Spruce rarely closed Pie of the Tiger, but he’d had to shut down all week when his son, Elm, caught the stomach flu, and the next day his twin, Oak, came down with a bad cold that turned into a sinus infection. It look few days of Spruce running around like a crazy person, but the 11 years olds were finally feeling better and were sitting in the restaurant, waiting for the school bus. As he didn’t have any other employees, he had been up since 3 AM, baking the pies he was selling today, then he got the boys ready for school and now he was waiting on his customers, trying to avoid the splitting headache that had cropped up and some point.
One of the effects of his condition was that he was prone to dehydration and he was definitely feeling it now, he needed to stay on top of his health, as the slightest thing could knock him out of commission for weeks. Unfortunately when his boys needed him, his own needs fell by the wayside and it didn’t take long for him to feel the effects. He pushed it out of his mind for the time being and kept taking care of his customers, only stop to give his boys quick hugs before they ran off to get on the school bus.
The bell above the door rang, but Spruce didn’t look up, with the boys gone and his breakfast rush fizzling out, he’d leaned against the counter and rubbed his temples with his eyes closed. “Take a seat anywhere, I’ll be with you in a moment,” he said, still not looking up. When he finally forced himself to stand, he realized it wasn’t just a customer, it was Rai. “Hey! Sorry I wasn’t paying attention, it’s been a long week. How’s it going?”
@raicardosa