Chapter 1
Lucy/Lucinda P.O.V.
I despise when people say,
“Life is what you make it,” because if that were true, I would have parents who care about me.
I’ve worked hard my whole life to be the perfect kid. I’ve never gotten in trouble or had terrible grades. Yet, I ended up with an alcoholic sleaze ball for a father and a despicable druggie for a mother.
I did everything I could think of to make my life better, to no avail. So here I am in New York, thousands of miles away from home, just hoping and praying I can manage to start a new and happier life for once.
Five days ago, I was sitting at a bus stop in Phoenix. All I had to my name was four hundred bucks, and a newspaper ad for a bartender at a restaurant in New York circled out in red pin.
I had no interview or anything that promised me a chance at this job other than knowing I had the skills needed to do the job well. Hopefully, that would be enough because there was no turning back now.
I stepped off the bus and took a moment to absorb my surroundings. The weather was stifling. I don’t know why I thought it would be cold here in July, but New York was beautiful.
The streets were blurred with color from the vastly different individuals who strolled along the sidewalks. I could feel hope swelling in my chest. I shook it off and stood tall.
I needed to take my little money and catch a cab to Little Italy. With a stranger's help, I could finally hail a cab. I hopped in the back and thanked the driver for stopping. He smiled and said,
“No problem, miss. Were you to?”
“Oh”
I exclaimed,
“Yes, can you please take me to the LA Fidanza restaurant in Little Italy?” He smiles big and speaks
“Ahh! That is my wife’s favorite restaurant you are going to love it.” I shook my head.
“Oh no, as much as I would love to go there to enjoy the food, I am hoping to get hired as the new bartender.” He shrugged politely.
“This is good too. I wish you luck, Bella.”
I smiled gratefully… It was the first kind word anyone had spoken to me in weeks. Boy, I need it right now.
“Okay, Bella, we are here.”
As we pulled up to my destination, the driver snapped me out of my trance. I stepped out and then turned to hand the driver his money.
“Oh no, Bella. You keep it; consider it a welcome gift. I hope to see you here doing what you love when I bring my wife for her favorite meal.”
I could feel tears pricking at my eyes from his kindness.
“Thank You”
He nodded and drove away. In front of me was a beautiful brick building with fairy lights strung in various directions, along with small round tables perfectly placed outside. People sat at them, laughing and enjoying what seemed to be very good cuisine. I drew in a deep breath and huffed it back out.
“I can do this,”
I chanted to myself as I walked towards the restaurant. Upon entering, I immediately noticed three things: One.”
They were in the middle of a very hectic dinner rush.
“Two”
They were extremely short-staffed and
“Three”
By the looks of things, the kitchen was completely backed up.
Either way, one thing was for sure. There was no way anyone was going to have the time to stop and talk with me about a job… I looked over to my left and saw what looked to be the manager or maybe even the owner trying to settle a disgruntled guest. I tapped my foot on the floor as my mind quickly calculated my next move.
If I leave now, I could return tomorrow, giving me another night of uncertainty in an unfamiliar place. Before I could even really make sense of what to do, my feet were already moving.
I walked to the back of the restaurant and disappeared into a bathroom. After removing my t-shirt, I took the neatly folded white button-up out of my bag and put it on over my tank top. I wrapped an apron around my waist that I had from a previous job and threw my long curls up on top of my head in a messy bun.
I jammed my phone in my back pocket along with my wallet and hid my bag in the back of a broom closet in the bathroom. I washed my hands, took a deep breath, and pushed open the bathroom door.
I scanned the room to find my first order of business. I could see that about five tables had been seated for a while and had not been greeted. So, I quickly made my way to the bar, grabbed a tray, and began to load it up with wine glasses, adding ice, a mint leaf, and a lemon wedge to each one…
I opened a bottle of sparkling water and expertly filled each glass with an even amount. I walked around to each table, kindly saying hello and serving the water.
After serving the water, I told each guest their server would be with them shortly. I rushed to the kitchen to take stock of the ticket orders.
Oddly enough, even as I moved about the restaurant serving guests and clearing tables and trays, not a single employee noticed my presence until I had already been working for hours…
