Second Hand Waitress

Okay, so Tesah was willing to admit that maybe Kira wasn’t as greedy as he had first thought. He was also ready to take responsibility if she really was pregnant with his baby. But she had better mean it when she said she didn’t want anything more from him because he definitely wanted nothing to do with her or the child. If he ever decided to have kids, the mother he chose would be completely different from Kira Samia. He would do what was necessary and provide the money she needed to raise the child. But that was it. No emotions, no involvement. That was how he wanted it.

Kira sat at her kitchen table, staring at a damp stain on the wall above the refrigerator. In front of her sat a tub of melting ice cream, long forgotten. The front door opened, and Jake walked in, bringing with him the fresh scent of wind and rain.

“Hey.” He took off his coat, tossed it carelessly over the back of the couch, and grabbed a spoon from the drying rack. He sat across from her and dug into her softening chocolate-mint ice cream. “I don’t know how you can eat this stuff in the middle of winter. It’s freezing outside, and you’re sitting here eating ice cream.”

Kira barely reacted, resting her cheek in her palm. One foot was tucked beneath her while the other swung in lazy circles. She looked like a cranky child.

“How did it go?” Jake asked gently, showing a rare bit of sensitivity.

“I got fired.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” She shrugged.

“Damn. I’m really sorry. That guy’s a total jerk! How could he fire you?”

“He thinks I’m…” Her voice wavered, thick with unshed tears. “I don’t know. Some kind of scheming, gold-digging woman who’s only after his money.” She pushed the ice cream aside, folded her arms on the table, and buried her face in them as the tears she had been holding back finally spilled over.

Jake rubbed her back as she cried, her sobs quiet but steady.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted after a few minutes of crying. “I really don’t know what to do.”

“We’ll figure it out, Kira.”

“I have no job, no savings… how am I supposed to take care of this baby? I can’t move in with Lexi and Becky. That wouldn’t be fair to them. They’re finally getting their lives in order, and now I’d show up, dragging them into my mess.”

“Don’t think like that,” Jake said. “Focus on solutions, not problems.”

“What does that even mean?” she snapped, frustration bubbling over. “How am I supposed to ‘think solutions’? There are no solutions right now, Jake! So can you just let me be upset for a little while?”

“Wow.” He leaned back and took another bite of ice cream. “I’m going to assume that’s the pregnancy talking.”

“It’s not the pregnancy,” she insisted, though fresh tears threatened again. Where was all this emotion even coming from? Shouldn’t she have run out by now? “It’s everything! You’ve never really had to grow up, Jake. You don’t get how real life works. So all you have are these easy little pep talks that don’t mean anything in the real world.”

“And you think this is mature behavior?” he shot back, waving his spoon at her. “Crying non-stop and snapping at the person who actually cares about you? You’re mad at the wrong person.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to be mad at him? He had me kicked out before I even had a chance to say anything.”

“Wait… literally kicked out?” Jake’s eyes widened.

“Called security and had me escorted out of the building,” she confirmed, and his jaw dropped.

“Seriously?”

“Yes. I felt so…” Her voice broke as the humiliating moment replayed in her mind. More tears spilled over. “Ashamed.”

“That guy deserves a beating! Tell your cousin about it.”

“No.” Panic crept into her voice. “No, Jake. Lexi can’t know about this. He can’t know who the father is.” She was too ashamed of her mistake with Tesah, and she couldn’t risk ruining a friendship Lexi valued.

“But what will you tell him about your job?”

“I’ll say I quit or something. It’s not like it’ll surprise him. He already thinks I’m the family failure.”

“Come on, Kira,” Jake said. “That’s not fair. This wasn’t your fault.”

“Just drop it for now, please.”

Jake sighed but nodded, and Kira reached out to squeeze his arm.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you, okay?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I’m sorry I wasn’t dramatic enough for the occasion.”

She let out a watery giggle, and Jake made a face before pulling a handkerchief from his pocket.

“Ugh, blow your nose,” he said. “You look awful when you cry.”

“Shut up,” she laughed, grabbing the handkerchief and blowing her nose loudly. At that moment, she was just grateful for his presence. Unable to help herself, she leaned over and hugged him tightly.