Page 78 of Pippin & Nacho

Our crew came here a lot, even if it was just for coffee, so this place was familiar territory.

My father planned to drive up from Bethesda to meet us here. It took me a few weeks to get the courage to do this. At least my cast was finally off, and I could walk like my old self again.

“What if he doesn’t show? Fuck, what if he does show?” I mumbled.

“He’ll show. He seemed excited to hear from you.”

“Yeah.” Sam wasn’t wrong. My father had sounded surprised, to say the least, but he seemed eager to talk and meet with me. Hell, meeting me had been his idea. He didn’t seem like the kind of person to abandon his kid, but what did I know? I had wonderful foster parents who dumped me back into the system.

Sam and I stepped inside hand-in-hand. The familiar smells of sugar, coffee, and breakfast food were welcoming, easing my pounding heart a little. We both looked around the restaurant. Was he here yet?

“Uhm, is Grace Jamieson working today?” I asked the hostess.

The young blonde girl smiled and nodded. “Yes, would you like a seat in her section?”

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Nate? Sam?” asked the familiar voice as the hostess grabbed a couple of menus.

“Hi, Ms. J.!” Sam and I said at the same time.

She was carrying a heavy tray full of breakfast foods, but had a smile on her face before looking at the hostess. “Sit them at my station, would you, Janice?”

“Sure thing,” she said.

When we sat at a small booth, Sam sat next to me, putting in his earbuds as I quickly texted a message to my father to tell him I’d arrived and where we were seated.

Ms. J stopped at our table, slightly out of breath and brushing stray fallen hairs from her face. “Now, what can I get you boys?”

“I’m not sure I can eat,” I said.

“Oh? Why’s that? What’s wrong, honey?”

“I’m… meeting my father for the first time.”

Her dark brown eyes grew wide as she scanned the restaurant before sitting down across from us. “What’s happened?”

I shrugged. “Nothing… I just thought it was time and shit… sorry.”

“Let me know if I can do anything or if you need to talk. I have to get back to work, but I wish you the best of luck, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Ms. J. I guess I’ll have a Coke and the nachos.”

“You got it.”

Sam smiled at her and waved, so I nudged him to order.

“Oh, I’d like your American breakfast and orange juice.”

“Sounds good.”

She walked off, and Sam put his earbuds back in. He’d take them out when my father got here. When he grabbed my hand under the table, my breathing settled.

My knee bounced as I kept scanning the front of the restaurant, which had a clear view of the door. My breathing and heart stopped when a man in his thirties walked in. I knew deep down it had to be him. I squeezed Sam’s hand, and he looked up at the man approaching us.

He was slightly darker than me, and while I didn’t look a lot like him, we definitely shared the same eyes and full mouth. His tight black curls were shaved low to the scalp, but he wore a short beard. Though he was taller and broader than me, I definitely saw myself in him with a weird sense of familiarity.

“Jesus… you… you look just like her,” he said.

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