Gerri eyed me with slight fear. “I’m not going to make rent again. Might as well hit the bar.”
“No.” I shook my head as I walked past her. “No.” I gave her a sharp look before bursting through the double doors, check in hand, and the requested ranch.
“We don’t need it now,” one of the girls snapped, taking her ticket as I thanked them and walked away.
Ah, so she wanted to justify giving me a shitty tip. Nothing new.
“Leave a dollar, at least,” the other, more personable woman at the table scorned.
“You know I won’t. I don’t do charity.” I froze at the waitress stand when I heard those words. It took everything I had not to walk over to bitch slap the woman and shake out her three hundred dollar Coach purse for my charitable contribution.
When the women got up, I walked by and smiled right at them. “I hope you both choke on a nice day!”
They smiled back in fake reply, neither of them catching my sarcasm, while I began to bus their table.
Ralphie, the sixteen-year-old busboy, shooed me away. “I’ve got this, Miss. Go on.”
“Don’t call me Miss. It makes me feel old,” I scolded gently.
“You are ten years older than me.” He winked as he pulled the empty glasses out of my hand. Totally stunned, I stared after him as he continued his task.
And that was the moment that time stopped for me.
Actually, I was eleven years older than he was, and I’d been waitressing at the same place for four years. It was supposed to have been temporary, and I’d only been twenty-three the day I took the job. I was supposed to be figuring out what to do with my life and instead I’d ended up at Grady’s Grill as a permanent fixture.
Oh my God.
Looking up at the rusted but working clock over the checkout counter, I noted the time.
Don’t do anything crazy, Hilary. Ten minutes...just ten minutes and you’re off.
Bursting through the double swinging doors leading into the kitchen, I looked at Gerri as my face paled.
“Oh, God, you didn’t make rent, either. We’re screwed.” Her shoulders slumped as I walked up to her, pulling all the cash out of her hand.
“I have rent. I save my tips. And you still owe me for last month. Get it together,” I snapped as she gave me the evil eye.
“So what the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, following me to the dish room where I began to stack glasses.
“I’ve been working here too long. I have to get out of here now.”
Gerri suddenly looked panicked, and deep down I knew it was because she believed me. When I set my mind to something, I stuck to it. I’d stayed true to that my entire life, except for when it came to a career choice. I couldn’t commit. I’d gone to school to be a nurse and dropped out as soon as I saw what installing a catheter entailed. I would never look at a flaccid penis the same. I’d changed my major to business and got so bored I started the bad habit of online shopping and damn near flunked out while maxing out my credit cards. By my junior year, I had a hundred and ninety-seven credits and not enough classes taken for either degree so I decided to join the workforce for a while until I figured out my next step.
That was four years ago.
I’d been swallowed by the black hole of indecision and now I’d lost the entirety of my twenties to it. Looking up at the safety reflective mirror above the double doors, I saw Flo from the TV LAND sitcom Mel’s Diner looking back at me and let out a shriek.
“Oh my GOD!”
Gerri very calmly walked up to me and put her hands on my shoulders. Her short, spiky brown hair was a scattered mess, and I couldn’t help but think she was adorable as she tried to comfort me. Gerri could only be described as cute. She was petite and had the most animated features on a girl I’d ever seen. Her eyes were huge, but still beautiful, and a bright blue. She’d been my best friend for nearly three years and my roommate for two. I wasn’t a fan of too many girls, but I loved her spontaneity. She was a spur of the moment kind of gal. No, seriously, her last suggestion was that we make the nearly twenty-four hour drive to Las Vegas and spend the day gambling to pay for the trip. I’d actually been bored and desperate enough to believe it a possibility, until we only had twenty dollars left. We were starving and had no gas money left to get home. It was still one of the most exciting things I’d ever done. Even though I still gave her shit for it, secretly I thanked her.
How we got home was another story entirely.
She was always the life of the party, and only took responsibility for being irresponsible.
“Okay, before you freak out, just hear me out,” she said, demanding my attention.
“Too late!” My panic began to rise as I thought of the years I’d wasted pacing this diner with food instead of finding my niche.
“We should go to Mike’s, have a few beers, shoot some pool,” Gerri said seriously, as if our everyday routine would make things better.
“I’m trying to break away from the norm, Gerri,” I said, shaking my head, “not institutionalize myself!” I was yelling now as Joe, the main cook and my boss, rounded the corner.
“Your yapping is giving me a headache,” he mouthed smartly as he eyed me warily. “What’s your problem?”
“I’m putting in my two weeks,” I said without thinking.
His eyes widened and he turned his head to the side in his ‘What you talkin’ ’bout, Willis?’ move. Okay, apparently I watched too much TV LAND. He put his hands on his hips in an attempt to show authority and I nearly laughed, mocking him. Joe seemed like a hardass, but deep down he was a teddy bear. His northern accent was rough, but his eyes were always kind.
“Are you going to give me a reason for leaving?”
“I don’t want to be your Flo, Mel.” He furrowed his brows, making me laugh. Was I the only one who watched old reruns?
“I need to do something else. Nothing against you or this place—Ow.” I jerked my arm away as Gerri pinched it with wide eyes that begged me to keep my mouth shut.
“Don’t you think you should find a job first?!” she scolded as I gave her my attention.
“I just gave myself two weeks of motivation,” I whispered back in a way that let her know she should back off.
Joe stood for only a moment before his eyes softened more than usual. “We’ve always got room for you here, Hilary, if you change your mind.”
“Thanks, Joe,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. He stared at my hand as if it was covered in shit before I removed it. The man was a mystery, and would have to remain that way. I wasn’t sticking around to figure him out.
I was moving on to greener pastures, and would soon have another mystery on my hands. Maybe this one would be worth solving, and hopefully liked to watch old episodes of Different Strokes and thought Jr. Mints were God’s gift to humanity. And maybe this mystery could sport a large penis and have a skilled tongue, dark hair, maybe...or light. And he had to have sisters—I couldn’t handle any more mama’s boys—aka only-child men. Screw that shit. Also if he could—
“That was stupid!” Gerri said, jerking me out of my dream man wish list. “Now you have no job.”
I untied my apron then slammed it on the metal counter. “I can’t believe you, the queen of ‘I’m short on every bill we have this month,’ is lecturing me. Shut up. I’ve got this.”
And even though my legs were shaking along with my voice, I pressed once again through those double doors, which only fueled me more. I was scared to leave my waitressing job and that was all the motivation I needed.