Leigha’s Mistake

Leigha remembered taking a call. What it was about she wasn’t really sure. She needed to finish this shift, needed to get back to her and Anita’s apartment, and figure out … something. She would think about that later as a business woman entered the restaurant. Leigha walked up to the podium making sure to plaster on her bedside smile.

“Welcome to Tormino’s. A party of one?” Leigha started grabbing a menu.

“I’m here to pick up an order. I called in twenty-minutes ago.

Was this the call from earlier? Leigha looked back to the counter, seeing no to-go order ready.

“What was the name under?”

“Regina,” the woman huffed, looking at her watch.

Leigha nodded, putting the menu back as she hurried over to the window. “Is there an order for Regina?”

Shasta and Sierra looked up at the sound of Leigha’s voice, both searching their immediate vicinity. Shasta walked over to the receipt line up, checking the tickets.

“None that I know of.”

Leigha felt her smile falter, but she quickly plastered it back on. It would be ok, maybe she wrote it down.

She hurried back to the register, looking around for a slip that might have the order. She found under the phone a scrawl note in her hurried chicken scratch writing.

“Everything alright,” Anita whispered as she came up beside Leigha.

“Everything’s fine,” assured Leigha, “I- I mean, I found your order Ma’am,” Leigha held up the paper, “I’ll have the kitchen start on this right away.”

"What? How could you forget a phone order? Is it that hard to take a little piece of paper up to the counter? I don't have time for this!"

Leigha’s cheek muscles began to tighten with her forced smile.

“I’m terribly sorry about this Ma’am,” responded Anita,” it’ll be in the house.”

The woman grunted, Anita smiled then nudged Leigha towards the kitchen window where Shasta was waiting. She passed Shasta the note, who looked it over then slowly, Sierra walking up and reading it over before Shasta passed it back.

“I’m sorry, I can’t read this.”

Leigha snapped back the paper, her twitching eye making it harder to decipher.

“Tofu salad,” she announced, passing the paper back; everyone got on her nerves a little. Her coworkers were acting like being around her was walking on eggshells, the woman was being difficult. She was just being professional. Isn’t that hat everyone wanted?

“Sounds like trouble if they’re ordering a tofu salad to go,” teased Sierra. She nudged Leigha with the packaged meal and the note, waking Leigha from her thoughts.

Leigha pasted back on her working smile, placing the container in a plastic bag before bringing it over to the woman.

“Took you long enough,” the woman snarled. Leigha kept smiling, hoping the woman would leave soon. Instead the woman opened the bag and container to check on her food.

"This is not what I ordered! I ordered a FRIED tofu salad!"

Leigha looked at the note, seeing only the writing of a tofu salad.

“I-”I’m sorry ma’am. We can make you another.” She looked back hoping Anita would back her up on this but she was in another section of the restaurant.

"No, thanks to you, I have already missed my lunch because of your incompetence. It's a wonder how places like you stay in business."

She stormed out of the restaurant, her phone starting to ring while she exited. The noise had brought everyone's attention to the front.

“Are you alright,” asked Anita, who had rushed over after she finished with the customers. Leigha swallowed the ball in her throat and smiled at Anita.

“Just fine. Angry customers are bound to happen every once in a while.

“True, but” before Anita could continue the woman stormed back in.

"Keep your fucking salad," she yelled as she tossed the open container at them. The girls raised their arms to deflect the blow as salad sprayed all over them. The woman ran off in tears. Whatever that phone call was had tipped her over the edge. 

“What the-,” Cyrus jogged up to the front, the woman long gone as salad, dressing and tofu dripped from the girls. He sighed, looking around the mess, then turned to the guests.

“Sorry folks, if-” his voice drowned out in Leigha’s ears. She could feel herself being moved away from pitying looks. She was only able to focus again when she heard a door shut.

Anita and her were in the bathroom, Anita picking out bits of food from Leigha’s hair and clothes.

“I’m sorry, once I realized she was going to be a problem customer, I should have stepped in.”

“I’m the one at fault here. I forgot to give Shasta the order. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“You don’t have to smile.”

Leigha could feel her cheeks cramp. Had she been smiling this whole time?

“I’ve got to. I gotta stay professional. I can’t let something like this bother me.”

“You can let it bother you, and use that bother to be better tomorrow.”

Leigha felt her cheeks loosen.

“And you can tell me, tell us when something bothers you. You don’t have to keep it bottled up. We aren’t just coworkers, we are friends, and we care about you Leigha.”

Leigha could feel the sting in the corner of her eyes.

“Can I?”

Anita softly smiled and nodded. As if a dam broke, Leigha collapsed into Anita’s arms,crying into her shoulder. Anita sighed in relief and hugged her friend tightly, both girl sinking to the floor as Leigha cried.

A soft knock at the door as Sierra peaked in, carrying two uniforms.

“Everything ok?

“Sorry,” Leigha said,”I’m making everyone worry, aren't I?”

“We are friends, we’re supposed to worry about each other.”

Leigha smiled, wiping away her remaining tears with the back of her hand.

“Do you want to talk about it,” asked Anita.

“Not right now, Miles should hear it first, but I don’t think he wants to.”

“He’s your brother, despite what he says, I’m sure he still cares,” assured ANita.

“Or we can make him,” teased Sierra.

Leigha giggled,” I doubt it, I think he’s fed up with me forcing him to do things.”

Sierra shrugged, “Don’t mean to cut this short but Cyrus is attempting to be a waiter while you girls are in here.”

Anita and Leigha looked at each other in a panic, then burst into giggles. They stood up, taking the clothes from Sierra, waiting til she left before they started working on their messed up appearances.

“Anita?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you, for putting up with me. And help me in all this.”

“Of course, what are best friends for?”

Leigha grinned, “And let me know if you want me to stop intervening in your love life.”

Anita blushed,”I’m not too sure myself. So I may need your help a little longer.”

“Ok, but just so you know I am still biased toward you and Norman, but whoever makes you happy is fine by me.”

---

Whoever makes her happy? Well Norman made her happy at times but so did Shasta at times But Norman with his pushiness on being soulmates and Shasta’s doubtfulness on soulmates left her frustrated with her feelings. Why did she even bother with them when neither was her soulmate. 

Anita slammed her and Leigha’s lockers shut as she put away the dirty clothes. Leigha had returned to work, with more genuine cheerfulness in her step, especially after apologizing to the staff for making them worry. Everyone had assured she was fine, and Leigha went to clean up the mess left behind by the lady and Cyrus when he attempted to wait on staff.

When Anita emerged from the girl’s changing room, she found Cyrus standing by the schedule and Shasta sitting for his break but food untouched.

“Did she say anything,” asked Cyrus?

Anita looked between the two men.

“She wants to talk over things with Miles first, but isn’t sure if he wants to listen.”

“Anything on Miles end?”

“Nothing, Ramona and Oliver haven’t really been able to get anything out of him,” answered Shasta.

Cyrus nodded, leaving the room. Anita looked over at Shasta.

“You don’t think he’s planning something? Do you?”

“Hard to say, two employees are being difficult around each other.But they get their work done, and don’t stop others from working, so as not to affect the workplace too much, so no need for him to do something.”

“You know him the longest, what do you think?”

Shasta sighed, leaning into his seat.

“He can be a hard worker, when he wants. He worked hard to get to the manager spot, but now that he has it, he doesn’t want to go further. And he’s not sociable. I would think normally he would do nothing, but it sounds like he might.”

Anita nodded.

“What do you think,” asked Shasta?

Anita hummed, thinking a moment, “From what it sounds, Miles isn’t used to having Leigha around. And when she was, they didn’t talk much. I don’t think they know how.”

Shasta nodded, “So we might need to help then?”

Anita smiled,”You’re just as unsociable as Cyrus and you want to help?”

Shasta shrugged, glancing up at Anita through his bangs, “Isn’t that what friends do?”

Anita felt her heart skip a beat.

“R-right,” she stuttered before scurrying out and onto the floor where Leigha was wiping the bar.

“That took awhile, run into Shasta?”

“We may need to talk about my love life later,” Anita whispered.

Leigha pinched her lips in excitement before she continued to clean. Anita was thankful when customers came in, distracting her thoughts from a certain chef.