story post
So last month dolimir_k dared me to write a story for her for a challenge she was going to put on. The Outsider Challenge didn't exactly happen but I wrote it for her birthday instead. I had just intended it for her viewing because I have never written fiction before. However she also requested I post it. So here it is.
The challenge was: I'd like everyone to post a story (of any length...a drabble, a dodecal, five hundred words...whatever it takes to tell the story) from an outsider's point of view of someone the Winchesters have saved. I'll call it the Outsider's Challenge.
If you want to take the challenge- help yourself!
This place looks like a ghost town. Barely breathing. Well, too dead for me at least. I deliberately took the Saturday night shift, even though I’d already worked the day shift, just so I could pull in some extra cash and pickup some much needed tips. But as quiet as it is in here, I bet I won’t even make enough to cover the cost of the babysitter I had to call to take care of Jesse.
There are a couple of college kids in the back booth but if they give me a tip at all I’ll be very surprised. That just leaves the cute guy at the front counter, but it doesn’t sound like he’s having a real great night either. He’s been on his cell phone for the last fifteen minutes, talking with someone named Sam and he doesn’t sound too happy. I don’t like to eavesdrop on my customers but as the sound level of the conversation echoed in the empty diner, it was hard to avoid. Whoever Sam is, he better not ever ditch this guy again. Apparently he was supposed to meet him at some pool hall hours ago and never showed up.
If my life wasn’t so crazy right now, I might have tried to persuade him to replace his plans with Sam and take me out instead, but rebounding after a terrible divorce, even with a one night stand, probably isn’t the best idea with a three year old and a babysitter at home waiting. However, if my ex-husband had come through with the child support like he was supposed to, I wouldn’t be here working a second shift and debating whether or not to jump the cute guy in the first place.
I make my way around the diner, filling the salt and pepper shakers and checking the condiment baskets for the tenth time tonight and then head into the kitchen to pick up the cute guy’s order. He’s off his cell phone now and finally ready for the burger and fries he’d ordered earlier.
He nods as I hand over the food. “Thanks for keeping these warm for me.”
I assure him it was no problem as I refill his coffee and head to the back room to see if there are any other projects I can work on to keep busy. With no tips tonight, I’m going to have to come up with another plan. I have two days to make enough money to meet my rent or my son and I are going to be out on the street. The divorce settlement said my husband got the condo and I got my son. It was a fair trade as far as I’m concerned but the deal was also for me to receive enough child support to keep my own apartment. So far that part isn’t working out so well.
I glance at the loudly ticking, neon wall clock and realize I’ve stayed back here worrying too long and need to get back up to the front. Cute guy is still sitting at the counter but his burger and fries are long gone and he’s sipping what’s left of his coffee. “Want any dessert?” I ask as I take away his plate.
A blinding grin appears and I’m amazed at the change it makes on his face. “Pie!” he demands, using the grin to make up for the ordering tone.
“Any particular kind?” I smile back.
He smirks. “Surprise me.”
This one is a heart breaker, I can tell. Probably a good thing I decided to be hands off when he came in. But it sure is amazing how something as small as a smile can start to turn around your whole night. I give him a quick wink. “Coming right up.”
When I make my way back with a large slice of apple pie a la mode, his serious face is back. “I think I heard a cell phone go off behind the counter earlier when you were in the back. Do you have a Brahms Lullaby ring tone by any chance?”
“I do.” A worried feeling grips me. I only use that ring tone for my babysitter. “Excuse me for a minute.”
“Sure thing,” he answers.
I go behind the counter and dig out my purse. Sure enough my voicemail message is blinking. I dial my home number quickly and get the babysitter on the first ring. I glance across the counter at the guy and notice he is trying to pretend to eat his pie and not listen in. “Annette, it’s me. Is everything alright with Jesse?”
Annette assures me my son is alright but is upset after waking up from a bad nightmare. She says he is settled down but is still awake. She puts him on the phone so I can talk with him, soothing him and letting him know he is alright and that when he wakes up again I will be back home. As I hang up the phone with a deep sigh, I can see cute guy is looking concerned and I decide not to take offense that he was obviously listening. As I put the phone into my pocket I give him a small smile. “Thanks for telling me about the call. It was my son’s babysitter.”
He looks like he guessed the situation from what he overheard. “Nightmares?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
He looks sheepish. “My little brother has them too. It’s hard when you can’t be there to help them in person.”
I smile again, feeling like he understands what I’m going through. “My son’s had a lot of changes recently and he’s in a new place. I think it’ll take awhile for him to get back to normal.” I fill up his coffee again and bring him another slice of pie. “This one is on the house,” I say and get the blinding grin again.
As he digs in, the door chimes ring and two small groups enter together. Between seating them and getting their drinks and orders, I don’t get back to the counter for a few minutes. I can see the cute guy has finished and is waiting for me to bring his check. He’s looking at some of the paper To Go menus and folding them into weird shapes as he waits. I apologize for taking so long and hand him his check.
“No worries,” he replies with a smile, “this should cover it.” He hands me one of the folded menus in the shape of an envelope that is holding his cash. “Keep the change.”
The smile gets me thinking about asking if he will be in town for awhile, but just then another group comes in the door and I head over to seat them in a back booth. When I look up again the cute guy is already out the door. Sighing for the missed opportunity, I look inside the make shift envelope wondering if he at least wrote down a phone number. Instead I see the cash is actually a wad of bills: tens, twenties and even a couple of fifties. It looks like a couple hundred dollars! There must be some mistake. I hadn’t mentioned getting kicked out of my apartment to this man had I? Who left that kind of tip for a total stranger?
I start toward the front door to catch him but I can see the headlights of a gorgeous classic car heading out of the parking lot and know it must be him. I am completely stunned. I take the money into the kitchen and count the bills. There is two hundred and forty dollars in the make shift envelope. Between this and the tips I had made earlier today, I think we’ll be okay for another month. My son and I have been saved and I don’t even know the name of our guardian angel. I thank him anyway and say a little prayer that next time his little brother has nightmares, he’ll be able to be there for him in person.
The challenge was: I'd like everyone to post a story (of any length...a drabble, a dodecal, five hundred words...whatever it takes to tell the story) from an outsider's point of view of someone the Winchesters have saved. I'll call it the Outsider's Challenge.
If you want to take the challenge- help yourself!
This place looks like a ghost town. Barely breathing. Well, too dead for me at least. I deliberately took the Saturday night shift, even though I’d already worked the day shift, just so I could pull in some extra cash and pickup some much needed tips. But as quiet as it is in here, I bet I won’t even make enough to cover the cost of the babysitter I had to call to take care of Jesse.
There are a couple of college kids in the back booth but if they give me a tip at all I’ll be very surprised. That just leaves the cute guy at the front counter, but it doesn’t sound like he’s having a real great night either. He’s been on his cell phone for the last fifteen minutes, talking with someone named Sam and he doesn’t sound too happy. I don’t like to eavesdrop on my customers but as the sound level of the conversation echoed in the empty diner, it was hard to avoid. Whoever Sam is, he better not ever ditch this guy again. Apparently he was supposed to meet him at some pool hall hours ago and never showed up.
If my life wasn’t so crazy right now, I might have tried to persuade him to replace his plans with Sam and take me out instead, but rebounding after a terrible divorce, even with a one night stand, probably isn’t the best idea with a three year old and a babysitter at home waiting. However, if my ex-husband had come through with the child support like he was supposed to, I wouldn’t be here working a second shift and debating whether or not to jump the cute guy in the first place.
I make my way around the diner, filling the salt and pepper shakers and checking the condiment baskets for the tenth time tonight and then head into the kitchen to pick up the cute guy’s order. He’s off his cell phone now and finally ready for the burger and fries he’d ordered earlier.
He nods as I hand over the food. “Thanks for keeping these warm for me.”
I assure him it was no problem as I refill his coffee and head to the back room to see if there are any other projects I can work on to keep busy. With no tips tonight, I’m going to have to come up with another plan. I have two days to make enough money to meet my rent or my son and I are going to be out on the street. The divorce settlement said my husband got the condo and I got my son. It was a fair trade as far as I’m concerned but the deal was also for me to receive enough child support to keep my own apartment. So far that part isn’t working out so well.
I glance at the loudly ticking, neon wall clock and realize I’ve stayed back here worrying too long and need to get back up to the front. Cute guy is still sitting at the counter but his burger and fries are long gone and he’s sipping what’s left of his coffee. “Want any dessert?” I ask as I take away his plate.
A blinding grin appears and I’m amazed at the change it makes on his face. “Pie!” he demands, using the grin to make up for the ordering tone.
“Any particular kind?” I smile back.
He smirks. “Surprise me.”
This one is a heart breaker, I can tell. Probably a good thing I decided to be hands off when he came in. But it sure is amazing how something as small as a smile can start to turn around your whole night. I give him a quick wink. “Coming right up.”
When I make my way back with a large slice of apple pie a la mode, his serious face is back. “I think I heard a cell phone go off behind the counter earlier when you were in the back. Do you have a Brahms Lullaby ring tone by any chance?”
“I do.” A worried feeling grips me. I only use that ring tone for my babysitter. “Excuse me for a minute.”
“Sure thing,” he answers.
I go behind the counter and dig out my purse. Sure enough my voicemail message is blinking. I dial my home number quickly and get the babysitter on the first ring. I glance across the counter at the guy and notice he is trying to pretend to eat his pie and not listen in. “Annette, it’s me. Is everything alright with Jesse?”
Annette assures me my son is alright but is upset after waking up from a bad nightmare. She says he is settled down but is still awake. She puts him on the phone so I can talk with him, soothing him and letting him know he is alright and that when he wakes up again I will be back home. As I hang up the phone with a deep sigh, I can see cute guy is looking concerned and I decide not to take offense that he was obviously listening. As I put the phone into my pocket I give him a small smile. “Thanks for telling me about the call. It was my son’s babysitter.”
He looks like he guessed the situation from what he overheard. “Nightmares?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
He looks sheepish. “My little brother has them too. It’s hard when you can’t be there to help them in person.”
I smile again, feeling like he understands what I’m going through. “My son’s had a lot of changes recently and he’s in a new place. I think it’ll take awhile for him to get back to normal.” I fill up his coffee again and bring him another slice of pie. “This one is on the house,” I say and get the blinding grin again.
As he digs in, the door chimes ring and two small groups enter together. Between seating them and getting their drinks and orders, I don’t get back to the counter for a few minutes. I can see the cute guy has finished and is waiting for me to bring his check. He’s looking at some of the paper To Go menus and folding them into weird shapes as he waits. I apologize for taking so long and hand him his check.
“No worries,” he replies with a smile, “this should cover it.” He hands me one of the folded menus in the shape of an envelope that is holding his cash. “Keep the change.”
The smile gets me thinking about asking if he will be in town for awhile, but just then another group comes in the door and I head over to seat them in a back booth. When I look up again the cute guy is already out the door. Sighing for the missed opportunity, I look inside the make shift envelope wondering if he at least wrote down a phone number. Instead I see the cash is actually a wad of bills: tens, twenties and even a couple of fifties. It looks like a couple hundred dollars! There must be some mistake. I hadn’t mentioned getting kicked out of my apartment to this man had I? Who left that kind of tip for a total stranger?
I start toward the front door to catch him but I can see the headlights of a gorgeous classic car heading out of the parking lot and know it must be him. I am completely stunned. I take the money into the kitchen and count the bills. There is two hundred and forty dollars in the make shift envelope. Between this and the tips I had made earlier today, I think we’ll be okay for another month. My son and I have been saved and I don’t even know the name of our guardian angel. I thank him anyway and say a little prayer that next time his little brother has nightmares, he’ll be able to be there for him in person.