Aliyah loved mornings at work.  She was usually the first one in before anyone other than the manager.  She enjoyed the quiet before the chaos.  She could have come in later, and not done the opening shift every day, but she preferred to set herself up for the day.  She liked things done a certain way, so that things were where she needed them, when she needed them.  Her routine was the same every day.  She rose at 5 am, and got ready for the day.  She dressed in her work uniform, and pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail. She was out the door by 5:45, and letting herself in the back door no later than 6.  

The first thing she did in the morning was to check that all the tables were set up.  They were supposed to handle that at closing, but there were many times that didn't get taken care of.  She filled and wiped down the syrup containers, and sugar caddies.  She set every table up with silverware and paper place mats.  She hummed softly under her breath as she moved through the place making sure everything was ready. 

One of the things she loved about working here was there wasn't too terribly many tourists.  Sure some occasionally found their way there, but this spot was mostly locals.  She opened the doors, and the steady stream of customers started through the doors.  Aliyah was different than most of her coworkers.  She had her regulars of course, and many of those tables were the ones others hated taking.  The older couple who thought ten percent was a good enough tip, or the families with lots of kids.  Sure, it was harder to make good money when your day was table after table of low tippers, but Aliyah didn't need much to survive.  

She greeted a guest at the door and showed him to a booth in her section.  She hated having to tell him that they didn't have grits.  They got a fair amount of requests for it, she would have to bring it up to the owners and let them consider adding it to the menu.  She smiled a little as he went with his plan B.  She nodded as he finished ordering and scooped up his menu promising to be right back with his order.

She passed by and refilled his coffee watching him type.  She noticed the finger less glove of course, it made her want to ask if it was arthritis or carpal tunnel.  She wore similar gloves when she did a lot of stitching, it helped the aches and pains in her wrist.  She didn't comment though, just moved along after giving him his refill.  

Shortly after his food arrived, he was joined by a second man, one who didn't seem terribly interested in eating.  She took his order and brought his coffee right away.  She could tell that the two were friends, they seemed to simply enjoy the comfortable silence between them.  She checked on the men a couple of times, and the last time she did she slid the check on the table face down.  She added her customary handwritten "Thank you for coming!" on the back of the check.  She scooped up the check, and the payment on her way past to another table.  "I will be right back with your change."  She said cheerfully, her face breaking out into a large smile as he told her not to.   It didn't happen often, but once in a while you got a big tipper in.  It was usually a local who had hit it big at one of the casinos.   She went about her day not thinking twice about it.  


The next morning she smiled when she saw Duncan again, and grabbed a cup of coffee for him before leading him to another booth.  That was how Aliyah worked.  If she waited on you once, she remembered your drink, if you came in more often than that, she remembered your favorites.  There were customers that would come in and not have to order at all. Aliyah would greet them from across the room, tell them to take a seat and just ask "Your usual today?"  She was very good at what she did.  She would get down on the same level as children who were starting to learn to order for themselves, or take a few minutes even at her busiest to exchange pleasantries with several of her customers.  She was always the first one to take an extra table if her coworkers needed help.  After his breakfast this morning she took a minute to observe him more carefully.  He had over tipped again, that was fairly unusual.  


The third day he came in, she didn't have any room in her section, so he was seated with another waitress.  Aliyah smiled when she saw it was Heather who had him.  She spoke loudly and clearly across the room. "Heather, take good care of that one.  He's a good guy."  She said smiling.  That was Aliyah's way.  She tried her best to make every one who came in regularly feel as though they belonged there.  Her day went smoothly, and nothing really seemed to stick out to her, other than Heather's excitement about the large tip she received from Duncan.


The next morning something felt off.  It was one of those days when Aliyah just knew that nothing was going to go right.  She woke up late, and had to rush to get to work on time.  She was feeling off and slightly out of sorts.  That morning though she managed another big smile when she seated Duncan.  It was the fourth morning in a row that he had been in.  She had his coffee ready, and took his order.  She managed another smile for him as he decided to start trying different omelettes. It seemed like a good plan to her.  "You'll have to let me know what you think of each one."  She told him.  "I'll use your opinions when someone asks.  Between you and me... I don't like eggs."  She said with a lowered voice, speaking in almost a conspiratorial tone.  She scooped up the menu with another smile and headed off to put in his order.  

Things were looking up, until her next table.  She knew from the beginning that it was going to be a difficult one. They weren't happy with anything, the silverware had water spots, the coffee wasn't hot enough, she didn't put a cherry on top of the whipped cream in ones hot cocoa.  They were getting louder with each minor infraction.  She kept a smile plastered to her face as she tried harder to meet their demands.  She had returned to the kitchen for the third time to have an order of breakfast potatoes recooked.  This time they were too crispy.  She had had enough, but there really wasn't much she could do.  Just as the order had finished being refired, the Manager came in and told the kitchen to box it up and asked for a handful of to go containers.  Aliyah asked what was going on, and was informed that another customer had taken care of their bill on the condition that they be given the meal to go.  

Aliyah laughed a little and nodded.  It was definitely a relief as the Manager let the table know that they would be more than welcome to take their patronage elsewhere in the future.  Sadly tables like this weren't as unusual as one would think. She was unfortunately used to it.  She managed to find a genuine smile though and headed back out to her tables.  She stopped at each one and apologized for the inconvenience.  She assured each table that everything was indeed well, and for the table with kids, she even offered chocolate chips and whipped cream for the little ones pancakes... on the house.  She didn't mind dealing with tables like that, but it bothered her that her other guests were forced to. 

She had just finished up with that table when the Manager walked by her and tucked a wad of cash into her apron.  She glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow.  The manager just shrugged and walked away heading back to her duties helping to run food.  Aliyah picked up another pot of coffee at the waitress station, and looked in her apron.  The sight that greeted her was one that almost made her hyperventilate.  [i]HOLY CRAP![/i]  That was a lot of money.  She looked out over the dining room and her eyes settled on Duncan.  She couldn't prove it, but she suspected that it was him who had slipped the manager the wad of cash.  

She squared her shoulders and headed over to his table with the fresh pot of coffee.  "A little warm up?"  She asked as she without waiting for an answer poured his coffee with one hand, and slid the cash onto the table with her other.  "Your kindness is appreciated, but far too much."  She told him.  "I get it, you've had a lucky week or two at the casino, but that luck never lasts."  She said kindly pushing the money back towards him.  

"So, How was breakfast this morning?"  She changed the subject smoothly.  "I'll still need your opinion on each and every one of those omelettes you end up trying."