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“2 Big Belly Busters with curly fries for Chelsey!”
“How much longer on the onion rings?”
“Can I get some more napkins please?”
William barely registered the shouting around him, zeroing his focus on the customer in front of his register.
It was the only way to do this job and keep his sanity. Focus on his little piece of the job; be just another unnoticed, mindless cog in the quickly spinning wheel of the fast food industry.
It was exhausting, thankless, and a little dehumanizing.
He liked it.
During the year at MIT William was constantly thinking, studying, planning, and inventing. He was always noticed by professors and students alike; he was a certified genius after all. He had responsibilities and deadlines. It was a high-pressure life.
While he usually thrived in such an environment, William needed to take a break that summer. So, instead of taking summer courses or moving back in with his grandparents for a few months, he packed a bag, found a room to rent, and took off to spend a few months in Rekona; a small city in the middle of nowhere that served as a regional center for all the tiny towns in the area that were even more remote.
The manager of the Rekona Big Belly Burger had been happy to hire another staff member for the summer, and just like that, William was able to enjoy a few months of being just a regular student in a boring job without a care in the world beyond entering the right orders into the computer.
As much as he appreciated the job, he was looking forward to the end of his shift. It had been a long day, despite it only being mid-afternoon, and William was glad he was only minutes away from clocking out.
The elderly man he had just finished serving moved on, and William turned his attention to the next customer in the line.
Two little hands and the top of a blonde head appeared just over the top of the counter in front of him.
“Hi!” a little girl’s voice called out, “I want to order two milkshakes please.”
It wasn’t unusual for kids to come order without their parents, though they were usually a little older than this girl; she seemed about seven years old.
“Alright,” William leaned closer, “do you have money to pay?”
“Yup!” the little girl declared triumphantly, putting a 20-dollar bill on the counter. “This is enough, right?”
“For two milkshakes?” William clarified, “yes. Which flavours would you like?”
“Mommy wants mint chip,” she told him. “and I would like… do you have strawberry?”
“Yes, we do.” William smiled; this girl was adorable. “What size would you like?”
“The biggest one!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms apart.
“Two large milkshakes, one mint chip, one strawberry. That’ll be $7.49. Your name please?”
“My name is Mia.”
The girl pushed the $20 closer to William, who gave her back her change and pointed where to stand while she waited for her order.
“Next!”
<< << << << <<
William breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out from behind the counter.
His shift was over; the rest of the day was his own.
Just before he stepped out the door, William heard a small commotion behind him.
Usually he would have left the on-duty staff to deal with it, but he recognized that little voice.
“Go away! I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
William turned around and walked towards the sound.
The little girl, Mia, he remembered, was seated in a booth clutching her milkshakes protectively and glaring at a pair of boys who must have been about 12.
“Come on,” one of them taunted, “there’s no way a baby like you can drink both of those. Hand them over.”
“No! This one’s for my mom! You can’t have it!”
“Hey!” William stepped into the scene and glared at the boys. “Leave her alone. Buy your own shakes or get out of the store. Don’t let me catch you bothering people here again.”
They sulked off and William turned his attention to the little girl.
“Hi, my name is William. Don’t worry; I won’t let them bother you anymore. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Good. Your name is Mia, right?
She nodded.
“Okay. Mia, I don’t think you’re supposed to be here by yourself. Where are your parents?”
“Mommy’s in the computer store,” She answered, fidgeting in her seat, “she said we could come to Big Belly when she was finished, but she was taking soooooo long.”
“Mia,” William gave her a stern look, “does your mom know that you’re here?”
“Welllllll…”
“Listen here young lady. You can’t just leave your mom without telling her. So here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to sit here and make sure no one else bothers you, and we’re going to wait for your mom to find you. Alright?”
Mia looked conflicted.
“I’m not really supposed to talk to strangers…”
“That’s a good rule,” William agreed. “You don’t have to talk to me. But do you see my uniform?” He waited for her to nod. “That means I work at this Big Belly Burger; my job is to take care of the people here, so I’m going to keep you safe until your mom arrives. Do you understand?”
“That makes sense.” Mia agreed.
William sat down across from Mia; his back towards the door.
It was only a couple of minutes later that the door flew open and William heard a frantic voice behind him.
“MIA! Where are you?!”
William froze.
He knew that voice.
He watched in a daze as Mia stood up on her seat, waving.
“Here I am Mommy!”
A blonde whirlwind rushed past him and gathered up Mia in her arms.
“Are you alright Mia? You know you can’t run off like that! I turned around and you weren’t there! What if something happened to you?!”
“I’m okay mom. I even got you your milkshake! Don’t worry, William took care of me.”
They both turned to look at him and William felt all the blood drain out of his face.
“It’s you.” He whispered.
He watched as Felicity’s jaw dropped.
“William?”
He nodded silently, still dumfounded.
Suddenly he was wrapped up in a bone-crushing hug.
Felicity held him tightly while she spoke into his ear.
“I’ve missed you so much. I’m so happy to see you. I love you, Will.”
William pulled back at that and looked up at her.
“Really?”
“Mommy, what are you doing? Do you know William?”
Felicity looked him right in the eyes.
“Yes, William. Really. I’ve missed you so much.”
“But, but…”
“Mommy?”
Felicity turned around for a moment. “Yes Mia, I know William.” She faced him again. “Are you working right now? Can you leave for a bit?”
“I—I finished my shift.” He stammered, still in shock.
“Good.” Felicity nodded. “There’s a park a few blocks from here. Why don’t we head there so Mia can play while we talk?”
“Uh, sure, I guess, I mean, okay.” William stuttered.
“Mom?”
“Come on Mia, we’re going to the park. We’ll talk about you running away later.”
“I’m sorry Mommy,” Mia apologized, before holding out one of the giant cups, “here’s your milkshake.”
“Thanks baby.”
The trio walked to the park in silence, the three minutes feeling far longer.
When they arrived Mia quickly scampered off to play while Felicity and William sat down on a bench.
“So, uh, Mia. She’s my sister?”
“Yes honey, she is.” Felicity replied softly, turning to face him, “congratulations; you’re a big brother.”
“Wow.” William breathed, eyes searching for Mia on the playground. “I—I always wanted a sibling, but I never thought it would happen.”
“Where have you been?” He asked, an edge suddenly in his voice as he turned back to face her. “You disappeared off the face of the earth for years! No calls, no messages, no listed phone numbers or address. If I didn’t know how hopeless Bubbe was with technology I would have thought she was the one who founded Smoak Tech and you were dead. I searched the internet—with both google and some of my less-than-legal skills—and I couldn’t find you.” William’s voice cracked.
“Oh honey,” Felicity murmured, reaching out to smooth William’s cheek, “I’m so sorry. I’m alright; I’m here; I’ve got you,” she assured him, feeling her eyes grow moist.
“Your father and I decided to move off the grid back in 2019 so that Mia could grow up safely. We didn’t want to risk the wrong people finding out about her. We live in a cabin about two hours away in Bloomfield.”
“We?”
“Mia and I. You—did hear about your dad, right?”
William ducked his head and nodded.
“Yeah. I saw it on the news.”
“On the—William, you heard it from the news? Oh, I’m so, so sorry, sweetheart.”
Felicity reached out and gathered William into her arms, holding him close like she had wanted to do seven years ago.
After a bit they pulled apart and it was Felicity’s turn to voice her confusion.
“What are you doing in Rekona? I thought you’d be taking summer courses at MIT like you did last year.”
William gaped.
“You.. you know about MIT… and my courses?”
“Of course I do!” Felicity shot him her patented do-not-mess-with-me look. “Just because I wasn’t physically in your life didn’t mean I wasn’t going to watch over you. Your highschool, for one, had practically no firewalls to speak of, but they did livestream your graduation, so I’ve mostly forgiven them. Mostly.”
“You watched my graduation?” William asked in shock.
“Yes. I’m so proud of you buddy,” Felicity smiled, “you have become a fine young man and I am so proud to have had even a small hand in raising you.”
William sniffed.
“I’m glad you were watching, even if I didn’t know. Once Overwatch always Overwatch, huh?”
“Something like that.”
They both smiled.
“So… what now?” William asked.
“I guess the question is; do you want to be a part of your sister’s life?”
William shot her a disbelieving look.
“Of course I do! Why would you think otherwise?”
“Good. I’m glad. I want—you father wanted—we wanted you to grow up together,” Felicity told him, “I just wasn’t sure, because you left to live a safe, normal life. Our lives may be mostly safe now, but they aren’t normal. I just wouldn’t want Mia to meet you and spend her life missing you.”
“Screw normal,” William declared, “I want my sister”.
They both turned to watch Mia where she was dangling upside down from the monkey bars.
“Mia!” Felicity called, “come ‘ere!”
Mia sprinted over to stand in front of Felicity.
“Yes Mommy?”
Felicity wrapped an arm around Mia’s shoulder and turned her to face William.
“Mia, I’d like you to meet someone very special. This is your big brother William.”
“Hi Mia, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“Hi?”
Mia scrunched up her nose and turned to Felicity.
“I have a brother?”
Felicity tucked a piece of hair behind Mia’s ear.
“Yeah, honey, you do. He’s really excited to get to know you.”
Mia turned back to William.
“If you’re my brother, why don’t you live with us?”
William smiled with watery eyes.
“I got lost for a while Mia. But you found me. Thank you for finding me.”
<< << << << <<
A few minutes later the trio was walking into the local Jitters, taking a seat in a booth near the back.
Felicity and William sat across from each other, memories playing of the hours Will used to spend doing homework in the coffee shop Felicity worked at when they were living in witness protection.
Mia slid in beside William, wanting to be near him, yet still keeping a cautious distance between them.
“So Mia, what do you like to do for fun?”
“umm… the new kata aunt Nyssa taught me had lots of kicks! I like kicks,” Mia enthused, picking up speed as she rambled, “and sometimes we play cat and mouse in the woods to practice stealth. That’s lots of fun. But I don’t like when we meditate. That’s boring.”
“Aunt Nyssa? That Nyssa?”
Felicity nodded.
“I needed someone to train Mia. She was the most qualified and she was willing.”
Mia sat up straight and looked at William with new interest.
“You know Aunt Nyssa?”
William smiled down at her.
“Yeah, I do. I met her a couple times. She’s pretty cool.”
Mia’s eyes sparkled. “The coolest!”
Mia scooted sideways on the bench so that she was sitting closer to William. If he liked Aunt Nyssa then he must be okay.
At that moment the barista came by to deliver their order; coffee for Felicity and William and chocolate chip muffins for all three.
Mia immediately started attacking her muffin, while William nearly dove for his coffee.
“Ah, sweet nectar of life!” he exclaimed, closing his eyes as he enjoyed his caffeine.
A chuckle sounded from across the table.
“Look at you, all grown up,” Felicity grinned, “it seems like just last week you were begging me for a milkshake while you did your homework, and now here you are, drinking coffee”.
“I remembered how much you loved coffee,” William told her with a wink, “at a certain point I needed the caffeine myself, but also… it made me feel closer to you” he finished shyly.
Felicity reached out to cover his hand with her own.
“Are you sad, William?” Mia asked, looking up at him with an adorable chocolate-smeared face.
“A little bit,” William confessed, “I missed you and your mom very much”.
“Well you don’t need to be sad anymore,” Mia declared with childlike determination, “I found you and you’re not going to get lost again”.
She suddenly leaned in, wrapping her arms around William and squeezing as tightly as she could, face buried in his side.
William couldn’t care less about the chocolate that was now staining his uniform.
He wrapped an arm around his sister, hugging her impossibly tighter, his other hand still holding onto Felicity.
He smiled at them both, tears rolling down his face.
“Thank you for finding me.”