The restaurant was unusually busy tonight. On a weekday, after the dinner rush had passed things normally began to calm down. Today, however, almost all our tables were full and a few customers were waiting in the lobby for a table to get vacant.

"Evelyn! Order for table 5!"

I rushed to grab the tray off the counter and made my way to the general dining area. It was for an elderly couple who was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

In my one month of working here, I had seen the most extravagant proposals, birthday celebrations, and anniversaries. But this was by far my favorite anniversary.

The couple was so sweet and so in love with each other. It was a heartwarming sight. On my few trips to their table, they had told me all about how they'd met and fallen in love. I was really enjoying having their table in my section.

As I was returning to my spot after serving their food, I heard someone whisper my name. "Evelyn." I looked back to see if the elderly couple was calling me but they were happily enjoying their dinner.

"Evelyn!" the voice called again, a little louder this time.

I looked around and my eyes almost fell out of their sockets when I saw Atlas waving at me from a table to the left a little ahead of me. A wide grin spread across his lips and he gestured for me to come closer.

"Please tell me you aren't here just to see me," I mumbled in a hushed tone as soon as I reached his table.

"Does this table fall in your section? Or do I need to take a different one?" he asked, ignoring my comment.

I folded my arms across my chest, pinning him with a glare. "Why are you here Atlas?"

Once he realized I wasn't going to just go along with whatever he had in mind, he conceded. "Relax. I'm here for business okay? I'm waiting for the other party to arrive," he said.

"Uh-huh. And you aren't in the VIP section like last time because?"

"I just don't think this person deserves VIP treatment. She kinda gives me the creeps," he said with a shudder. "I would much rather be in an open space where you can come to my protection immediately." He grinned at me. "Now, am I in your section?"

I didn't want to comply with him so fast or he would keep coming back here again and again. But that stupid smile of his was melting my resolve.

"Yes, you goofball," I said, flicking his head. "But that doesn't mean you'll keep calling me here just to talk. I have other patrons to look after. And no flirting. I'm at work."

"Aww, that's no fun. But I guess it's fine as long as I get to watch you."

I shook my head at him but decided not to engage any further. If the manager or any other staff saw me talking to him more than necessary, it wouldn't be good. Any communication that could border flirting territory was frowned upon.

"Are you ready to order, sir?" I asked as I whipped my notepad out, getting back to being professional.

Sadly, Atlas didn't catch my drift, and a goofy smile took over his face at 'sir'. "Are we doing this here? Now?"

"Atlas Griffin, I swear to God if you don't cut it out—"

"Okay, okay fine. Jeez woman no need to get all worked up," he said as he flipped open the menu and scanned it. "I guess I'll just have water because eating before my guest arrives would be rude."

I gave him my practiced smile. "Water coming right up."

Thankfully, Atlas didn't bother me further as I went from table to table to take orders and serve food while he waited for his guest. Between running back and forth from the kitchen to the general area and chatting with customers, I almost forgot about Atlas being there in the background.

When I was helping the elderly couple select dessert, I saw a woman approach Atlas' table from the corner of my eye. To always be aware of my surroundings and watch out for any hands beckoning me over was a skill I had acquired after waitressing for over three years.

Atlas caught my eye and beckoned me over as I was going to place the dessert order. Straightening my frame and plastering a smile on my face, I approached his table to greet his guest. "Good evening ma'am. My name is Evelyn and I'll be your server tonight. Would you like to place your order?"

The woman looked up at me and my breath got caught in my throat. Mom.

Except for the obvious sign of age, her face hadn't changed much. Her cheeks were fuller giving her angular face a soft touch. There weren't dark circles under her eyes anymore and her green eyes were brighter as she smiled at me.

She was smiling at me. I couldn't remember the last time she had smiled at me. She didn't recognize me.

She was also saying something to Atlas. Something I couldn't hear because my ears won't stop ringing. Maybe this was a dream and I just needed to snap out of it.

Discreetly, I pinched the inner side of my arm until the spot was an angry red. She didn't disappear. This wasn't a dream. She was here.

A touch on my elbow snapped me out of my daze. Atlas was looking at me worried while my mom was perusing the menu. I forced a smile on my face, trying my hardest to not look like I was close to collapsing.

"Have you decided what you want to eat?" I asked. My voice sounded robotic to my ears and I could only hope that wasn't the case for the listeners. I had to sound warm and welcoming according to the restaurant's guidelines.

Atlas told me his order, worry still etched between his brows but didn't try to know more. And I was grateful for it. Because I knew one kind word or a soft gesture from him would tear apart my walls and I would crawl into his arms crying.

I needed my walls intact more than ever right now. Without them, I would be what my mom had called me years ago. A crying mess.

"Mrs. Davis, what would you like to have?" Atlas asked her.

Mrs. Davis. That was her last name now. She married someone else. Was she happy now? She looked happy.

"Oh please, Ava works fine," she said. At least she hadn't changed her first name.

She spent a few more minutes reading the menu and asking questions about the dishes. I rattled off the answers exactly how I had memorized them. She looked pleased with me. It was strange.

After noting her order, I rushed back to the kitchen to place it before taking respite in the back room. We weren't allowed to leave our spots without the manager's permission but I needed a minute to process. To breathe.

She was here. She was here. She was here.

What should I do? Should I tell her who I was? Or stay quiet and let her be? Treat her like any other customer and forget about it after going home? Would I be able to forget about it though?

I noticed my breath was starting to quicken. If I didn't get things under control, I would get a panic attack and this time Atlas won't be able to help me.

Focusing on breaths, I forced myself to slow down. If I started that train of thought, I wouldn't be getting back out there. And I couldn't afford to lose this job because of her.

With one last deep breath, I plastered a smile on my face again and stepped out just in time to hear my name being called. The dessert for the elderly couple was ready. Grabbing the tray, I made my way back to their table but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Atlas' table.

Mom was laughing at something he said. I wondered if she liked him. If she'd still like him knowing his connection to me.

"Here's your dessert," I said, placing the plates in front of the couple. "And it's on the house. A gift from us for your anniversary."

"That's so sweet of you. Isn't that nice, Linda?" the man said, squeezing his wife's hand.

When I looked at her, I found her already staring at me. She reminded me of my grandma with her kind eyes. "Is everything okay, Evelyn dear? You look a little pale," she asked.

I was taken aback momentarily but quickly shot her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just a little busy."

She didn't look convinced. However, I excused myself and walked away, not waiting long enough for her to ask any more questions.

When I brought over the orders for Atlas' table, he and my mom seemed to be in deep conversation. I tried my best not to stare at her as I set their table. Seeing her after so many years made me want to keep looking at her. Even though I knew very well that I shouldn't.

"How is Wellsfield?" she asked Atlas. "I was surprised to hear that you go there when you could have easily attended any Ivy League university or at least a university in a big city."

Atlas shrugged. "It's great. Close to home. That way I can help Iris whenever she needs me."

She hummed. "That makes sense."

I left them to their conversation and busied myself with picking up the empty dishes and cleaning tables. The elderly couple had left as well, leaving me a huge tip with a 'thank you' scribbled on a tissue paper.

The next time I went back to Atlas' table was to clear the plates away. Like last time, I had intended to be quick and leave as soon as possible without making eye contact. But the plan didn't work.

"Excuse me?" My mom called. I noticed how she was still smiling at me.

"Yes?"

"Can we get another chair over here? And more sparkling water please," she said.

"Of course," I said and rushed to do the task. Borrowing a chair from an empty table, I placed it on their table and went to get her the water.

When I came back with her sparkling water, a younger woman approached the table. Mom's face lit up on seeing her and she gestured for her to sit down on the third chair.

"Atlas, my daughter Clarissa. I'm not sure if you two have met before," she said. "She was here to check out the Wellsfield campus. She's considering going here too next year. Hope you don't mind her joining us."

Her daughter?

My eyes locked on the new woman, assessing her. She had the same hair as my mom. The same facial features and the same smile. She looked just like her. A younger version of her.

Is that why she left me behind? Because I didn't look like her? Because I resembled my dad more?

I looked away from her, throat clogged with emotion. Did she even remember the daughter she had left behind? Or was she too happy with the new one and forgot about me?

As I felt the first tears forming, I stared down at the table and blinked them away. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Not here. Not now.

I began picking up the remaining cutlery from the table as fast as I could without looking frantic. Their voices droned on in the background as I focused on getting everything on the tray so I wouldn't have to make another trip back.

"My friend here could tell you more about it," Atlas' voice cut through the haze and I blinked up at him. He gave me a sheepish smile. "Clarissa wants to know more about the Department of Mass Media and Communications at Wellsfield."

"Oh," that's all I could say.

"Are you a communications major?" Clarissa asked and I turned to face her. "How's the coursework? Are there any projects you have to do?"

She seemed happy. Excited. She also had a lot of questions but I couldn't look past the fact that she was the carbon copy of my mother.

When I stayed silent for a beat longer than necessary, Atlas piped in. "There's a student body that handles all the media outlets. They are doing this really cool promotional project for the hockey team right now and she is leading the team."

"That's so cool!" Clarissa exclaimed.

Atlas flashed me a proud smile that in any other scenario would have made my heart flutter. Right now I was too stressed to think of anything else.

"That's uh... that's quite an achievement," Mom said. "What's your name again?"

She looked at me expectantly, a pleasant smile on her face. This was where I should have let things go and resumed work. But instead, I decided to remind her of her past. "Evelyn. Evelyn Hayes."

I watched her face slowly go pale as the realization dawned on her. She scanned me from head to toe, her eyes going wide with every familiar feature she noticed. She let out an audible gasp and then... nothing.

She looked away from me as if I wasn't even there. Dismissing me just like she'd done years ago.

That was all I needed to know.

I turned around in a hurry to leave, not wanting to see her a minute longer. My abrupt movement caused an oncoming server to bump into me and although both of us managed to stabilize our trays, two glasses from mine tumbled down, shattering to pieces.

Silence fell across the dining room as all eyes turned in our direction. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," the other server said. I waved her off and kneeled to pick up the bigger pieces. A rather sharp shard sliced my finger as I took hold of it. But I didn't feel any pain.

"Evelyn, what the fuck?"Atlas was beside me in an instant, holding my bloodied hand. "Let it go."

I looked at my fingers that were still holding onto the shard, blood dripping down my hand and to the floor. "Let it go!" Atlas commanded again, gripping my hand tightly. I let the shard go and he held my hand up to inspect it.

The manager arrived at the scene shortly after. She looked at my hand and grimaced. "Go put a bandage on your hand. Leave the tray here. I'll get someone else to take it."

I didn't need to be told twice. Rushing to the back room, I shut the door, breathing heavily. As I held my injured finger under the running water of the wash basin, the tears I had been holding began to flow freely. Before I knew it, uncontrollable sobs shuddered through my body.

The door opened behind me after a while and my manager walked in, closing the door behind her. "I'm sorry," I said through the sobs as she took my hand and led me to sit on one of the two chairs we had there. "I don't know why I can't stop crying."

She wordlessly cleaned my wound, put an ointment on it, and wrapped it up with clean gauze while I kept sobbing. Once she was done, she looked at me with a soft expression on her face.

"I don't know what's going on but I'm assuming it's something personal. I won't pry," she said. "The lady on table 7 gave this and told me to give it to you."

I sniffled and looked at the folded note she was holding. With wary hands, I took hold of it and opened it.

I'm assuming you recognized me as well. Look, I can understand that you might have a lot of questions but I want you to maintain distance for now. Clarissa doesn't know about you and I would like to keep it that way.

You seem to be close with Atlas Griffin and I'm hoping you'd keep him out of our personal matters as well. If you want money, I can give that to you. Here's my number. Call me and we can talk.

There was a number scribbled under it with the note signed off as Mrs. Ava Davis. As if she needed to remind me again that she wasn't my mother anymore.

I crushed the note and chucked it into the trash bin. If that's all she had to say after all these years, there was nothing for us to talk about.

My manager stared at me for a beat before offering me a small smile. "You can clean the VIP section for the rest of the shift. It's empty."

I thanked her and then went to do just that. For the rest of the night, I rage-cleaned the VIP section while trying to erase all the memories of my mother. She wasn't my mother anymore. She was just another selfish woman and I didn't need her in my life.

When I stepped out of the restaurant after my shift, I found Atlas waiting for me in the same spot he was the other day. As soon as I saw him, I felt the tears well up again.

I rushed up to him and flung myself into his arms, burying my face in his chest. He stumbled back a little but steadied us quickly.

"Hey, you okay? Are you crying? Is your hand okay?" he asked, his fingers running through my hair.

I nodded. "It's the hormones."

He let out a soft chuckle. "Will ice cream make it better? Maybe we could watch that gory show of yours. How does that sound?"

I just hugged him tightly. Right now he and his warm presence were the only things keeping me anchored. Reminding me that I may have shitty parents but I didn't have a shitty life. Not with him in it.