I had just turned eleven years old when Barbara and Ethan Knight had finally been authorized to take me in, the child welfare department needing somewhere to put me for just a night or two since I’d been cut by one of the other girls in the detention hall, the knife stolen from the cafeteria we ate in. It had been just a scratch, despite the amount of blood, but I was afraid for my safety if I had to stay there another night. Since it was an emergency situation, they were able to take me home with them right from the hospital. I ended up getting my neck bandaged, and when Dad was through with the director of the detention center you’d better believe that heads rolled. Dad knows just about everyone there is in family law and he got it taken care of.
That one night with my new foster family turned into a permanent stay with them and adoption into the nicest, warmest, loving family I had ever known. Instantly, I had been treated like I was one of their own.
Never again did I get slapped, punched, beaten or molested after I came to live with the Knight family.
Mom and Dad had three sons and a daughter that were like siblings to me as we all grew up together in a beautiful five bedroom plantation-style home. We’d played together, laughed, fought, cried, formed allies and made enemies, just like brothers and sisters did.
Phillip was my oldest, foster brother at thirty seven years old. Sandy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, Phil was always laughing, easy-going and just generally an all-around good guy. Philly was a doctor, general practitioner, married twelve years to Mindy. They had two and a half children; seven year old Amanda, five year old Riley and were expecting a child very soon, another little girl who they were planning to name Emily.
Andrew was my youngest foster brother at twenty-three. Andrew, or Drew as he preferred to be called, was a graphic artist and worked out of his house not too far away from home. Tall, well-built and drop-dead gorgeous Drew got attention from plenty of women. He had come out a couple of years ago when he’d graduated college, bringing home a man he’d met while on a digital art internship in London, England. He and Richard Barnes had been together ever since then, the tall dark and handsome Englishman making women swoon and fawn the minute he started speaking.
It was the British accent.
They fell for it every time.
Suzy was the baby, just eight years younger than me at age nineteen going on forty. Suzy was our little diva, with her long blonde hair, beautiful clear blue-green eyes and perfect figure. She had an enormous wardrobe and tons of girlfriends, and to the chagrin of my foster brothers, boyfriends. Too many, if any of them were asked about it. They were all fiercely protective of her and of me and more than once she’d pushed my brothers, and parents, too far with her antics.
Which brings me now to Brent.
Brent was my age, which was twenty-eight, older than me by eight months and he was my best friend.
He was tall, about six feet, four inches in height, with a muscular physique not betraying an ounce of excess body fat. His thick golden, blonde hair was styled in gentle waves, off his face. His beautifully shaped mouth always offered an easy-going smile to everyone he met, with his white teeth straight, even, and perfect. I shook my head with faint smile at the memory of how much he’d hated wearing those damned braces.
Brent could have easily landed a successful career as a model, with blue eyes the color of the Caribbean Sea that sometimes seemed to change shades depending on his mood as they went from light to dark. He’d actually had offers to model in the past, agents sometimes stopping him on the street, but it just didn’t appeal to him.
He loved finance too much.
People never believed what he did for a living, as his size always seemed to belie his occupation, and often people showed surprise that this handsome, brawny, blonde had some serious brains in addition to his good looks.
Brent had an IQ of one-hundred and twenty-nine, just shy of being gifted. Very few people knew this about him, and he liked it that way. Despite his humbleness, people were drawn to him like moths to a flame, and he got on famously with just about everyone that he met.
I knew that Brent would do anything for me, without regard for himself. He was like that, and that’s why I loved him so much.
The first time I’d been taken out of the home, and since I had no other family, I was placed with a foster family, after suffering Juvenile Hall hell for two weeks.
I had endured more beatings, bullying, taunting and teasing. I had been beaten up more times that I could count while the people that ran the place not really caring. I was even told to ‘toughen up’ if I wanted to survive in the real world.
I had an unusual look about me due to my biracial background of white father and black mother, my head full of lush, shimmering curls, my skin a pretty caramel color, and thick eyelashes framed wide eyes of hazel made up of greens, browns, gold and ambers. My lips plump and full, the source of teasing that I looked like a fish and since my eyes were a bit large as well, it really completed the look.
I had been very self-conscious about my looks, still was in a way, but I never made a big deal about it out loud.
My father had raped me regularly from the time I was seven years old until I escaped at ten. It had all gone down one afternoon when my mother walked in on us and shot me, jealous of the sexual attention my father was giving me.
They’d found the gun registered to her in our house, after the fact.
I still had nightmares about what Eva had done, not a care in the world as she shot me twice in the back.
When I woke up, I was in the hospital and Brent’s parents were there to promise me that no one would ever hurt me again.
I was finally safe.
They had taken me in, without a second thought.
Barbara and Ethan treated me like I was one of their own, despite the fact that I was black and they were white. I was instructed to call them Mom and Dad from the day I stepped foot into this house permanently nearly twenty years ago and they became the only parents I ever knew from that point on.
All through junior high and high school, Brent and I grew very close. We formed an unbreakable bond, promising to always watch over each other, no matter what. Strangely enough, there was nothing romantic between us, even though we shared a deep love, as we had grown up together like regular siblings.
We were just Brent and Daphne, and the people in our town never said one of our names without saying the other right along with it.
When I was about fifteen, my biological father tried to reach out to me, but I had ignored him and any further contact he’d made. From what I gathered, my mother had been killed by her drug-dealer boyfriend a few years after the court hearings when I was twelve or thirteen. I had overheard Mom and Dad talking about it, but I never let on that I knew about it. Shamelessly, I could admit that her death hit me really hard and I’d cried a river. Mourning the loss of a mother who had never treated me with a shred of love or kindness, only harsh bitter words and stinging blows. But she was my mother, and I had loved her despite her horrible treatment of me.
My father had been in a wellness center for cirrhosis of the liver the last I heard, when I was about eighteen. His scant, extended family had tried to contact me via mail, encouraging me to visit him since his time was short. He wanted to make amends and see me one last time.
I had torn the letter up, never told anyone about it. Not even Ann, my therapist at the time. I felt an enormous guilt for a while about this, but I just couldn’t face him.
How could I?
My father, although he’d never struck me, had done far more damage than my mother ever had.
I felt a shudder go through me as my biological father’s face flashed in my memory, briefly, but it was enough to make me uncomfortable.
Suzy barely noticed my silence while she chattered on and on as I made my bed, and she even followed me into the small bathroom we shared as I went to start the shower.
She left me alone long enough for me to get dressed, since she had
gone back to bed while I’d been in the shower.
I shook my head as I listened to her light snores, as she slept long, tanned arms and legs in a tangle on the bed.
She was responsible enough with her excursions, but Mom and Dad didn’t like her being out so late with her many friends.
I was pretty sure they didn’t know about the many boyfriends she had either.
She’d gotten busted a few nights ago, slipping into the house just after two in the morning from hanging out with a large group of her friends, and my parents had been waiting up for her.
“But there’s safety in numbers!” she’d wailed, as Dad put his foot down and told her as long as she lived under his roof she had to be home at a decent hour.
She’d rolled her eyes, huffing and puffing about needing to be treated like an adult, but Suzy had gotten the message and all was forgiven.
I took a quick look at myself in the full length mirror at my crisp white blouse and black pants. I glanced at my caramel colored skin, twisting my lips as I saw that I was beginning to get worry lines deeply etched into my forehead. I already had my apron tucked in my purse, along with the small spiral notebook full of my plans.
I hoped to have my own restaurant someday and I had an appointment with the Small Business Association in regard. I managed to get a meeting with an advisor when someone else canceled and I was hoping that my ideas wouldn’t sound too stupid to them.
My poor self-esteem was one of the many things I still carried around from my early childhood, despite being raised by Mom and Dad. I was often afraid to try new things, for fear that I would be laughed at, or someone would think my ideas were stupid.
But just a few nights ago, Mom had praised my cooking skills as I made dinner for my parents. I had tried a new dish I’d seen on The Food Network and the delicious beef medallions and baby vegetables had been pretty damned tasty, if I did say so myself.
I planned on going straight in to work from my meeting and then Brent was going to meet me at Tao, which was an Asian fusion restaurant we frequented.
Right on cue, my cell phone rang and I smiled as I saw Brent’s name scroll across the top of my screen.
“You just caught me.” I said, grabbing a yogurt out of the refrigerator and a nectarine as I let myself out the back door.
“I tried.” He said, already sounding apologetic. “I may have to take a rain-check for Tao.”
“Oh.” I shrugged, as I fished the keys to Mom’s car out of my purse. She had been nice enough to let me borrow hers for the day while mine was in the shop for the umpteenth time this year so far. “That’s okay. I have a lot of stuff going on today anyway.”
“Yeah, today’s the big day huh?” Brent asked, with a smile in his voice. “Just take it easy, and tell them exactly what you want to do.”
“I’m still nervous, though....”
“Daph, you gotta quit being so hard on yourself. Everyone knows that you should have opened your own restaurant years ago. And if you need someone to give a testimonial, just have them call me.”
I laughed.
“Will do.” I said as I opened the driver’s side door and tossed my purse on the passenger seat. “Call you later?”
“You better.” Brent said, just before hanging up.
I followed Mom’s built-in GPS system to the address I had programmed into the unit the night before, which was in Albemarle County and very close to Charlottesville. I lucked up on a parking spot and took deep breaths as I made my way towards the building.
I didn’t even have to wait, as they were ready for me as soon as I gave them my name.
“So, Daphne.” Jill, my new advisor said as she looked over the brief application I’d already filled out online. “Do you have a business plan with you today?”
I nodded, handing her the presentation booklet I’d filled with spreadsheets, charts and other data to show how much revenue I expected, as well as how much I thought I’d spend for the first year in business. I was already planning to bring some samples of my food to the financial advisor that they were going to set me up with, so they could taste for themselves that me owning a restaurant would bring a profit. The biggest plus was that I already had both front and back of the house experience. I was management material, or so my boss said.
We went over my ideas and the business plan, and before I knew it my hour was up.
“Very impressive, Daphne.” Jill said, nodding as I told her that she could keep the binder since I had another copy at home. “I am sure that we can get you on your feet within a short period of time once you can secure a loan.”
I nodded, feeling my heart race with excitement as I imagined actually owning my own restaurant.
I beamed as I walked back to my car, and then headed to work.
I might just be able to pull this off.
***
I walked into the service entrance of the upscale restaurant and clocked in right behind Bridgette, who was one of the other servers.
“Hey Daphne.” She greeted as I smiled back at her, admiring her new hairstyle.
Her brunette hair was usually long and coiled up into a bun, but now she had a pixie cut which made her look very chic.
I loved it.
“Hey.” I replied as we chewed the fat for a minute as we both tied our aprons on.
Michael, one of the busboys came over to clock in quickly and get back to the kitchen, barely saying hello. Yet again, he had forgotten to clock in first, before going back to the kitchen. He was relatively new and eager to please, and I knew that before long he’d get his rhythm for restaurant life.
I prepped my tables and made sure I had at least three pens, as I lost two on average at some point every shift.
I groaned inwardly as Steven made his way towards me, a smile on his handsome face.
He was another employee that was relatively new, and he’d been after me for a date ever since he’d joined us two months ago.
Oliver, our boss, had a strict policy about employees dating, of which I was glad. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Steven, but I just didn’t feel comfortable with dating in general. I liked my social life the way it was and I didn’t need a man to complete me.
“Hi.” He said, getting a little closer to me than I would have liked as I gave him a soft hello in return. At that moment, Oliver came out to call us together for a quick pre-opening staff meeting. He usually did them on Friday mornings since that’s when we started getting busy for the weekends. He’d usually do one on Monday mornings also, to address any problems or issues that had occurred during the weekend.
After the meeting, the doors opened and Donna, our hostess, took her place at the front desk and started getting the menus together.
As usual, the place was quiet as we waited for the lunch hour to draw near. There were a number of small offices and a few buildings that supplied diners throughout the week for lunch and dinner. We usually got a lot of families during the weekends or people on date nights and that kind of thing. I loved my job, loved dealing with people and I was happiest while I was in my element.
I went to check my tables one more time to make sure they were all ready and I turned to see Donna leading a group of men my way.
Suits.
White-Collars, to be exact.
These guys usually had money to spend, which made me happy because they tipped very well. I put on a smile as the five of them took their seats and Donna handed them their menus before going back to her station.
“Good afternoon.” I said, smiling at each of them in turn. “My name is Daphne and I will be your server this afternoon. May I start you off with drinks?”
Two beer orders, one whiskey, one scotch....
“And for you, sir?” I asked, as the dark-haired man gazed at me thoughtfully with a hint of a smile on his handsome face.
“Bourbon. Dark and sweet.” He purred as I nodded and jotted it down before excusing myself.
I didn’t dare look back at him, but I knew that m
an was staring at me as I hurried away. A moment later, I heard them all guffaw as Mary, another server, caught my elbow.
“Oh my God.” She whispered, staring at the handsome man. “I would give my right eye to have your table right now....”
Bridgette showed up, stealing peeks at the man now, her green eyes widening as she and Mary whispered back and forth, giggling.
I went to the bar and put the drink orders in and asked Steven to give them a bread-basket and water.
Cameron, the bartender, smirked at me as he loaded my drink order onto a tray.
“Girl, that luscious hunk of man-meat is checking you out.” He simpered, as I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment. “Too bad he’s not gay....”
I pasted on a smile as Cameron stared over at my table. He went through men like Kleenex, not wasting time before latching onto another one.
I thought of my brother Drew, and how he had just come out of the closet a year or so ago. He wasn’t ashamed to be gay, but he certainly wasn’t as vocal about it as Cameron was. My parents, particularly my dad, hadn’t taken it too well. I made a mental note to give him a call later, or better yet, stop by his place for a visit.
I hadn’t seen him since he’d returned from his business trip to London, but I was definitely going to make time for him. We often talked long into the night, about deep subjects and I knew that it had been a while since we’d caught up.
“Two beers...” I said, setting them down when I got to my table, “Your whiskey, sir. Scotch for you, sir...and...”
“And one dark and sweet...” The handsome man said, as I did everything I could not to meet his gaze. “Bourbon.”
Ignoring what he’d said and standing as far from him as I could without offending him, I took their entrée orders and hurried back to the kitchen.
By now, Tiffany, another server had learned of the handsome man at my table and she was peering at him from the safety of the kitchen as the other two giggled and whispered.
“Don’t you dare turn him down if he gives you his number.” Tiffany warned. “Remember that guy from last time?”
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