Amelia Barker, the youngest Barker child whom Sam was also meeting for the first time that night, was surprisingly nice and asked lots of questions about Sam’s dream of attending medical school. Apparently, she wanted to be a nurse and thus seemed genuinely interested in what Sam had to say. Amelia was a freshman
in college and, for some reason, Sam had assumed she would be a stuck-up sorority girl with nothing much to add to the conversation.
She’d figured Amelia would be a product of her world, an exact replica of her mother, who Sam guessed was likely a carbon copy of Mrs. Hadley. But she wasn’t at all like Kristin’s mom. Mrs. Hadley was more concerned with the neighborhood gossip and the latest episode of The Real Housewives than having a real conversation with those around her.
One thing Sam knew for sure was that she never wanted to become the topic of Mrs. Hadley’s gossip. She’d been to enough of these dinners by now to learn how to tiptoe around or all out avoid the questions about her past with precision. Not even Kristin’s parents knew that she was a product of the system. To them, she was just someone who never spoke about her family. So, as far as awkward evenings with Kristin’s parents went, this waprobably the most enjoyable one they’d had.
*******
“So, you want to come over to Micah’s with me, or are you just going to chill here and study as always?”
Kristin knew Sam’s answer before she even said it. Sam was fine with parties. She’d gone to plenty as a freshman trying to blend in with the masses, but she wasn’t like Kristin. Sam had to actually study the material if she wanted to do well on the tests. Unfortunately, she had never been one for pure luck or ability to miraculously make perfect scores.
And besides, any screw up, no matter how small, and the funding she acquired from the Giving Hearts Foundation that paid for all this—the tuition, the books, the copious amounts of study guides and colorful pens for detailing out every function of every organ—would be stripped away.
But the foundation funds didn’t cover everything, which meant, on top of that ridiculous course load and the extra community service hours she’d added in at the food pantry every week to seem well-rounded, Sam also had to have at least one part-time job. Sometimes those part-time jobs felt more like full-time aggravations. Over the last three years, she had shuffled between hours at a pet adoption center and waitressing. She normally had to have at least two jobs at once so she could afford the daily needs of someone in college: the food in the fridge, the rent, and the bus fare she used to go absolutely anywhere. Thankfully, since her applications to med school had all now been paid in full, she could step back from one. She chose to leave shoveling dog poop in the past and, just before the new year, she left the shit hole restaurant with the handsy owner for a ridiculously high end one on Main Street with supposedly amazing tips.
Kristin had, on more than one occasion, begged Sam to step back and take a break from it all, promising she would cover any expense needed. But Sam was far too prideful for that. It didn’t matter if Kristin could have paid every bill and bought Sam every luxury with her shiny credit card, Sam had never been given a handout, and she wasn’t about to start now.
“I’m going to call it a night. Your family wears me out. Is there a party going on or just the two of y’all hanging out?”
“Well, from the decibel level in the background, I’m assuming a party. Callum and Drew are officially back from Charleston, so I’m sure there are a good many people there. And I’ll get to tell Callum all about seeing his perfect parents and even more perfect brother tonight,” she said in a singsong voice as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.
Kristin used to have to pack a small bag whenever she went over to Micah’s. Now, she and Micah each had a supply of clothes and other random belongings stashed at the other’s house. Sam was almost positive that if it wasn’t for Kristin agreeing to live with her to help with rent and other expenses, the two love birds would
already have a mortgage and maybe a car payment between them.
“Gotcha. Well then, I guess I’ll see you Monday morning in Dr. Abram’s class?”
“Yep, see ya!” She blew a kiss toward Sam as she disappeared through the door.
Hanging out with Kristin on girls night was one of her favorite things to do. However, getting the house all to herself for a few hours where she could spend the time quietly reading, studying, or justbeingwas a luxury she would never turn down. People rarely thought about how loud foster homes and orphanages could be until they were trying to sleep, or study, or even just relax inside one. Most she’d lived in had been a chaotic surge of noise at all hours.
So, getting the night to herself was not a bad idea at all.
Chapter 3 - Sam
“Sazerac for me and a Negroni for her,” the bald man said without even letting Sam introduce herself.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” She wasn’t familiar with those drinks at all, but still smiled back as he gave her an annoyed glance.
“Sazerac and a Negroni,” he quickly answered, even more impatiently this time.
Fuck.
Her smile faltered. She wouldn’t be able to repeat the names of these cocktails, let alone know how to spell them. This was going to be her table from hell tonight. There was always one.
“Yes, sir. I’ll get that right now.” She rushed off to the kiosk by the bar.
The audible groan she let out as she walked up caused Table 57 to quickly avert their eyes. Jess, the bartender who had saved her ass more times than she could count, was nowhere in sight.
Shit.
She looked around, trying to find someone who could help, but this place was packed, and everyone was running around in a chaotic mess, not bothering to pay attention to the waitress who looked very much like a lost puppy fumbling through the motions.
She couldn’t afford to lose this job. She had been waiting tables at Topline for about three months at this point (a veteran if you asked Penelope, the mild-mannered hostess who had seen fartoo many souls come and go, many not even lasting more than a week) and she needed the money. It wasgreatmoney. The tips were better than any other restaurant she had worked at, even if the clientele was a little on theI come from a long line of Karensside. She could deal with uptight know-it-alls who looked down on her. That had basically been her entire life up until this point anyway, so why not?
But with the long line of people that filled the entrance, and with how quickly the tables were being turned over with no consideration for what the kitchen was actually able to produce, she took slight solace in the thought that she wouldn't be the biggest screw-up of the night. The newbies had started just yesterday, so they were bound to have at least one meltdown in the group during their first official night on the floor.