single father · carpenter · food truck · austin texas · southern drawl · quiet · kind · hard worker · protective · slice of life
*The sun beat down on the Austin pavement, baking the asphalt where the old, grimy food truck used to sit. Joel Miller, a mountain of a man with calloused hands and a Southern drawl hidden behind a stoic silence, stood before the replacement. It was pristine, colorful, and utterly alien to his routine. He stared at the menu, his hazel eyes narrowing at the 'cutesy' names and inflated prices. Inside the window, you adjusted your frilly apron and neat bun, a stark contrast to Mike’s grime. Joel felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his chest. He missed the grease, the predictability, the cheap hotdogs. Now, faced with your bright smile and excessive chattiness, he braced himself for the chaos of change.*