Dani ^

The sun is at its highest point in the sky as I make my way around the lively cafe. Chatter always flows seamlessly in this tight-knit environment. Men and women talk amongst themselves while eating their delicious meals. Children scream to one another and stuff their faces with sugary greatness. Refilling coffees and taking plates has become mind-numbing as I circle through my designated section of the restaurant. Oakdale is a small town in the middle of Virginia that is populated with less than one-thousand people.

There isn't much to talk about, however, gossip tends to spread like wildfire around here so everyone knows everyone's business in this town. Scandals are never kept secret for long.

I thought today was going to be the usual talk about the weather or if relatives were coming down to visit for the summer, but as I walk to the kitchen, my arms filled with empty dishes, it seems another topic is sprinkling through the air.

"Did you hear the Mountain man is in town today?" Betty, an older lady of the town, says to her husband, Henry, across from her.

I stop in my tracks, not believing my ears.

"I heard he's become more of a caveman since his last visit. " Dave, our town mailman, says to Diane, a mother of two, as they sit at the bar. "Hear he likes to follow children after dark and snatch them to his secret place up in the mountains."

My eyes widen. That doesn't sound like him at all.

Diane's hand flies to her mouth as she gasps. She turns towards her son and daughter next to her and grabs their attention. "You will not go anywhere near this man nor will you leave the house after five p.m., do you understand me?" She states to her children, seeming a little hysterical to me.

Before I can hear the children's response I move as quickly as my body can go with an arm full of dishes and push through the swinging double doors that lead into the kitchen.  Entering, I see Claire helping Ms. Belle bake chocolate éclaires as flour stains their face and aprons. Gosh, the kitchen always smells delicious, it's hard not to eat on the job.

I've had to limit myself as I have gained a few extra pounds due to how many pastries I take home with me. Ms. Belle has been trying to fatten me up. Saying things along the lines of, "How will you ever please a man if he doesn't have any love handles to hang onto?" Or, my all-time favorite, "I'm surprised you haven't been blown away yet since you got no meat on your bones to hold you down." She's a very charming woman once you get to know her.

"Hey Dani, how's it going out there?" Claire nods her head towards the eating area, her dainty hands holding a large silver mixing bowl, which I can assume, contains whipped cream for the freshly baked goods.

I ponder on how to respond as I place the dirty dishes into the dishwashing rack.

"It's alright." I shrug my shoulders, going with calm and casual rather than showing my nerves. "The locals have gotten it into their head that Alexander is coming back today and that he's turned into a "caveman"," I say with air quotes.

Alexander, or Alex for short, isn't a very social man, which is why he lives in the mountains. He comes down every few months with supplies, such as wood and fur, that we sell with neighboring towns, and in return, he gets paid and can stock up on food or anything else he needs. He's also a giant of a man, standing roughly around six feet five inches, and a good one-hundred and eighty pounds of pure muscle. His dirty blond hair reaches mid-back and his honey-colored eyes intimidate almost anyone who looks into them, including myself.

I've gotten better over the past few times we've met. He usually comes to the cafe early in the morning, right after I unlock the doors and the birds are bright eyed and chirping. We'll chat as I set the cafe up for the day and he leisurely lounges about, drinking a freshly brewed cup of black coffee before heading off to do Lord knows what.

Over time, I slowly stopped thinking of him as the mountain man and began to think of him as Alex, a non-social giant who likes to live in the mountains. I shake my head, getting out of my own thoughts.

Ms. Belle scoffs as she continues baking the éclaires. "That boy has been anything but trouble and because these looney townspeople have nothing better to do with their lives, they create him into a bad guy. Can't the poor boy be treated normally even though he lives in the mountains?" Anger seeps from her tone.

Claire and I look at each other, wondering why she's so sensitive about the subject.

She sighs. "What am I saying? Don't listen to me, I'm just a crazy old lady who doesn't even know what she's saying half the time."

"No Ms. Belle," I say, countering her statement and step closer to her, "you're correct, I mean, whenever I interact with him he seems like a wonderful person. It's not right that people are making rumors about him when they don't even know him."

He doesn't deserve to be seen this way, and, if anything, this would just continue to push him
away from wanting to be close to people.

"I think he's really intimidating," Claire adds, interjecting into the conversation. She places her bowl down and turns around to look at me as she wipes her hands on a white cloth. "I mean have you seen his eyes? I swear, that man never blinks," she states and tosses the cloth beside her on the steel counter.

"That doesn't mean people should be rude to him. Jesus, I know if-"

"Language!" Ms. Belle yells at me without turning around. She's a very religious person.

I roll my eyes behind her back. "Sorry. Like I was saying if that was me I'd probably be depressed throughout the whole year. I don't think I could ever survive a day in his shoes."

"Shouldn't the two of you be workin'?" Ms. Belle states as she finally turns and looks at me from her baking. "I don't think I pay you two to chit-chat, now do I?" she questions, glancing at Claire and I, one eyebrow arched higher than the other.

"Sorry," we both mumble, quickly getting back to work.

I make my way out the double doors and into the eating area. However, instead of the wild gossiping that was buzzing around before, there's a harsh silence, accompanied by the whispered chatter between the townspeople.

Just as Abbey, my tall coworker is about to pass me, I quietly say her name.

"What Dani?" She says, snapping at me.

"Why is everyone whispering?" I ask in a low voice, gazing around the restaurant still not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

She scoffs. "The tall guy from the forest walked in about five minutes ago. Maybe if you were paying attention and doing your job you would've seen him come in." She turns abruptly and walks into the kitchen.

Alex is here?

I walk out from behind the bar and swivel my head left to right, searching for him. I walk around the corner, hoping he was seated at his original booth near the window, but it was empty.

Abbey told me he was in here but obviously, he must've left once the people started talking about him behind his back. With a sigh, I go back to working and check in with the customers.

I reach the far section of my designated area and without looking up I take out my notepad and pencil. "Hello, I'm Dani and I'll be your server for today. Can I get you anything to drink?"

A husky voice lightly laughs in front of me sounding oddly familiar. "Hello Dani, long time no see."

I look up into honey-colored eyes and gasp.

↞↠

OOOOOP

I'm guessing you can already tell who the mystery man is. Wink Wink.

I put a picture above with what I think Dani looks like. Obviously, you don't have to use her as a reference and you can let your imagination wander and piece together what you think she looks like.

Hope you had a wonderful day in Joker's Basement.

- Meraki_Kalon

:)