The waitress looked up at Nathan in shock before offering a wide smile. "Wow, thanks! You have incredible timing."
"So I've been told," he said wryly. "Are you okay?"
She didn't seem terribly fazed by nearly falling though she was certainly grateful for the save. Her wide-set gray eyes fringed with thick lashes blinked up at him appreciatively. She wasn't terribly tall—maybe 5'3"—and her ashy light brown hair was up in a ponytail.
She was pretty but in a forgettable kind of way. He also noticed once she righted herself that she had what was commonly known as a pear-shaped figure. Her uniform dress didn't quite suit her but he was willing to bet she would look really good in the right clothes.
Nathan felt like an idiot for even thinking like that. He couldn't get involved with anyone. The last time he tried ended terribly. His ex-girlfriend thought he was weird and nosy for always jumping in to help random strangers when they were out on dates and didn't like that he wasn't paying enough attention to her.
He couldn't help it! It wasn't a matter of not paying attention to her. His visions were difficult to ignore.
"I'm fine," the waitress assured him. "Don't worry about me."
She immediately regained her professionalism and smiled at the customers she was supposed to be serving as she apologized for the delay and handed out their plates. With his work here done, Nathan returned to his seat.
He completely forgot about the waitress until she came back with his food and beamed at him. "Here you go! A buttermilk pancake stack with a side of bacon and a glass of milk. Is there anything else you need?"
"No, I'm good. Thanks."
Nathan dug into his food eagerly. That really hit the spot. He should definitely add pancake mix to his grocery list next time. Bacon too.
Once his bill was paid, he headed home and stretched before trying to get back to work on his latest novel. His deadline was still about a month away and he was making good progress but he wasn't taking any chances. He always preferred being done in advance because you never knew what could go wrong.
Goodness knows he had seen more of what could go wrong in the world than most because of his visions. The smallest things could have the biggest consequences. Obviously, one couldn't conceivably prepare for everything that could happen but he did his best.
Was he paranoid? Probably. But his emergency preparedness training had come in handy more than once.
Nathan worked diligently for a while, only stopping to double check his research a couple of times before he was interrupted by a text message. It was Lisa Carlin, Amber's mom. She wanted to know if he could come over to take her out for the day on Saturday instead of Sunday like usual because they had family plans on Sunday.
He didn't mind. He worked his schedule around theirs most of the time to be able to see his sister because he had a lot more free time. All that mattered was that he was able to see her.
He had a good relationship with the Carlins. Amber was their only child since they had infertility issues and they doted on her. They had been very kind to him as well, including him on holidays and other special occasions even though they had no obligation to.
They always called him first to see if he was free when they needed a babysitter, understanding how important it was to maintain their sibling relationship. He had been on a few family trips with them over the years too because she insisted he come.
Amber adored him. She was the only person in the world that did and he adored her right back. His little sister was insanely lovable. Wherever they went, people commented on how cute she was and she had so many friends that her birthday parties were always nuts.
The funny thing was that she actually looked like her adoptive mom. She was part Italian and had dark hair and eyes similar to both Amber and Nathan. When all of them were out together it was assumed that he was Lisa's younger sibling.
'I'll be there' he replied.
'Great! Thanks Nate. She's really looking forward to seeing you'
He couldn't help but smile at that. He still needed to figure out where to take her this week. It should be somewhere he could buy her a present or at the very least some sort of snack she liked. Spoiling Amber was one of his favorite things to do.
===
When Nathan went to go pick his sister up, she immediately launched herself at him with a big grin. "Nate! Did you save anybody this week? Did you? Did you?"
Ah, the enthusiasm of a ten-year-old. He ruffled her hair and laughed. "Yeah, I did. A few people. It isn't that big of a deal though. Come on, we have things to do today. Get in the car."
Amber wanted to know more and continued peppering him with questions as she buckled her seatbelt. "What happened this time? Was it anything dramatic? How many people was it? I need details!"
Nathan had to think about it. "Well, there was a kid that fell off of some playground equipment…a guy that had a heart attack…and…uh…I could have sworn there were three. I can't remember the last one."
Why was that? He had a feeling it happened when he went out for pancakes but he couldn't remember anything about it. That was weird. It was like there was a gaping hole in his memory.
Amber was clearly disappointed he couldn't remember. She loved hearing about his exploits. "Aww! Oh well. You're the absolute coolest, Nate. You're the only person in the world with superpowers!"
Nathan smiled. It was nice being thought of as cool even if it was by someone sixteen and a half years younger than him. "You flatter me. Anyway, are you ready to play some carnival games?"
"Heck yeah I am! I'm going to kick your butt," she said confidently.
Honestly, she probably would. He didn't care about that though. He was doing this to make her happy, after all.