My Gorgeous Arizona

Arizona awoke to the sound of her alarm going off. She rolled over in bed, groaning, thinking there was no way it could already be nine AM. But still, the monotonous sound of her alarm continued on and she had no choice but to shut it off, interrupting her slumber. Ari opened her eyes and stared up at her ceiling, slightly nervous for the day that was ahead of her. The last job she had was a magazine writer and now she was going to be a waitress. It was a different world and she sighed thinking about it. It wasn’t that she had anything against waitressing. On the contrary, she admired those who had the grace and patience to carry out the task. Ari only hoped that she wouldn’t drop too many glasses on her first day.

Throwing the covers off of her body, she threw her legs out of bed, landing on her plush carpeted floor. She walked over to her closet, contemplating what to wear. Something she wouldn’t mind spilling things all over. She grabbed a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a black crew neck tee shirt, slipping into a beat up pair of converse sneakers. Ari gathered her messy blonde hair and placed it in a knot atop her head. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she left her room, closing the door behind her, and headed down the stairs.

Her father sat at the kitchen table reading the newspaper while her mother prepared some “organic” or new “clean-eating” breakfast she had found on the newest up-and-coming food blog. Ari went to the fridge, pouring herself a glass of iced tea, and then sat across from her father. Her mother hummed while she cooked, and Arizona wondered if her life would ever be as carefree as her mother made it look.

“Arizona, honey, would you care for some chia-seed pancakes and blueberries?”

Ari smiled, there was a piece deep down inside that missed her mother’s exotic cooking, trying every new food fad that seemed to appear. If it were any other day she might have given in, taking a few bites and pushing the rest around her plate to make her mother happy. But today, she was all nerves and wasn’t sure she could even stomach those few bites.

“No, thanks. I think I’ll just grab something at the restaurant.”

Her mother smiled widely, obviously content that she would be working for her friend. Her father sipped his coffee before raising his green eyes and looking at his daughter.

“Nervous, kiddo?”

Arizona blushed at the childhood nickname, failing to remember the last time she had heard it said. She bit her lip and shook her head, trying to conquer the anxiety she felt creeping up on her.

“No, I think I’ll be okay.”

Her father nodded and looked down at his paper, but not before muttering some variation of “That’s my girl.”

Ari checked her watch and said goodbye to her parents, walking to Maria’s. It was a faster walk then she remembered and before she knew it, she was ringing the bell on the door again. Maria ran over to her, taking her into the back of the restaurant.

“Ari, I have someone here to help train you out front.”

Arizona looked up and saw a petite girl with brunette hair, facing away from her. The girl turned around and smirked, tightening the ponytail she had in her hair.

“Damn, is that Arizona Hanson?”

Arizona smiled and suddenly a rush of calm washed over her.

“Miranda, wow, you look great.”

Miranda Lovett was Arizona’s best friend since she could remember. They grew up doing everything together. In high school, they were completely inseparable. But then graduation came and Arizona left, and she had to admit to herself that she had not been the best friend to Miranda. She had spoken to her at first, but as the years went on, she didn’t follow through on contact. Suddenly Arizona had the urge to try and mend that relationship as soon as possible, wondering how she’d ever let a person like Miranda go.

Maria began to walk away, happy to not have to waste any time with introductions.

“You girls know each other already? How perfect. I’ll just be up front then if you need me. Miranda will show you everything you need to know, Ari.”

She left the room and for a moment it was awkward, the two girls no doubt reminiscing on what they once called a friendship. Arizona suddenly wondered if this would be unpleasant after all, thinking maybe Miranda didn’t want to repair their friendship. Ari’s fears melted away when Miranda smiled and threw an apron at her, chuckling.

“Welcome to Paradise, Ari.”

For the next couple of hours, Arizona followed Miranda around, trying to mentally take down every little detail of what she was doing. Before she knew it, Miranda had set her free on her own with a couple of tables, and it was anything but smooth.

“Miss, I asked for no cheese.”

Arizona rushed over the table, her face flushed with color and her feet aching. She picked up the plate and tried her absolute best to hold her tongue.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I’ll be right back with a new plate.”

She cracked the least fake smile she could and spun around, rolling her eyes. Unfortunately, this was not the first person to ask for the Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla, sans cheese, and each time Ari had to tell herself to not point out this detail. She went back to the kitchen to request a new dish and leaned her back against the wall, brushing her forehead with her apron. She took a brief moment to herself when Miranda appeared.

“Hey, Ari. New table just sat down. Five people, so if you need help, let me know.”

Arizona nodded and went back out to the restaurant, gritting her teeth. Unfortunately, her patience was running thin and she started to wonder if having no job at all was better than this. She walked over to the table, digging her writing pad out of her pocket and taking the pen out from behind her ear. She could hear the table chatting away and knew that this might be a tough one.

“Welcome to Maria’s. I’ll be taking care of you tonight and my name is—“

“Hey, Ari.”

She was startled, wondering who could possibly be saying her name. She tried to stay as calm as possible when she saw who it was. Sitting before sat the man from the coffee shop, John. He was with four other guys, all staring with confusion at their friend.

“Hi, John.”

Arizona hoped that her voice didn’t quiver as much as she thought.

“Can I uh, get you guys some drinks?”

The guys all went around and she took down their orders, consciously telling herself not to shake. John was just a regular guy. So what if he happened to be extremely handsome?

One of the guys John was with laughed and hit John on the back before speaking up.

“Wow, John. How do you know this beauty?”

Arizona blushed, looking at John, who also seemed to be caught off guard. She took the opportunity to smile and walk away to put in their orders. She looked over to the table, seeing John pushing his friend’s shoulder before they all started laughing.

Ari tried to act normal as she brought the guys their food, hoping that she kept her composure. She was twenty-two and there was no room in her life for her to be all goofy over a cute guy. Luckily, she was finally getting the hang of everything and it all went smoothly.

Time had flown by so quickly and Arizona was standing by the hostess stand, watching the clock go. By now the restaurant was mostly empty except for a few small tables. She heard talking and turned, seeing John and his friends getting ready to leave. They walked past the hostess stand and smirked at Ari, causing her to look down before she did anything embarrassing. She saw a person stop at the stand and looked up, seeing a smiling John in front of her.

“What time do you get off?”

Arizona looked down at her watch and then back up at John, suddenly feeling more confident than she was used to.

“Right now, actually.”

John smiled and nodded his head before clearing his throat, moving his hand to the back of his neck.

“Do you maybe want to grab a drink?”

Arizona smiled and bit her lip, pulling off her apron.

“Yeah. That sounds great.”

She couldn’t help but notice John’s eyes light up, even if just for the smallest second. She wondered if he saw the same thing when he looked at her.