Baby Girl

Casydi

“Hey, sweetheart. Got any plans for the weekend?” Zeke greeted me with a kiss on the top of my head as I walked into the diner, tying my apron around my waist.

Working at the diner had slightly altered my style. I didn’t want to scare off the customers, and I needed the tips. So, I wore slim-fitting jeans without any holes and Converse.

But I kept my tank tops and a few of my piercings. Zeke didn’t seem to mind. He had tattoos trailing down his forearms. “Hey, old man. Nothing much, just another weekend.”

“Come on, Cass. You only turn eighteen once. Why don’t you come over to my place and meet my family? I’ll barbecue and bake you a cake.” Zeke winked at me, knowing my weakness for food. He’d been inviting me to meet his family since the day I arrived.

I always declined, though. My experiences with foster homes had made me wary of families. But tempting me with a barbecue was a low blow.

I almost gave in. I don’t know why, but I was scared to meet his kids. I looked up to Zeke. He was the only real family I’d ever known, but meeting his kids felt like it would change our relationship. “I'm good. Maybe I'll catch a movie or something.”

Zeke was proud of his family and deeply loved his wife, Gina. I knew her name because Zeke had it tattooed on his ring finger. I’d met her a few times, but she never stayed at the diner long.

I never really talked to her, but she seemed nice and pretty. They had kids who were pretty much grown.

They had a son in his twenties, a daughter around my age, and two teenage boys. I never remembered their names.

“Sweetheart, you’ll come one of these days. I’m not giving up on you.” He smirked at me, signaling the end of the conversation. I grabbed my notepad and headed to my section to start my shift.

It was Thursday. The night was uneventful, but the tips were good. After my shift, Zeke and I went to town for supplies. This was our routine. He drove his truck and I fiddled with his radio station, which always made him roll his eyes and huff.

But he never changed it back. He was a rock fan, but I loved all kinds of music. I turned on some country. Rascal Flatts, one of my favorite bands, blared through the speakers. He hated it. I just smiled and sang along.

Zeke got a phone call. It was strange, considering it was past one in the morning. “Zeke.” I couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation over the music. “Sunday, we’ll be there. Have everything ready for her.”

Sundays were family days for Zeke. He must have been talking to his wife. We got back to the diner and unloaded. It was four in the morning by the time I went to bed and Zeke left for home.

I woke up around noon on Friday to get ready for my shift that started at one. Something felt off. Zeke wasn’t around, Jeff was in the back cooking. “Where’s Zeke?” Jeff looked up. “Family issues, said he’d be here around six.”

One of my regulars came in. When I say “regulars,” I mean like clockwork. Alpha, that’s what we call him. The man was pure power.

Anyone who looked at him could feel the strength radiating off him. He was built like a tank, for speed, not just strength. The first Sunday of every month, at two pm, he would come to my section.

He always ordered the same thing: a double bacon cheeseburger, medium rare, with extra fries and ranch, 7up to drink. His bill came out to twelve dollars but he always left a twenty for me. And he only stayed forty-five minutes, no more, no less.

“Cass.” His voice was thick and smooth. He nodded my way as he took his favorite booth. “Alpha, what are you doing here today?” I felt weird questioning Alpha, no one questioned Alpha.

He raised his eyebrows with a slight smirk. “I came to give you a present.” He laid a small box on the table. “You didn’t have to do that, silly.” This time his smirk grew into a small smile.

He’s a really nice guy. Over the years we had a playful relationship. Not in that way, come on, the guy had to be like forty. No, it was friendly. I teased him a lot.

I never could make him crack though. He could get me to talk about things no one else could. He knew about my past and the orphanage. He knew about my mom.

Hell, he even knew about the reason I finally cracked and decided to leave, which is a story no one else knew, not even Zeke.

“Cass, open it.” I didn’t question him, I reached out grabbing the blue box. Inside was a gold medallion of a crescent moon filled with an aquamarine, my birthstone, attached to a black cord. It was beautiful and so thoughtful. He got it specifically for me.

The gift brought a tear to my eye. I quickly sniffed it away and wiped at my eye. “Allow me. I’m glad you like it.” Alpha notices everything. He tied it around my neck. And let it hang on my chest. “I think it suits you quite nicely.”

“Thank you, Alpha. I…” I shook my head, not knowing how to express my gratitude. “Just promise me you’ll wear it will be thanks enough.” I threw my arms around him. He stiffened at the gesture but he let out a single chuckle, pat my arms, and pulled me away.

“I’ll always wear it.” He nodded then left the diner without ordering anything. I guess he really did come to give me my present.

I went to bed late and woke up late the next morning. My birthday is tomorrow. Like Zeke said, you only turn eighteen once. He gave me the weekend off, might as well go to the movie, like I said I would.

I didn’t have a car, so I walked to get around town, it was a small town. Zeke took me to get my license when I was sixteen, so I can drive. He even lets me drive his truck sometimes.

I just prefer to walk.

Our theater is small. It only has four screens, but in this tiny town, it's big enough. I stood in line, waiting for my turn to get my ticket. I felt an unease come over me, like someone was watching me.

I looked around but nothing stood out. I grabbed my ticket from the tiny girl behind the window and went in for popcorn, extra butter. I got a Dr. Pepper to wash it down with.

My hands always end up slick with butter when I’m munching on my popcorn, so I reached for some napkins. As I turned, I collided with what felt like a wall and ended up on my butt. Popcorn scattered everywhere.

“I’m really sorry, are you okay?” The wall spoke. Well, not an actual wall, but a guy as big as one. He towered over me by almost a foot, which is quite a feat considering I’m five foot six. I glanced around to see my popcorn strewn across the floor, my drink somewhere behind me.

Such a waste, I thought, feeling a pang of sadness. Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of my face. I followed the hand up to its owner. My breath hitched. My gaze was captured by the warmest eyes I’d ever seen. They were a light shade of brown, like rich, golden honey. “Let me replace that for you. Please. I insist.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and accepted his hand as he helped me up. It felt like a jolt of electricity shot through me, igniting a spark of desire and excitement.

Once I was on my feet, I found myself speechless, so I just nodded at him. He smiled. “Come on.” He guided me back to the concession stand, his hand resting on the small of my back beneath my overalls.

Only my t-shirt separated his hand from my skin, but I could feel the heat radiating between us. I’d never been led by my back before. It felt oddly intimate, yet comforting. I found I liked his hand there.

I found myself locked in his gaze. He held my stare. It wasn’t awkward; it felt like I’d met him before. I wondered if he’d been in the diner.

I dismissed that thought; I would have remembered him. I struggled to tear my eyes away from him. He reached up and pulled the charm out of my shirt.

He smirked. “Nice.” We reached the front of the line. “Extra large popcorn, please,” he told the guy behind the counter. “Extra butter,” I chimed in. “And a large Dr. Pepper.”

“Anything else you want? My treat, for the inconvenience.” I hadn’t gotten anything else earlier because the ticket and popcorn were already pricey, but I really wanted some candy.

“Peanut butter M&M's and miniature Reese’s, please.” The kid handed me my candy, which I stashed in the front pocket of my overalls, along with more napkins.

I took my drink and popcorn and turned to head to my movie. “Hey wait, can I get your name?” The wall asked me. I turned back, not wanting to be rude, especially since he’d bought me candy. “Thank you.” Then I turned back to head to my movie.

I secretly loved chick flicks. I was always reading romance novels. I was a sucker for that kind of stuff. I knew the wall wouldn’t be in this movie with me. I was right.

I enjoyed my movie and devoured all my snacks. I wasn’t a glutton, I just had a high metabolism; I could really pack it in.

If you looked at my body, you’d never guess I ate like a linebacker. I always have. I have an athletic body complete with abs and a C cup. I also have excellent hearing and vision.

I always sat at the back and in the middle of the theater to compensate. Sometimes I’d even bring earplugs, if I knew there would be action. Explosions can get pretty loud.

Another reason I enjoy chick flicks is because they don’t usually get too loud.

The movie ended, and I quickly wiped my eyes before anyone could see me. I'm tough on the outside, and my looks proved it, but inside, I really do have a heart.

Deep down, I want the fairytale. You know, the perfect man to sweep me off my feet and treasure me forever. Although I am cynical about family, being alone sometimes can really suck.

I headed to the diner. After all the junk food, I needed real food.

I sat on my favorite stool and pulled out my current novel. “Hey baby girl, how was the movie?” I put my book away, as Zeke placed a Dr. Pepper in front of me.

“It was good. Same old story as always. Girl meets boy, girl likes boy, boy pisses girl off, boy wins girl back.” Zeke chuckled. “Yet you still can’t get enough. Are you eating? You know it. I'll take a chef salad, ranch, extra fixings, please. Oh, and some chili cheese fries.”

Zeke clicked his tongue, winked, and pointed his finger gun at me. “Gotcha.” I went back to my book and ate my food in peace. Overall, I’d say it was a good night. We’ll see how tomorrow goes; hopefully, it’s just as good.

Zeke finished up cleaning the kitchen and went to his office. The diner was open 24/7, so he was here a lot. The night cook, Jeff, came in and took over.

He was a decent guy, working his way through college. He took online courses. Most of our customers were locals or part of the Union Pacific Railroad, the UP for short.

The train guys worked all hours. That’s the main reason Zeke stayed open.

I showered and changed into my PJs, a tank top and basketball shorts. I lay out on my bed in the studio behind the diner. I liked it here, but just recently I started thinking about leaving.

I don’t know why. I have everything I need right here. But I started feeling a kind of pull. Like the mountains were calling me. I usually just shook it off.

I couldn’t leave Zeke after all he’s done for me.

It was beginning to get late, so I went to my bookshelf to put the book away when a light caught my eye. I turned to see Zeke bringing in a small cake with a single candle in the middle and singing the birthday song.

“Zeke! My birthday is tomorrow.” I made a wish, my one wish: that my knight in shining armor would sweep me off my feet. Then blew out the candle anyway.

“I know, baby girl, but I won’t be in tomorrow. I’ll be with my family.” Zeke always took Sundays off for family day. “Besides, it's almost midnight and I wanted to be with you for your birthday.”

He pulled out two forks and we both dug into the cake that already had ice cream in it. I kissed his cheek. “You really are the biggest teddy bear.” He chuckled.

“Nah, girl, I’m the big bad wolf.” He winked. He really was the greatest. I don’t know where I would be if not for him. “Where were you yesterday?” He swallowed his bite.

“My daughter came back for spring break. She’s here for the week. I had to get her from Salt Lake.” Salt Lake was the nearest airport. “Hmm.” I nodded.

I couldn’t tell if it was the cake, the popcorn, or the chili, but something was making me feel off. The room started to spin, my head felt light, and I began seeing flashes of light.

I tried shaking my head to clear the fog. When that didn’t help, I blinked hard a few times. No luck. It seemed to be getting worse. Sweat started to bead on my forehead. My hands began to tremble. My breaths came in quick, shallow gasps. I could feel my pulse throbbing in my temples.

My entire body started to quiver. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to regain control. “Baby girl, just breathe, you’re gonna be okay.” Zeke’s hand rubbed soothing circles on my back. “Just let your body relax.”

I pressed my fists against my eyes. My head tilted back. I couldn’t think straight. My body felt like it was being ripped apart from the inside. I’d never experienced pain like this before.

“Baby girl, listen to me. Focus on my voice. Let your body do what it needs to. Just let the change happen. You’re gonna be okay, don’t fight it.”

What was he talking about? Fight what? I forced myself to take a deep breath. When I let it out, it morphed into a scream. I could feel my bones snapping and my muscles stretching.

The pain was unbearable, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I thought I was going to die if it didn’t stop soon. I collapsed to my knees, the pain relentless. I didn’t even have the energy to scream.

I looked up at Zeke. His eyes flickered to gold and back again, then everything went black.