The Guardians (The Highest Order, Book One)

CHAPTER 2

Like everything else in this tiny town, the retro diner mom pulled up to was cute, homely even, with MARNIES, wrote in big, bold, illuminated letters and although it wasn't a 24-hour diner, it was open till the later hour of midnight. My growling stomach approves.

'I hope they have pancakes' I blurt out as the car comes to a halt and, although my words had no humour, mom lets out a small laugh.

The diner was as retro on the inside as it was on the outside and I can't help but imagine coming in here a year ago. Dad would have rather ate a grenade than step foot in a building like this one as anything more than a publicity stunt.

'Well, hi there', a thick southern drawl to the words snaps me out of the humorous thought just as we sit in booth at the far end of the diner. I'm left stunned at the woman in front of me. This small, old woman looked exactly like every southern grandma stereotype I'd ever heard, all the way down to the old-fashioned frilly apron wrapped around her waist. She looked harmless but I had no doubt she'd be more than willing to whack a newspaper over your head if you disrespected her.

I smile politely but my mother looks in her element as the old woman carries on, 'I'm Marnie and that over there is my husband Robert' She points to an equally old man standing through a wide hole in the wall which looked straight into the kitchen. Marnie, as she introduced herself, placed two laminated menus in front of us, 'You must be the new folk who moved into old Callahan place, we don't get very many newcomers on this side of the state, it's good to see some new faces'

Mom smiles warmly, 'It's nice to have such a warm welcome,' She says politely, 'I'm Sera and this is my daughter, Faith'

Reciprocally, my mom and Marnie look to me, what am I supposed to say?

'It lovely to meet you' I say in the surest tone I could muster with a small smile. The lady gives me a warm smile that puts me at ease.

'So, what can I get you folk to drink?' She really did remind me of a grandma, not my own, but what a grandma is supposed to be like. She put the entire scene at ease, there was no awkwardness available in her presence.

'I'll take a coke, if you've got it' Mom says, 'And I have no doubt Faith will welcome a chocolate milkshake with open arms' She smiles at me knowingly.

'Kids and their sugar, hmm, my grandkids are wild for theirs, let me tell you that' Marnie laughs lightly, 'I'll be right over with those drinks of yours,' she points to the menus, 'we do all-day breakfast if you're fancyin' it.' she leaves us with a wink and a smile and I stare at my mom with shock.

We both laugh over our shock looks, 'No way...' I say in disbelief, 'No way.'

Sure enough, a few minutes later, she's back with our drinks and taking our order. Mom gets a salad (habit, I guess) and obviously, I get pancakes. The diner isn't as empty as you would expect at this time of the evening and it didn't show any sings of slowing down. People came through the doors in groups as we ate. I didn't think this many people could fit in the entire town, much less a diner as small as this but Marnie welcomes each and every one with open arms and wide smiles, not faltering once.

The concept was foreign to us city girls, but it was nice. It left a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach when I smiled. Maybe I had it wrong all along, I'd lived and breathed Miami city for my entire life, where people ignored other people as they passed on the sidewalk, nobody knew anybody, whereas here, everybody knew everybody and everything about them.

It wasn't until a rather rowdy bunch of guys around my age came in, that her smile dropped just a little, 'Now you boys keep that noise down, this ain't no circus.' She scolded with her hands on her hips in a motherly tone. There was an entire chorus of apologies and there was no mention of it again as they crowded a booth on the opposite end of the diner to us.