Page 27 of Spoonful

Jaylin would, he thought, curling his fingers into the soft scarf. He absolutely would, and screw Brent if he wanted to make a fuss.

Chapter 7

Jaylin figured that he probably wouldn’t hear from Hiro again. He had helped Jaylin out—so, so much, Jaylin couldn’t even begin to thank him for it— had gotten to hear directly from Jaylin how things had gotten better, and had even bought Jaylin a present.

He had been continually generous in ways that were almost overwhelming, but Hiro had done his good deed. What else would he need to see Jaylin for?

Jaylin did his best to put it out of his mind as he walked home from the bus stop after his meeting with Hiro at the cafe. He’d have to try and not think about Hiro now. He’d have to try to keep from thinking about not getting to see his smile again, the way he quizzed Jaylin on what he liked to eat, his quirky sense of humor. The soft way he spoke, and the selfless way he had made time for Jaylin when Jaylin had needed it most.

“Sometimes it’s nice to do things for other people just because. I thought you might like a scarf. I was hoping it might help keep you warm. That’s all.”

He caught himself standing just inside his apartment, stroking his fingers over and over the softness of the scarf and made a frustrated sound, unwinding it from around his neck and shrugging off his jacket. Normalcy. He needed to get back to normalcy.

Usually Jaylin had plenty to do on the weekends. It was his time to cram in as much studying as he could to get to be ready for the week ahead. He’d be able to distract himself no problem–

Except, no. Because all of Jaylin’s school work wasdone.

Instead of having to spend hours and hours trying to get through reading assignments and worksheets, Jaylin hadbeen able to listen to his lessons throughout the week, do his homework in a third of the time it had previously taken him, and even finish an extra creditassignment for his business law class. He hadn’t had to lose sleep desperately trying to read ahead in his textbooks because he had programs at his fingertips, ready to recite the words out loud for him.

All of a sudden… Jaylin had free time.

It was hard to figure out what to do with it. He’d spent so long being run ragged that time was a luxury he’d never before encountered. What did people even do when they weren’t so busy and stressed out that they wanted to be sick?

He still hadn’t figured it out by the time he was ready for dinner, but he had done his laundry, cleaned his entire apartment top to bottom, and had made it almost all of the way through the second audiobook inThe Murderbot Diariesseries. He hadn’t had the luxury of reading just for fun in ages, and it was sonice.

Riding the high of what had been overall a stupidly good week, Jaylin decided to treat himself and go out to eat for dinner.

It was with great pleasure that he put on his heavy brown coat and wrapped his new scarf around his neck before he headed out.

El Guanacowasas warm and welcoming as always, but it was already full when Jaylin showed up. Which made sense, considering it was a Saturday night. Something Jaylin had kind of forgotten to take into account. Camille was working as host though, and she smiled at Jaylin when she caught sight of him, motioning him forward.

“But you’re so busy,” Jaylin said as she led him to a table in the back.

“Seating for one is a lot easier to swing,” Camille said with a shrug. Then she grinned at him. “And Carlos’s serving. He’ll be happy to see you.”

Jaylin gave her a baffled look, which didn't go away when he realized– “Wait, what are you even doing here? I thought you stopped working here when you got that fancy communications job.”

Camille waved a hand. “We were short-staffed, so I was called in. Needs must, etcetera. When Abuela wants my help…” She snapped her fingers. “And we’restillshort-staffed, so I gotta get back to the front. See ya!”

Carlos showed up a few minutes later, plunking a water down on the little table. He looked frazzled in a way he didn't usually, and barely even teased Jaylin at all.

“Everything okay?” Jaylin asked after he gave Carlos his order.

Carlos waved his arms wildly. “We’ve got a private birthday party, two anniversary dinners, our regular crowd, and three people who called in sick with the flu. I’mdying.”

“Do you… need help?” Jaylin asked hesitantly.

Carlos made a face and opened his mouth… then closed it again, expression turning considering. “Are you offering?”

Jaylin had no idea. Was he?“I guess?”

Carlos blinked a few times, then shook his head. “Okay, okay, I’m probably crazy but you know what? I don’t care. You speak Spanish, you know the menu, and you’re cute so people will forgive you if you look a little grumpy. I can save this table and put in your order. Even if you just helped out until it was ready…”

“Okay,” Jaylin’s mouth said before his brain could catch up. “But are you even allowed to–”

“I’ll take the heat in twenty minutes,” Carlos hissed, pulling a second notepad and pencil out of nowhere and shoving them at Jaylin. “Just refill drinks and ask if everyone’s enjoying themselves and if they’re ready for dessert. I’ve got to checkthe bathrooms and make sure they aren’t trashed and still have toilet paper.”

Then Jaylin was left by himself, clutching a tiny notebook, and wondering what the hell he’d just gotten himself into.

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