!” I said, attempting to change the subject. I’ve never been good with depressed people. I don’t really know what to do when someone cries. Maybe that’s why when I shed tears, I don’t really expect anyone to care.

He laughed at my facial expression and turned to his plate. Josh smiled my way. Miley, the owner, winked at me.

“You know if you’re in such a hurry you can work here. We’ve been looking for someone who accepts a pay of $9 an hour for taking out trash and keeping this place clean. Candy can’t do it all herself, you know?” Josh insisted.

“Oh, yeah!” his mom suddenly bursted at the statement Josh had just made up, “It’s small pay, but it will keep you warm and living.”

“What, there is a God? Thank you so much.” he nodded. I felt so bad for him. These are the kind of people I need to be around to forget about the past. Once I’ve changed a bit and grown up, I can go find my family. I can forget about Vergario because there’s no point in even trying to get revenge. All that will happen is another death.

If Vergario is the one who dies, I’ll be held accountable quickly. If it’s me, then there’s not much to say but there will be another funeral. If it’s Brian or any of the others, well, let’s just pray that it isn’t. I think that if Vergario were to kill any of them, I’d go insane and try to kill him myself.

“Thank you so much.” He cried. His tears were different. They were tears of hope and happiness. He’s able to live now because of these amazing people. I smiled at myself and walked towards the counter. Perhaps that’s what I need. Tears of hope.

I wonder what Brian is doing.