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 Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 2:13 pm
It had been a few weeks since Evan had last manned his food truck. He was rusty, and maybe it was poor planning to be out there on his own. He wasn’t used to doing it alone, and it was hard without Cambria. This wasn’t a one person job and her absence was hard enough without forcing this much work on himself.
...But it was a distraction, at least.
It felt weird to make the announcement on social media that they’d be out tonight.
Evan had to make an announcement that they were understaffed so might be a little slow, but he was offering free fries to make up for it and that seemed to be helping curb people’s patience. He’d printed out a little sign to say the same and had it on the ordering counter.
He’d been immediately swamped, but he’d only cried four times while he was in back and away from the counter.
He hated the counter, but people had been overwhelmingly, astoundingly positive. They’d been kind. They’d been supportive. Maybe they could just tell that he’d been in back crying, or maybe they just really liked cheese.
He’d been swamped, running back and forth for nearly three hours before things started to calm down. He was tired, but he’d even smiled a few times, and there were a few customers that had made him laugh.
He’d looked for every dark haired girl and hoped that one of them was Cambria.
Things had slowed down pretty significantly but there was still a steady trickle of people, so he started getting ready to pack up for the night. He stayed at the counter mostly, but occasionally drifted back to get a few things picked up and ready.
It was starting to get a little cold, even with the warmth from the kitchen.
He wanted to go home, but...
It wasn't the same without her.
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:56 pm
When Emily had gotten the notification that the food truck would be out again, finally, she couldn’t help but smile. She had noticed a large crowd swamping the truck and felt a little surge of pride, but she wasn’t able to head out until closing time, but quietly she went over and stood at the window. “Good to see you again! I’ve missed your truck being here, but I won’t lie that my clothes have fit a bit better in the last few weeks.”
She gave a smile and drew her wallet out of her purse. “What’s the special today?”
Goodness he looked tired, and that worried Emily…perhaps he still hadn’t found his friend yet. Obviously, he would have been happier if he had but…
It wasn’t as though she could ask him when she was here as Emily. Sometimes this whole dual identity thing was more frustrating than it had any right to be.
“I hope you’ve been well!”
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 5:37 pm
The polite thing to do was lie; Evan knew that when people said you were doing well you were supposed to just say you were and that everything was fine.
Evan, however, didn’t really have the energy to lie.
He smiled, but it was brief and his heart wasn’t in it. “I’ve been keeping busy,” he said instead, and was glad that he could blame his red nose and cheeks, and probably eyes, on it just being cold. And not that he’d been rubbing his face and trying to snap out of his watery eye problem.
“Free fries today with any order. And if you want to upgrade them, there’s a few options. I didn’t bring anything new to try out on the menu today. I’m pretty rusty, so it’s just the staples. But if there’s something you’re craving, you can leave a message on our page and I can have some for next time. I’m sorry I was gone for so long,” he said, and he seemed to actually mean it. “I hope you’ve been well, too.”
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 5:49 pm
“I’ve been just fine, thank you for asking. I’m just glad to see you again! I was worried you had decided that the library wasn’t a good place to set up shop anymore.” Emily gave a little laugh, but chewed her lip. “The grilled onion grilled cheese, please. That’s my favorite thing that you have, always has been. And as for the fries, throw an upgrade on them for me, if you would? Whatever you have available. I’m not picky. Not when it comes to Snack and Cheese.”
She drew out a twenty and put it on the counter.
“Keep the change, as always.”
Hesitating, she frowned slightly. “Are you alone tonight? I’m not actually used to you working the window.”
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 6:08 pm
“Thank you,” Evan said, and put the twenty away even though it was a very generous tip. That it was the end of the night meant that he didn’t have to feel bad about upgrading her order a few times over.
“I’m, um. Not very good here, I know,” he said, and tried to keep the emotion out of his voice. “But we’re short staffed, um. You know. Things change.” He didn’t sound like it was for the better but he tried to smile even when eye contact was difficult. “I didn’t have anyone to come with me but I wanted to come out tonight, so I'm on double duty. Oh, but--I’ll be just a second.”
It was the perfect excuse to dip away before anyone could ask any more questions before he had time to formulate a reasonable answer; while he was in back he got her two sandwiches, two orders of fries--one with cheese and bacon drizzled on top and one with seasoned macaroni and cheese. And a cup of broccoli cheddar soup. And a cup of macaroni and cheese. And some mozzarella sticks because--why not, it was getting late and he was overcompensating.
When he returned, it was with a very packed bag.
“I’m getting ready to head home soon. I hope you don’t mind,” he said, and passed the bag over to her. “Do you want a soda or a water or something?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:17 pm
Emily had slipped another twenty into the tip jar while Evan was getting her food and shook her head. “This is fine, thank you. And if you’re looking for more help, I can put a notice up in the library if you’d like. We’ve always got young people in there who need jobs, and honestly you seem like a sweet guy to work for. If you’d be interested, make me a flyer and I’ll get it up the next time I see you.”
She noticed that the bag was absolutely bulging and she was glad that she had put in the extra money for him. Normally he gave her extras when she came late in the evening, no sense in wasting good food, after all.
Reaching out, Emily took the bag and sighed, sniffing at the contents. “God this smells delicious. It was nice to wear my skinny jeans while I could, but I wouldn’t trade this food for the world.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:57 am
Evan couldn’t help but smile a little when she said she wouldn’t trade this food for the world, even at the expense of her skinny jeans.
“I’m really glad you like it. Um, I don’t know if I’m looking for help,” he admitted, but he chewed on the inside of his cheek for a few seconds. “I sort of just keep hoping things will go back to the way they were before.”
...But they weren’t. Not easily. Not quickly.
He couldn’t keep doing this forever. He couldn’t keep asking for people to be patient with him. He couldn’t just go have a breakdown in back when he was out of sight.
“...But I guess that’s unreasonable. I’ll think about it,” he promised. “I’ll come visit you at the library if I make flyers. If I bring you lunch one day, will you go over it and help me make sure it looks good? I don’t want to make a mistake and look stupid.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 10:25 am
“I wouldn’t let you look or sound stupid. I think that’s a great plan. I’ll look forward to it if you want to come and visit me. And I would never say no to being brought lunch, that’s a given.” Emily shifted to get a better hold on her bag of food. “It’s not unreasonable to have hope, Evan. Never lose hope on things. That’s the moment that you fall into despair, and that’s a very deep pit to climb out of.”
She hesitated. “I would advise, get a friend to help you in the truck. Get someone you know, someone you trust, even just to be another voice in there for you. It’ll help. It might take a while, but it’ll help.”
Flashing a smile, Emily drew away and gave a nod of her head. “I’m going to take this stuff home and stuff my face. I hope to see you soon, okay? Even if you don’t bring the truck, visit me in the library, you know that I like any excuse to ignore my work!” That was an out and out lie, she did enjoy work very much.
“Chin up! I’m sure things will look better soon! Have a lovely night, and thank you for dinner!”
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 10:59 am
Evan chewed on the inside of his cheek for a few seconds before he nodded. “Thank you for coming by,” he said. “Be safe going home. Destiny City’s dangerous.”
Because, he couldn’t help but give a warning. If Destiny City could take Cambria, it could take anyone.
...Which was probably all the more reason to have someone he could trust helping him out and watching his back. And dealing with all the things that he was having a hard time dealing with. Like people. Even though they’d been nice, and it was sweet to hear them say nice things about his food, it was still hard for him. He had imposter syndrome enough in the kitchen, more so when he was facing down the people he was cooking for.
But, he smiled once more for Emily, because seeing her did help.
He missed Cambria, but this was just day one.
He’d find her. He’d bring her back home. Somehow.
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