Well, shit.

ꕀ ᐝ 𖠳   cierra ramierez, cis woman, she/her 𖠳 ᐝ ꕀ ‷ heads up ; if you hear FLOWERS by MILEY CYRUS blaring, it’s most likely ELIANA JIMENEZ making their way down the shore ! they’re 29years old and celebrate their birthday on 04/13 - i knew they were a ARIES ! especially since they’re very ADVENTUROUS and TEMPERAMENTAL. they are from CAPE MAY, NJ, staying in SUN RETREAT and are currently working as a WAITRESS AT BEACH GREEK OYSTER BAR AND GRILLE, here at the cape. they always did remind me of rainbow after a thunderstorm, a campfire softly burning in the middle of the woods, and sunshine mixed with a little bit of hurricane.‷

AJ’s luck was often good but in this instant, he had surprised JJ on the wrong day. “I wouldn’t bet on JJ not taking his sweet time to get back here. Probably visiting the mrs, while he’s running errands,” he joked. He knew JJ could take a while coming back from his errands because he spent time genuinely talking to people which was a great quality but not helping AJ right now. He thought about it for a moment and figured having a drink wouldn’t hurt but also he didn’t want to be one of those ‘day drinkers’. “I think I’ll take a ginger-ale please, you know, play it safe,” he requested. AJ could tell the waitress was trying to cover to some degree for JJ but he knew his friend well enough to know JJ likely wouldn’t be back till closing and he’d probably have to come in another day. “It’s okay, I’ll just order lunch. I doubt JJ is coming back but thanks for trying to keep me optimistic,” he said, a chuckle falling from his lips. “I’ll go with the orange-bourbon chicken wings and a beach creek burger.” AJ wanted the simple things on the menu and since he was sitting at the bar, he’d order a harder drink instead. “Scratch the ginger-ale, I’ll take the house old fashioned.” He closed up the menu and smiled at the waitress. “Thank you, Eliana. I appreciate it!”

eliana couldn’t help but smile at aj’s comment, she couldn’t deny that the man knew jj well, there was no doubt in her mind that her boss probably made a pit stop to see his beloved. “ginger-ale, copt that.playing it safe or not, i personally think ginger ale is an underrated soda.” she gave a small nod but didn’t write anything down as she had gotten used to memorizing a lot at a time, plus she had always had good memory even when she didn’t want it. when it was looking like aj would only be ordering a ginger ale eliana began to silently wonder what other excuses she’d have to make to jj if he took too much longer, but luckily it seemed like she wasn’t going to have to cover for her boss for too much longer. “ah, well,” she chuckles,”keeping those around me smilin’ is what i like to do best, cariño.” she noted the orange-bourbon chicken wings and beach creek burger in her head, giving him a nod of approval at the choice of food. “two of my favorite, especially the wings. do you want a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing for them?” she extended a perfectly manicured hand out to reach for the closed menu, returning aj’s smile, “the house old fashioned is one of my favorites. between that and your food choices, i have to say, tu gusto es delicioso, your taste is delectable.” she gave him a playful little wink before turning to place his order and get his drink started. eli was prompt to return with his, as well as a side of chips and the house made salsa, “one house old fashioned and a side of chips and salsa on the house. don’t say i never spoil you,” she teased, carefully placing the items on the table. “is there anything else i can get you while you wait for lunch? i promise to leave you alone after and the next you see of me is bringing you your food.”

It wasn’t unusual to find JJ at work, most days he didn’t need to be there but that work ethic was really deeply rooted in him to just sit and relax. Sometimes he’d come in just to get behind the bar just because it was the only thing he could control and working with his hands helped him work out whatever was going on in his head. Today being one of those days. When Eliana started going on her rant he stared at her with an amused smile on his lips. His features relaxed as she went on. Blue eyes shot across the room just getting an idea on who the culprits were. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard about mashed potatoes getting tossed around. The thought made him chuckle but quickly shook out of it as he focused on her.

“I actually wasn’t but the more you talk about them, the more I want ‘em. Which table was it? If you say three I’ll have to put them on the banned list.” The small lilt to his voice gave way to his joking tone. “I don’t know if you’d lose your job if you start a food fight. It depends though. Yeah, also don’t want peta on my ass if your pup goes hungry.” He shook his head. “Actually. It’s something I can do for you. Do you have a minute?”

“three.” it wasn’t actually three but the family at three had more rude to her than the mashed potato kid, so this was her little revenge, she only hoped this didn’t mean she’d get more mashed potatoes thrown at her in the future. plus, jj just gave her permission (at least in her head) to start food fights with unruly customers, so mashed potato kid has his coming soon anyway. “if you want mashed potatoes though,” she let out a small sigh, still smiling nontheless, “i’ll personally go back there and make you some. not to brag, well, actually, that’s a lie, i totally want to brag, eli joked, giving a little snort, and light chuckle, “i’ve been told i make some pretty awesome loaded mashed potatoes. just sayin’.” even though she had been told this once or twice before, eliana mainly wanted to make them for jj because she enjoyed showing her appreciation for him as often as she could. he made her feel safe and like she wasn’t the worlds biggest screw up,  and those feelings were incredibly important to her.

“if you don’t want peta on your ass then you might want to give me a raise, chewy has such expensive taste in food,” she joked, giving him a big grin, always taking the first chance she could to tease jj. his last comment, though, made her grin slowly fade and caused a puzzled expression on her face. she had only been teasing about the raise, as just being employed in such a fun loving envirnment had been enough for her, so she was intrigued to hear him out. “i suppose i could spare you a minute. just don’t tell me boss, he can be kind of a hard ass,” she teased, taking a seat down at the table jj sat at. “what’s up? Mi tienes intrigada, you have my intrigued.”

Lucy adjusted the strap on her shoulder that carried the four bottles of vodka that got dropped off at the house instead of the bar and huffed out in a quiet sigh. She didn’t mind it but today was just not the day she needed this added to her plate. Normally her husband would bring them down and stock up the bar but with him out on a meeting , the job was left to her. She’d managed to slip behind the bar without being noticed which worked for her. After she rearranged the bottles up in their spot she locked the glass and made her way back to the front where she was met with a friendly face. A friendly known face. Glancing down to her apron she frowned. “The downfalls of having to work in food service. I totally would have thrown the side peas right back.” She giggled. “Funnily enough I was craving nuggets and I can’t for the life of me find a reason for that.” She moved out of the way a little and smiled at Eliana. “I had two cujos in the house earlier this morning. It’s how I got this.” She raised her hand and a clearly marked pink spot was visible. “Didn’t get their food fast enough. But anyway. Oh no no. I don’t need anything. Just came by and dropped four bottles that happened to come to our doorstep. Again. I could hang out til your shift is over? I won’t tell if you won’t.”

there was an instant light that seemed to fill the room when lucy was in it, she always enjoyed bumping into her at the bar and grille from time to time, and it was hard not to keep a smile on eli’s face when she saw the woman. “the poor peas,” eli lightly teased, chuckling a bit. “nuggets, hm? i don’t see anything odd about that! nuggets, mac and cheese, and honestly,” a small huff escaped her, “even mashed potatoes are like right at the top of my daily cravings. i guess pizza too.”  she tucked the pen that occupied her hand between her ear and hair, the other busy with putting the notepad away for the time being, her friendly smile growing when lucy offered her a smile. when presented with the injured hand, however, eli let out a small gasp and she gentle takes lucy’s hand in her own, “do you need any ice for it?” she curiously asks, inspecting it a little, before letting go, carefully. hearing that the bottles she had been waiting on all day to arrive, for inventory check purposes, had been delivered to the wrong place made her chuckle a little, “i wonder if it was julian on shift today. he’s one of the regular delivery guys around here, super sweet, but he’d lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his body.” over the course of working here, eliana had become familiar with their delivery people and had established some friendships with them as well as some of the costumers. “i would love your company. in fact, let’s do lunch! i’ll put an order in for a basket of nuggets and fries for us to share. you just sit and get comfortable. do you want me to get you anything to drink while we wait on the food? i’ll just have to clock off for a bit, but after that i’m here!”

AJ often frequented the Beach Creek Oyster Bar and Grille and that was mainly due to his friendship with JJ or he’d otherwise try to avoid it. He didn’t enjoy being spotted and god forbid he spoke to another human being, the rumours would begin to fly. He’d promised JJ he’d stop by for lunch at some point in the week and today happened to work. He strolled into the restaurant and took a seat by the bar, which was typically secluded on a weekday. He was approached by one of the waitresses and he could see she was having a day but that she kept it light. He appreciated that. Too many people let something ruin their day. “I promise not to order mashed potatoes - but I’m actually here to have lunch with JJ. Does the big man in charge happen to be around?” He probably should’ve messaged JJ before showing up but he knew the man was a workaholic to some degree.

his promise to not order mashed potatoes instantly made her smile grow a bit more and she gave him a small nod of appreciation. it wasn’t common for her to like someone right off the bat, but every so often someone came along and broke that norm. today was one of those days. “you know, he actually stepped out to run some errands a little bit ago. he shouldn’t be too much longer though,” she assured, tucking her notepad into the pock of her apron. “in the mean time, perhaps i could get you something to drink?” honestly the more she thought about it the more she realized that she really didn’t know how much longer jj might be on those errands, and she didn’t want to keep his guest waiting on an empty stomach either. “if you’re feeling snackish, i could bring you something light to enjoy while you wait for the big guy. i mean, lo último que necesito, the last thing i need, is for my boss to think i’m not a good host. that and...” her voice trails off for a second, the smile on her lips softening a bit, “i really don’t know how much longer he’ll be.”

“alright, cariño. i have about an hour left of my shift and some kid threw his mashed potatoes at me earlier, “ she nodded to her dirty waist apron, still a smile played on her cherry red lips, “ so while i am trying my hardest to keep it together, we’ll have to work together. por favor, dime, tell me, you’re not in the mood to eat mashed potatoes and if you do..please don’t get the sudden urge to just throw them at me. i can’t promise they won’t come flying back and then i’ll lose my job. do you know what’ll happen if i lose my job? poor chewy will go hungry, have you ever seen a hungry dog? they turn into cujo, assuming you’ve seen that movie before, and then we’re all screwed.” eliana’s voice was lighthearted, a light chuckle fell from her lips at the end of her small rant, she was more tired than angry at the moment. “so, what can i get you?”