บท 6: GIRL WITH HER HEAD BOWED
By the time the sun rose that morning, Laleen was already on her feet and dressed for work.
She was officially going to resume her job where she served as a waiter in a small cafe. Her heart blossomed with excitement as she stepped out of her room in a hurry. She was already running late.
It had taken her three months to familiarize herself with her surroundings. She had visited the cafe once, a few weeks after her discharge from the hospital with Elizabeth who informed her about everyone since she couldn't remember.
They both had decided to keep the fact that she couldn't remember about herself from her family and so she had spent a good few weeks getting schooled by Elizabeth about the kind of person she was, what job she used to do, and her relationship with her family members.
She did mention that she had a fiance which puzzled Laleen but considering he never showed himself and as more time passed, she completely forgot about it.
A hum played at her lips as she walked quickly towards the dining area where breakfast was already being served.
On sighting her Father who was already seated at the table, she smiled as she greeted, "Good morning Father".
Her father smiled back at her, his smile kinder than the father she used to know and dreamt about last night.
"Stephanie my dear, sit down" he beckoned with his hand.
Laleen's smile widened as she got closer to the table. Just then, her mother stepped out of the kitchen towards the dining table with a bowl of food in hand. Laleen immediately froze feeling the piercing gaze at her back.
Looking behind her, she met her mother's deadly gaze as she quickly walked past her ignoring the greeting that stumbled out of her lips. The atmosphere in the room turned slightly awkward.
Looking back at her father with eyes filled with complaint, she was comforted by his reassuring gaze and she quietly sat on the only chair available for her, her movements as still as stone so as not to anger her already angry mother.
Laleen said a small prayer even before the food got to her side of the table as her mother's deadly gaze was enough to make her choke on her food.
As the family started to have their humble meal, only then did Laleen's mother realize that her daughter was dressed for work.
Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she scanned her from head to toe.
"I didn't know you were finally resuming work again" She muttered with pursed lips and in a voice that seemed to taunt.
"And here I thought you'd remain here for eternity" She continued, this time mumbling to herself though it was deliberately loud enough for them to hear.
Laleen coughed. She could feel that choke coming.
After three months as Stephanie, Laleen had figured it was safe to assume that her mother hated her. She seemed angry with her for some reason and so far, Laleen had failed to realize what it was.
Her father on the other hand was kind and loving to her. She finally got some of the parental love she always wanted. But he still was tied down to his wife and even when she was getting punished by her mother, her father always took her mother's side in the end and let her do what she wanted. Just like the previous night.
Laleen turned grievous as she bit hard on her food. "Yes, mother. I think it's about time I resumed work and support the family" She responded to her mother's taunt with a carefully crafted innocence.
Her mother's reaction was to twist her lips in displeasure as if tired of talking to her and focused her full attention on eating her food.
Laleen internally happy that she had won this little mother-daughter confrontation, began to anticipate her day ahead.
Her coworkers were nice people from the much she had seen when she visited.
Her boss and a few others were male but the rest were females like her which was a relief. And as for male customers, she had already perfected the skill of not raising her head while doing things. She nodded to herself as she checked off every important requirement from her list.
She was excited to begin work.
***
For someone who had no idea how coffee was made, Laleen's first day was going extremely well. She had spent the whole day taking orders and delivering them.
Her boss, an old man seemingly in his late 60's was famous in the area for his coffee and he took to making it himself for the customers. The other workers, herself included, served the many customers that trailed into the shop.
By afternoon, Laleen had gotten very comfortable in her new role. Greet, Ask for an order, Serve, Repeat. That was how her day had been going. And the most impressive thing was that she was able to do it all without raising her head.
Such grace, she praised herself as she walked towards the table where a new customer just sat. From the shoes, she could tell it was a man. Laleen bowed further instinctively to hide her eyes as she handed the menu, "Good day sir. May I have your order?".
The male customer raised his head from the pile of files he had settled into.
He stared at the waitress in front of him, her head bowed lower than normal. His black eyes swept over her lazily before he hummed.
"What's on the menu?" He asked softly as he got back to the file in his hands ignoring the menu she offered.
Laleen was momentarily stunned at the sound of his voice. It sounded deep and mysterious and filled her with a sense of calm. She suddenly felt the urge to look up but she forced her eyes to remain on his shiny black shoes.
His eyebrows crinkled at her silence, "Are you a mute, girl?" He questioned as he flipped a page of the file still maintaining a calm expression even though he was slightly irked at her silence.
Laleen immediately snapped out of her thoughts. Stammering, she began, "Uhm...we have uhm... bl-black coffee." Taking a deep breath, she gently pushed the menu further towards him but he icily continued to ignore it. Cursing him in her heart, she continued, "There's Espresso, coffee frappe and...".
He quickly interjected, tilting his head to meet her bowing figure for the second time, "Tell me, girl with her head bowed, which do you recommend?".
"Huh?"
Laleen stared at the marble floor, her eyes wide in shock.
Did he just call her 'girl with her head bowed?'!
ของขวัญ
-- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง