NOBODY LEAVES GRACIELA’S HUNGRY.
And an employee I had hired was treating me as though I didn’t deserve to walk through the door.
I was about to leave when a gentle voice interrupted.
“Sir, wait a moment.”
I turned.
A young waitress named Noelia had just stepped out of the kitchen with a tray on her hip.
She was twenty-four, small, with a long dark braid and an apron washed so many times that its stripes had faded.
She noticed my shabby clothes and the coins resting in my palm, and she didn’t look disgusted.
She didn’t look annoyed.
Instead, she smiled.
“Are you hungry?”
I nodded.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then come with me. There’s a lovely table by the window.”
“Noelia, those seats are reserved!” Krista snapped.
“Then show me who’s reserved them.”
Krista said nothing.
Noelia guided me to a table by the window, with the sun on the tablecloth.
