Earth Blend (10 page)

Marcus glanced at her out of the corner of
his eye but said nothing. A moment later a taxi pulled up.

“
Doctor Samson?” The driver asked as
he stepped from behind the wheel.

“
That'd be me.” Marcus answered as he
opened the cab door. He held the door open and gestured for Julie
to enter. “Come on. I'll let you ride with me. I'm going to get
something to eat in town anyway.”

“
Thanks.” She entered the
cab.

Marcus instructed the cab driver to head
into town. “Do you want to grab a bite to eat with me?”

“
No, but thank you. I'm actually
starting a new job at the cafe.”

“
The one with the outdoor dining and
the hot waitresses? I eat there all the time.”

Julie groaned and hoped it was not the same
place.

The driver pulled over in front of Blue Moon
Cafe. Julie closed her eyes. It was the same place. “Crap.”

Marcus broke into laughter. He quickly paid
the cab and hopped out. He ran to Julie's side and opened the door
for her. “Come on. I promise I'll be on my best behavior.”

They walked into the cafe together. A pretty
young girl greeted them. “Hello, and welcome to Blue Moon Cafe.
Table for two?”

“
No, just for me.” Marcus chimed in
giving the girl a wink.

“
I'm supposed to start today. My
name's Julie.”

“
Oh, that's right. Dave said there was
a new hire. I'm Calli. Let me just seat this gentleman and I'll get
you started.” Looking at Marcus, she said. “If you follow me,
Doctor Samson, I'll take you to your table.”

“
I'll follow you anywhere.” Marcus
replied with a smile.

Julie could only shake her head as she
watched Marcus follow the hostess. She could have warned the
brunette to be wary of him. She noted that Calli addressed him by
name so she must have met him during one of the previous times that
he dined there.

Calli returned, “Julie follow me and I'll
get you set up.” The girl gestured for her to follow.

Julie fought back her nervousness as she
followed Calli.

“
We actually have a small room back
here where you can change into your uniform. Each night when your
shift is over, just toss it in this bin here. They clean them for
us.” The girl pulled a top and skirt off of a shelf. “I'm a good
judge of size. I bet you are a two, right?”

“
Good guess.” Julie smiled.

“
I'm going to school during the day
for fashion design.”

“
That sounds exciting. You look like
you could be a model.”

“
I do model some of my own designs.”
Calli replied, striking a pose. “I prefer designing them though.
You could model.”

Julie looked down at her own petite form and
compared it to Calli's long, lean figure. “I'm too short.” She
laughed.

“
That's what high heels are for,
silly.” Calli laughed. “Go ahead and change. Put your clothes in an
empty locker. Karen should be here any minute. You will work
alongside her today until you get the hang of things. Quick hint,
look over the menu and specials each day to familiarize yourself
with them. My older brother, Aidan, works behind the bar. Any
problems, just give him a shout.”

“
Thank you.” Julie was very grateful
for all the help.

Calli left Julie alone so she could
change. She tried to brush away the butterflies in her stomach.
Quickly changing, she looked at her appearance in the mirror. The
uniform was quite form fitting.
The top was a white blouse with a ruffled
collar that was a little too low cut for Julie’s liking.
She kept trying to
pull it up, but with its gathered waist, it kept sliding back down.
The black skirt was pleated and came to just above her knees. “At
least it's not too short.” She said aloud.

“
Short skirts are a good thing, trust
me.”
A
blonde-haired woman said, entering the changing area.
“Hi, I'm Karen. You
must be Julie.” The woman stuck her hand out to Julie.

Julie smiled and shook hands with her. Her
quick scan of the woman showed her to be in good health. In fact,
she was with child. “Yes, I'm Julie, and congratulations. When are
you due?”

Karen looked at her with a perplexed
expression. “How did you... I mean... I'm not showing. How did you
know?”

Julie realized she had made a big mistake.
She quickly tried to cover herself. “You just have this glow about
you. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you.”

“
Oh, um, It's okay. I just haven't
really told anyone, not even my family. I mean... I'm not
married... I don't plan on it either...” Karen was
rambling.

“
Karen, wait, slow down. I'm not
judging you. I'm really happy for you.” Julie tried to calm her
down.

Karen took a deep breath and calmed herself
down. “Okay, now I'm sorry. I guess I'm just nervous about my
decision. Being a single parent is kind of scary, but I'm excited.
I just want him or her to be healthy.

“
That's all you can ask for.” Julie
smiled.

“
I just met you and I'm spilling my
guts to you.” Karen laughed. “I'm going to change the subject. So,
this is your first time waitressing?”

“
Yes. I hope you won't hold it against
me.”

“
No worries. It's not rocket science.
You'll do fine. Let me change and we will get started.”

Julie was very thankful to be working with
Karen. The woman took her time and explained everything to her. She
pointed out how the tables were numbered. After taking a few orders
with Karen's guidance, Julie began to feel more at ease.

The head Chef in the kitchen was named
Debbie. After dropping off another order, she called to Julie.
“Julie, I'm not sure where Patty disappeared to. Could you take
this chocolate cake to table sixteen?”

“
Sure, no problem.” Julie took the
cake into the dining room. “This smells so good.” She whispered to
herself as she counted tables and found sixteen. She groaned
inwardly as she saw it was Marcus' table. She walked over and
placed it in front of him. “Here.”

“
Wow, you sure are going to garner a
lot of tips with that attitude.” He said sarcastically. He looked
at her outfit, then added. “I take that back. Nice
outfit.”

“
Marcus, you're a pig.” She said
before walking away. She heard him chuckle.

Shortly after Marcus left, Patty came over
to her and handed her a twenty dollar bill. “What's this for?”

That hunky doctor who was at table sixteen
asked me to give this to you. He must be sweet on you. Lucky!”

“
Why don't you keep it? I'm sure he
was just being a smart-aleck.”

“
No. He tipped me generously. Never
refuse money.” She said, and walked away from Julie.

Julie wanted to be upset with Marcus but was
happy to hear he tipped Patty generously. She decided if he made a
big deal about it later, she would make him take it back.

The rest of the evening went fairly quickly.
Before she knew it, it was ten o'clock and the cafe was closed. It
was at that time she finally saw Dave again.

“
You did good kid.” He said. “I was
watching you.”

Julie smiled. “I felt good doing it. It's
not rocket science.” She said repeating Karen's words.

“
You think she's ready?” He asked
Karen, who had joined them.

“
Absolutely. She's a
natural.”

“
Alright, have a seat. We'll work out
a schedule.” Dave instructed Julie.

“
Here's your take.” Karen said,
placing money on the table in front of Julie.”

“
My take?” Julie didn't
understand.

“
Your half of the tips.”

“
Oh, I don't deserve half. I just
tagged along.” She tried to give the money back to her.

“
Nope, it's yours.” Karen said and
walked away.

Dave sat back with a grin on his face.

“
I can't take half. It's not right.”
Julie explained.

“
Karen doesn't just give away money.
You must have earned it. Now, let's talk salary and
hours.”

Julie was still not happy about Karen giving
her half of the tips, but she let it go for now. “I work days at
the hospital as a volunteer. I would like to continue that. I'm
done by five o'clock.”

“
Alright, how many days can you
work?”

“
How many days can you use
me?”

“
Good answer.” Dave smiled. “I need
someone for four nights a week and at least one weekend evening.
How does Tuesday through Friday, six to ten sound? Then Saturday
evening would be eight to midnight. You would be off on Sunday and
Monday.”

Julie thought for a moment. “That sounds
fine. How much does it pay?” She was proud of herself for
remembering to ask this important question.

“
Eight dollars an hour. You should
make enough in tips to supplement that hourly wage.”

Julie had not counted the money Karen gave
her. All in all it still sounded like a good start. “What if I want
more hours?”

“
You work that out amongst your
coworkers. There is usually someone that needs time off or
something comes up. Just put the word out that you are
available.”

“
Okay. I think that works for
me.”

“
Alright then, check in with Calli
every night and she'll assign you your tables and you are all
set.”

“
Thank you, Dave. I appreciate the
opportunity.”

“
See you tomorrow.” He walked to the
bar area.

Julie sat back for a moment to absorb the
changes that had taken place in her life. It almost seemed surreal.
She finally escaped her past. This truly was a new beginning. Her
only wish now was for Austin to finally be able to deal with the
changes in his life. She wondered if Marcus was able to reach
him.

Julie went back to change her clothes.
Walking outside, the darkness seemed ominous. There were no stars
in the night sky; clouds from the earlier storm still lingered. She
began to walk down the street. Without even thinking about it, her
feet led her to the Laundromat. She was surprised to see the
interior illuminated. Looking inside, she saw a cluster of three
people talking. Two she did not recognize, one she did. The person
turned and smiled as he saw her at the window. He gestured her
in.

“
Uncle G, what are you doing here?”
She asked as she came inside.

“
Julie, it's good to see you.” He said
embracing her.

Julie looked at the other two people
standing there.

“
Have you not met Austin's parents
yet?” Gregg asked. “This is Austin's mother, Helene and his father,
Jacob.”

Julie shook hands with Helene and then
Jacob. “You're a Blend.” Julie said, still holding onto Jacob's
hand. “Why are you a Blend?”

“
Julie, there is a lot to explain.”
Gregg said.

“
How does she know?” Helene asked.
“Jacob... what is going on?”

“
Wait, I was told you didn't know
anything.” Julie looked at Helene.

“
Everyone just stop.” Gregg
interrupted. “There are a lot of things that need to be explained,
but now is not the time. We need to focus on finding
Austin.”

“
He's missing?” Julie
questioned.

“
He ran out of here earlier and I
wasn't able to follow him.” Jacob explained.

“
Did you check the park?” Julie asked.
“I followed him there earlier.” She noticed Gregg and Jacob
exchange glances when she mentioned the park.

“
Why would he go to the park?” Helene
asked.

“
Do you have any flashlights?” Gregg
asked Helene.

“
Yes, in the office. I'll get them.”
Helene went to retrieve the flashlights.

“
Julie, when you followed him the last
time, what did you see?” Gregg asked.

Julie looked seriously at him. “What are you
not telling me?”

Helene came back with the flashlights.

“
Stay here in case he comes back on
his own.” Jacob instructed Helene.

Gregg, Jacob, and Julie left the
building.

After Getting in Gregg's car, Julie
continued her questions. “I am so sick of these secrets. When is
someone going to tell me what the heck is going on? What are you
hiding?”

“
I promise, I will tell you everything
but right now my concern is Austin.” Gregg said as he pulled up to
the park entrance. The gate was down; the park had closed at dusk.
“Where did you follow him to the last time?” Gregg asked, climbing
over the low fence.

Julie and Jacob followed Gregg over the
fence. She started looking around, trying to remember which way he
ran earlier. “I don't think he had a set path. He seemed to be in a
panic.”

“
He had a path.” Gregg said, stepping
further into the forest. He closed his eyes and breathed
deeply.

Julie looked at Jacob, who was avoiding her
eyes. Her frustration with them both was building with every
passing second. She grabbed a flashlight and began walking further
into the park. “Austin!” She shouted. She heard the two men
following behind her.

Jacob ran ahead and picked up something that
was hanging on a tree branch. “It's the shirt he was wearing
earlier.” He held it up for Julie and Gregg to see.