Kinley just nodded and walked away without so much as a smile. Darla shook her head as she watched Kinley go and grab food from the window and take to a booth nearby.
If only there was a way I could help her. She reminds so much of Lizzie, hardworking and beautiful. Way too young tobe working, especially in a place like this,she thought as she chewed her lower lip.
Darla took the opportunity to glance at the menu. She wasn’t particularly hungry, but skipping her normal mealtime was causing her stomach to make angry noises at her.
By the time Kinley returned with a mug and a steaming pot of coffee, Darla had decided on a simple salad with vinaigrette on the side.
Kinley nodded again before retreating to the order window overlooking the kitchen to yell her order to the cook.
“I need a cow’s dinner and a side of zany sauce.” Kinley finished by ringing a small bell and moving onto another round of new customers who sat down after Darla arrived.
Darla sipped her coffee and continued to watch the girl intently. She seemed to be off in her own world, moving gracefully from one task to the next, never faltering, never flinching. It was how Lizzie had worked, caring for her when she was ailing and in the same breath kissing a scraped knee for her granddaughter. She was always moving, always flowing, and always strong.
In a far booth, Darla noticed a young boy also with jet black hair. His arms looked too long for his body as he focused intently on stacking a deck of cards into a pyramid. Kinley stopped by often to check on him. His hair was shaggy and pulled low across his face.
Odd to have his hair worn so low. He needs a haircut.Darla considered speaking with his parents if she saw them.Better to stay out of it, it’s not my business.The boy looked across the room at her, as though he could read her thoughts, and Darla looked quickly away. Her cheeks flushed at getting caught staring at the boy.
Kinley delivered her salad with a flourish, and once it was half eaten, Darla allowed herself to relax slightly and rifledthrough the leftover newspaper on her table. A fresh cup of coffee was poured without her even realizing it. She found it humorous that she was drawn into the small-town print; it felt like she was spying on the intimate details of stranger’s lives.
The young boy came to mind again as she hopelessly wondered why a diner would allow a young girl to work here and a young boy to loiter.
Kinley was standing near the boy when the door to the diner burst open and the bell sound paled in comparison to the sound of glass shattering.
“Oops!” The burly man let out a laugh as he ignored the damage and sauntered to the corner booth near the jukebox. His posse of men followed, and they filled the surrounding booths and tables. Two immediately made their way to the jukebox, arguing over which song to play next. The energy of the entire diner shifted, and it made Darla unsure of what she needed to do to escape.
She watched as Kinley boldly approached the man who busted open the door with such force that it now hung wide open and on a single hinge. Darla couldn’t hear what words were exchanged, but she could see that Kinley was flailing her arms around yelling at the giant man.
A few patrons slowly stood, taking this chance to make their exit, and she followed suit. She left a fifty-dollar bill on her table and made her way carefully to the front door.
The exchange between Kinley and the man grew louder as she moved closer.
“I don’t care that you are my uncle. You can’t just show up anywhere that I am and cause a huge disturbance. My paychecks are the only thing that pay for your booze-fueled appetite so who is really the adult here?” The man scrunched his face as it turned bright red, and he stood taller, squaring up his face with hers.
“You are only fourteen years old. I am an adult. You are a child!” he spewed.
Darla was close enough now that she could see his spittle landing across her face, and she didn’t flinch away. Kinley just kept her steely composure.
Once outside the diner, Darla took a deep breath. The man's stench was heavy of cigarettes and alcohol, and it burned her nostrils just by quickly passing by him. There was a commotion behind her as she heard the familiar sound of plates shattering, followed by more yelling. She made the escape to her car, and just before she turned onto the highway, she caught a glimpse of Kinley in her rearview storming away from the diner. Her tan fabric purse was slung over her shoulder, and behind her, in tow, was the dark-haired boy. Darla cranked her window down, and her elbow responded with a burning pain.
Stupid arthritis.
“Hey!” Darla called out, her window half down. Kinley, now ahead of her car, turned and faced Darla. Her face was lit up by the headlights of the car. “Want me to give you both a ride?” Darla offered, giving up on rolling the window down all the way.
Kinley looked back at the diner, her eyes hollow as the lights reflected back in her bright blue eyes, and then at the boy who clung to her side and nodded. Kinley stalked to the rear driver’s side, opened it, and shuffled the boy in before climbing in behind him.
“This is my brother, Jenkins. His first name is Tim, but he likes to go by his middle name,” Kinley stated. No emotion, just facts.
Darla looked in the rearview at the pair and saw that he had the same clear blue eyes as Kinley. The right side of his face was purple with some slight yellowing. She gripped the steering wheel tighter as she thought,Who would dare hit that boy?
Her tires squealed in protest as she pulled out onto the highway in the direction of her planned route. She was wide awake, and adrenaline coursed through her veins.
What am I doing? What is the plan here? There is no way I can leave them with that awful man. Do I call the police? Do I ask if they want to come with me to Hollywood? Do I want to take on raising children? Could she be someone I could eventually switch with and have very little trouble accomplishing?
The trio drove in silence for a few miles. Darla wasn’t sure where they lived. She didn’t want to ask. That was a horrible man, and even Darla knew they couldn’t go home right now. Seeing the bruise on his face, she didn’t want them to be with him.
“Turn right up here,” Kinley spoke into the darkness, not glancing up at Darla. Instead, she kept her gaze out the window as she stroked Jenkins’s hair. Darla pulled over on the side of the road, short of where Kinley instructed her to turn.
“Look, if you want to rob me, you should at least do me the courtesy of killing us first. Put us out of our misery.” Jenkins opened his mouth in shock and looked at his sister.
