"You've got to be kidding me right now."
The childish titter beside me made me want to stomp like a spoilt kid. I squinted at the plate before me and scowled.
"This is the Kiddies Special?" My eyes widened when the man nodded with an amused expression on his face. "How is this a Special? Please I'd like to know." I pushed the plate a little. "Señor, what is special about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? And this tiny juice box?" Mikayla's howl made me glower at the flimsy snack on the plate and I looked at the waiter. "How much does this cost?"
"Just the Kiddies Special? $25."
I burst out in wild laughter and slowly stopped when the waiter didn't crack a smile. I cleared my throat in haste and my voice reduced to a disbelieving whisper. "You were serious?" His nod made a guttural sound that sounded an awful lot like a sob emanate from my throat. "You can't be serious, Señor. A slap ass PB&J sandwich shouldn't cost more than 50 cents." I lifted the small sandwich from the plate and gave it a quick inspection. "This shit is not even close to slap ass. And the juice box? Bro, this whole shit should not cost more than $5 and that's even doing too much. This Kiddies Special is a fraud and I feel so violated right now." I looked around the busy room. "Where's the manager? I need to know why he thought it appropriate to open a crime scene in the guise of a restaurant.
The waiter chuckled softly before responding. "I am the manager."
"So you're the fraudster in question?" I eyed him distrustfully and nodded towards Mikayla. "So how much does the waffle cost? $200?"
"$7."
I sniffed the air in a haughty manner and looked away. "That sounds just about alright. At least, your madness didn't get to the waffles pricing."
A few seconds later, the man left and I brought my overpriced sandwich to my lips. The outrageous price made the snack taste as vile as I assumed bile would taste. I huffed in annoyance as I munched and within a minute, the plate was squeaky clean save for a few bread crumbs. My stomach growled as I swallowed the last bite down my throat. It was almost like it was complaining of the waste of money. A few curse words left my lips as I poked the juice box with a straw. I could feel my daughter's stare as I slurped the drink.
"How does it taste? Is it good?"
She nodded slowly as she chewed. "It's good. Not as good as yours though. Just okay, I guess." I bit the inside of my cheeks to prevent the gigantic grin that was threatening to expose itself. Mikayla was a very blunt kid who'd never sugar-coat words to please anybody. The one time I dyed my hair orange, she told me I looked like Blossom from The Powerpuff Girls, just without her characteristic fringe. I had never hated a cartoon character more. So Kayla's compliments always meant a lot to me.
While Mikayla tried to finish her meal, I remembered I never actually got a reply from Amber. She should be surprised at my email, I was one of the most dedicated staffs after all, if not the most dedicated. I never took yearly leaves, always worked extra hours and even weekends, punctual to the core, overly eager to take on new clients. I was the perfect employee, the wet dream for every employer. Amber and WeCare Inc. at large were very lucky to have me. My eyes widened slightly as I stared at my keys on the table. Where did I leave my phone? My eyes had already narrowed in deep concentration as I tried to recollect when Kayla said something that made my brain do a double spin.
"Shit." My 8 year old daughter muttered and I craned my ears to be sure I heard right.
"Mujer joven, what did you just say?"
Kayla's face was full of confusion and I understood why. I only called her 'Young woman' when I was extra mad at her and she was probably wondering why I was suddenly mad at her. I quirked my brows incredulously, hoping she'd catch on. It took about a minute but the moment she did, she slapped her hand on her mouth.
"That's the type of word you be using now?" She waved her hand quickly to say no. "Where did you get that from? Your silent reading classes?" Kayla shook her head. "Miss Pittman's vocabulary lessons?" She repeated the action. "So where did you hear that?"
"Aunt Lee. From her phone conversations."
Of course it'd be Nelly, that woman was a perpetual bad influence. My eyes drifted again to the table. Where was my damn phone? I not only had to check my email for Amber's reply, but I also had to call Nelly to warn her about the terrible habits Kayla was picking from her. First, it was eating before brushing. Then, curse words. Maybe the next thing she would talk about was school boyfriends.
"Look, Mikayla. You can't say those type of words. They are really bad words and can't be said by a little girl your age." I lifted her jaw with a delicate motion. "I hope you understand what I'm trying to say, bebe."
She nodded slowly. "But I've heard you say similar words. Several times." I swallowed uncomfortably, I should had seen that coming. "Sometimes even when you talk with Aunt Lee."
"That's cos I'm grown, sweetheart. You haven't gotten to the age when you can start using those words. Okay, baby?" Her nod made me smile and I tugged her cheek affectionately. "You're so cute. I had always known I was beautiful but I didn't think I was beautiful enough to give birth to a real life angel." She giggled bashfully and my heart melted. I gave her cheek one last tug before draining the content of my juice box. "Why did you use that word though?"
She jerked her head towards the tables at the front. "I just saw Nicole walk in." My eyes followed her head movement and I stared for a moment, trying to find the person she was referring to. Although all the tables were occupied, I knew the person she was talking about had to be at the table closest to the window. That was the only table that had a kid on it.
"Who's that?"
She looked like she'd just eaten sour grapes. "Nicole Aniston."
"Ohhh, Nicole?" Mikayla had an expectant look in her eyes and I blinked in obvious confusion. "Sorry, am I supposed to uhm-, to know her?"
"She was the lead for the musical."
I raised my brows. "What musical? Your school did a musical?"
Bewilderment was clear on my daughter's face. "We did a musical last year. The Magical Land of Oz?" My face must have had confusion written all over it and Mikayla shook her head. "The Dorothy play? You still don't remember? You were cheering so loud for me that day, mama."
My eyes bulged out. "You were part of the musical?"
"No." She shook her head. "I mean, yeah. I was part of the musical but not like acting. I played the piano for the musical." I flinched when I heard her disappointed sigh. To be honest, I didn't even blame her at all. I was disappointed in myself too. I paused for a moment to try to recollect, Mikayla was part of a school musical? Hazy photos appeared in my head and I rummaged through them, searching for the right memory.
"Ohhh." The slow sound dispelled from my lips as I came to remembrance. Clips of me weaving past traffic like an escapee from a prison break played in my mind, the speeding ticket that appeared in my mailbox a few days after that day didn't surprise me in the least. Nelly had insisted that I made an appearance at Kayla's first musical and her persistent calls during my session with Miss Kristen made us reschedule. I ran into the school theatre an hour into the 90-minutes performance and seeing Alejandro and Sara Rodriguez in the crowd made me extremely happy I made it there. The moment I saw Kayla playing the piano on that high stage, I hollered her name so loud, the gatekeepers of heaven's gate probably heard me. "I remember everything now. Wasn't it the same musical your friend, Benny, fell on stage and his glasses snapped?"
A small smile crept on her face and she chuckled. "Yeah. Everybody laughed at him and started calling him Billy."
"Why?"
She shrugged in humor. "I think it was from the Grim Reaper cartoon. Plus Benny and Billy sound a little similar."
Nodding, I turned my attention back to the blond girl sitting at the front. There were two adults on the table with her, they were most probably her parents. From where I sat, they looked like a model American family. "So Nicole, huh? What's wrong with her? She looks like a good kid to me."
Kayla's scoff rang in my left ear. "She's definitely not a good kid, mama. Not at all."
My eyes honed in on the little girl my daughter spoke against. As if on cue, the blonde girl grinned at her mom and she looked like the most innocent kid in the world. Scrunching my face, I turned back to my own kid. "Are you sure about that? So I guess she's not your friend then?"
Kayla's disgusted expression was comical. "Ewwww, she could never. I don't like her at all, she's a silly and mean bitch." My eyes widened instinctively as the curse word breezed inside my ears and my daughter slapped her hand on her mouth for the second time that day. "Disculpe, mama."
I frowned at her apology. Myself too. It was obvious she had been using those words earlier before now, how come I was just noticing them on my first off day of the year? Had I been that negligent a parent? Before I could berate myself for oblivion, the culprit wrapped her arms around my midriff. "I'm sorry, mama. I shouldn't say those words. They just pop out sometimes, I'd be more careful next time."
I could feel my agitation fading away fast so I threw in one question quickly before I turned to putty in her arms. "Where did you learn that one from? Cos I don't even be calling people bitches, so where did you get that one from? Nelly?" She nodded and a growl sounded from my throat. "I really need to have a talk with Nelly."
"Please don't be mad at aunt Lee, mama." She pleaded and I shook my head. Mikayla didn't want me to explode at Nelly and I almost barked out in laughter at the thought. I was merely a chihuahua puppy compared to German Shepherd Nelly. She'd chew, grind and spit me out in seconds.
"Why don't you like Nicole?"
Kayla pulled away and scratched her head. "She's just a really mean kid. Always talking about how rich her parents and how she goes on fancy trips. Once she hates someone, she always makes sure the whole school turns against that person too. I just think she's stupid anyways and I don't like stupid people."
I eyed her impressively and chuckled softly. "That's a very terrible thing for a kid to say and do. She lacks self-esteem and she's trying to make everybody feel bad about themselves so it'd make her feel a little better about herself. That's loser behavior, bebe. You be going on fancy trips too. Your abuela took you to Disneyland last month. I'd say you're doing pretty good yourself."
She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "I know but I don't boast about stuffs like that. That's what stupid people do."
I was very sure my face had pride written all over it. She squealed in childlike delight when I pulled her cheek. "You're so smart and I'm beyond happy to be your mama. Material things don't mean nothing, sweetie. They can fade really fast." I snapped my fingers. "Just like that. All gone. Only stupid people boast about them." I shook my juice box and frowned when I saw it was empty. Grabbing Mikayla's drink, I slurped from her straw and stopped almost immediately. "You're drinking coffee?"
"Nope, that's latte."
I looked around the room in search of that man. Why would he give her that and give me a juice box? "What do you mean it's not coffee? Latte is coffee, Mikayla. They both have caffeine in them, who serves kids caffeine for Christ's sake?"
Kayla shook her head quickly. "It's decaf latte. There's no caffeine in it. That's what aunt Lee said and she lets me order it whenever we go out."
I narrowed my eyes and after a few seconds, I shrugged. For once, Nelly wasn't wrong. We sat in the booth for a while before I paid and we left the restaurant. I made sure to complain about the criminal price of the Kiddies Special before giving the money to the man. In the car, I found my phone in the glove box and took it out. Mikayla's voice interrupted me when I was about to check for Amber's reply in my mail.