Until You

Stop treating me like a baby

Charlie really loved her family; there was no doubt about that. She liked them, even. But sometimes–especially on a day when she's understaffed and always on alert for anything that could go wrong—being with them was more draining than a payday Friday dinner rush.

"Charlie?"

She looked up and found Sid standing before her, holding two large plastic cups that she recognized were from Earl and Grey's, as well as two paper straws. "Milk tea?" he asked.

He looked hesitant like he was a little afraid to talk to her when she was the one who had some explaining to do. "I'd love that," Charlie replied, smiling. "Thank you, Sid."

He motioned to the chair across her, where her sister had been sitting ten minutes earlier. She nodded, and he slid into it while putting the drink and the straw in front of her.

"Signature Grey, fifty percent sugar, extra pearl," Charlie read out from the label as she unwrapped her straw. "How did you know this was my usual?"

"I asked Soren at Earl and Grey's for recommendations. He saw my apron and told me this was your usual order," Sid said. "He says hi, by the way. He's a very cheerful guy."

"NomCom's very own sunshine." She stuck the straw in the cup and took a sip, the sweetness of the drink and the chewy sago giving her a much-needed dose of dopamine. "Ah, thank you for this, Sid."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The confusion and disappointment she saw in his eyes earlier had now faded, and instead, his eyes just had a mix of kindness and curiosity. Charlie's heart softened—not that it had been hard before this, but at least she was now less afraid of being honest with Sid about what happened earlier.

She took another sip from her drink. "I'm sorry," she said. "First off, you really didn't do anything wrong. It's just that...my family. I just want them to have the best."

Sid's eyebrows rose, and Charlie realized what her last sentence implied. "Not that what you did was wrong, no. You've been doing a great job. But whenever my family drops by to eat here, I feel like they're doing an inspection. I don't want them to find something to criticize or correct in what we're doing, so I thought it was better to make new ones. At least if they do say something, it's on me. I'm sorry for ignoring your efforts."

Sid took a long, thoughtful sip from his drink, then asked, "Why do you feel like that whenever your family comes over? Don't they just want to see you?"

"I know that," she said with a sigh, shaking her head. "I'm the youngest in my family, and it's always that they're in my business. I know they mean well, and it's their way of taking care of me by making sure I don't have a hard time with anything. But sometimes, they're just too overprotective. I'm twenty-six already, for god's sake. I'm old enough to make decisions for myself, and sometimes I need to learn from my mistakes, you know?"

Charlie paused, breathless from her ranting. Then she groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Oh my god, I'm such a brat. I'm so sorry, Sid. For this, and for earlier. Really sorry."

She didn't know what to expect, but Sid's laughter was definitely the least of them. That, and the warmth of his hand tugging gently at her wrist. "Charlie, it's okay. I get it."

Peeking at him from between her fingers, she asked, "You do?"

Sid nodded. "At first, I was disappointed because it felt like I failed an evaluation from my boss. But I figured it out when your brother–"

"Future brother-in-law."

"Your sister's boyfriend went to the stall," he continued, not missing a beat. "I saw how panicked you were and realized it's probably not about me. So don't worry, I'm fine. I totally understand."