Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
I didn’t want to stand behind the counter and watch everyone work like a looming boss presence, so I retreated to the kitchen where I could glance out at the diner from the passthrough on and off without getting in anyone’s way.
Kasey didn’t seem to mind. He was chopping onions with crazy speed, his snakes flat against his back.
“If you need help, I’m happy to. I can’t do it this fast though.”
He looked up at me without stopping his chopping, eyes misted over from the onions. “You sure? I need a bunch more of these.”
I shrugged. “I’d rather do something than just stand around.”
Kasey grinned at me. “Works for me, boss. Let me get you a knife. Diced if you can, but chopped is fine.”
His own knife went back to his kit, and he found me one of the Moonlight’s and sharpened it. His snakes seemed to relax, some shaking their heads and licking their eyes with their split tongues.
“Chopped and diced… Is there a difference?” While washing my hands in the sink, I looked at the ones he’d already cut and moved to a bowl. They looked pretty uniform.
Kasey cackled. “You’ve never worked in a kitchen, huh? Here, use this.”
He handed me the freshly sharpened knife, the blade shimmering.
I took it by the handle. “I don’t really cook. I guess I’m not allowed.”
Kasey froze. “Whoa. Okay. We’re shifting to a personal convo, yeah? Boss, you have to warn me if you’re doing that. Not that I’m not willing, but I need to adjust.”
I grabbed one of the onions that still needed to be done and cut off the bottom where the dried-up roots came out. Some of Kasey’s snakes took interest.
“Not that personal. I just meant I don’t cook. I used to have instant coffee back when I lived alone.”
“Rough. Really rough. Why didn’t you just have coffee here? I’ve had our coffee. It’s pretty good.”
I chuckled, my thoughts going back to that first night Soyer had spent over at my old apartment. It seemed like it had been ages ago, him and me sitting on that old couch in the place that had been the warmest home I’d ever known, right up until I’d moved in with Soyer.
“I’ve heard that one before.”
“You’re totally blushing. Aw, you’re making me jealous, just a little bit.”
I was blushing. And…I didn’t mind it. A year ago, it would’ve freaked me out, the fear of being known, of only being accepted if I stuck to what was safe. Straight. Back then, I could’ve never imagined that it would be this easy, that no one would really mind. No one who mattered at least.
“Guess I am. In case you hadn’t heard, my fiancé is handsome, so even the jealousy is warranted.”
Kasey’s snakes writhed with what I thought was bemusement. “Are you missing Rae and talking to me instead? Rae’d be really good at this. I’m not sure I should be commenting.”
I’d gone through about half the onion, and my pieces weren’t as small as Kasey’s, not even close, nor were they uniform. “Everyone’s always worried they’re breaking some important rule when they talk to me. Hey, the new manager?”
“I like their hair.”
I looked up from my unfinished onion. “You like their hair? Really?”
Kasey looked at the ceiling and scratched the scales of one of his snakes. “I guess? I like hair. When other people have hair. You know, like humans say blond is their type? I like when people have hair.”
“You’re saying the new manager is good-looking.” I frowned, mostly because the onion was fighting back and making me cry, but also because I was starting to wonder if maybe I was the problem, not Thaeros. After all, they hadn’t really done anything bad.
“I think that’s an objective fact.”
I wanted to ask Kasey about what Thaeros had said, those names they had mentioned. I didn’t though. I wasn’t sure whether that would be wise or whether it would just make me nosy. Instead, I pivoted to the problem at hand.
“What am I doing wrong here?”
Kasey cleared his throat. “A few things, but you do you.”
“Actually, can you show me how to do it right?”
Kasey’s snakes seemed amused. “All right.” He handed me a new onion and put aside the rest of the one I’d been working on. “So, to start, you don’t want to cut off the root.”
I wiped my eyes and set my jaw. It was just an onion, after all, and I was going to master how to deal with it.
Dwayne didn’t need a reminder to leave, as it turned out, and he popped into the kitchen five minutes before I’d planned on getting him.
He put his hands on his hips. “Found a new job, did you?”
With my eyes full of onion tears, I looked up. “Just…helping out. There’s three people out there, and Kasey didn’t mind.”
Kasey gestured with his spatula. “I told him how to hold a knife. Good deed for the day all done.”
“I see. Well, keep it up. New guy?”
Whenever I’d had to take a break to wipe my face, I’d looked out the passthrough, and to my chagrin, Thaeros was pretty damn good at waiting tables.
He had the menu down too, and his order sheets were legible.
Twice I’d caught Ant looking after him, dreamy-eyed.
So, yeah. Everyone deserved their chance, and despite everything, I couldn’t find fault in how Thaeros had used it.
“He’s doing fine so far.”
Dwayne grunt-nodded. “Good. Everyone here’s aware we will be closed this coming Monday?”
Kasey’s snakes writhed. “Yes! No work!”
Dwayne pointed his chin at Kasey. “You see? That’s the reaction, kid. You emulate that.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Hooray for time off.”
“Aww, boss, we’ll miss you on the late shift,” Kasey said.
Dwayne huffed. “Calling him boss now?”
Kasey flipped three pancakes in quick succession. “Always did. You’re the great-boss. Or uber-boss? One of those. Amory’s the regular boss. The all-around boss.”
“Yeah, right. You two have fun. I’m out.”
And off he went, leaving through the front and stopping by the counter to introduce himself to Thaeros.
I heard them talking, but it was too loud in the kitchen for me to catch the entire conversation, not that I wanted to eavesdrop.
I just wanted to get a sense of whether Thaeros simply didn’t like me or if he was on the rude side with everyone.
He probably wasn’t like that with Soyer, but then again Soyer had that reputation he was so proud of.
It didn’t encourage anyone being rude to him.
Either way, for the time being, I had to focus on the onions. It became increasingly difficult to see, but I wasn’t going to give up.
Just when I thought I’d gotten somewhat proficient at chopping things, Kasey had suggested I take a break while he made quick work of some veg.
I was glad, and I took the opportunity to wash my face in the staff bathroom.
In there, with the door locked, I pulled out my phone and took a photo of myself in the mirror to send to Soyer, and along with it texted him:
Rough day.
His answer came fast.
WTF, what happened? Are you all right? Ben?
It probably wasn’t funny, but the reaction still made me smile.
Calm down
I was just helping out in the kitchen, chopping onions.
I think I learned something about chopping onions.
The fuck are you doing in the kitchen?
Your new manager got here, they wanted to work, I didn’t have anything to do, helped Kasey in the kitchen.
??
Did just leaving not occur to you? Rhetorical, I know it didn’t.
You can leave though, let Thaeros take over.
Typical Soyer right there, but he wasn’t going to get me to slack off.
He doesn’t have a uniform, and I have to tell Rae they got a raise. Don’t you want me to bring you cherry pie later?
I waited for a few seconds before sending the text, wondering whether I should ask about where he’d found Thaeros, about whether he was sure Thaeros would be okay working here.
But I didn’t. Both Dwayne and Soyer had told me to show the new person what it was like to work here. That made them my responsibility.
I’m always looking forward to you bringing me pie, but keep in mind that to-go exists.
But I won’t argue with you, my heart. I’m just saying it’s an option.
Not really, and I’ll save a slice for you, how about that?
I have been looking forward to that all afternoon. And to seeing you.
No more kitchen work for you. You’re no Cinderella.
Again, I hesitated, then typed out:
But aren’t you a dark prince? Won’t you whisk me away to the ball?
Feisty. Careful what you wish for. I just might. I’ll see you soon, my heart.
Can’t wait.
I sent the text, then rinsed my face again, dried it with a paper towel, and left the bathroom.
I was thinking about giving Ant the rest of the day off when a noise from the storage room caught my attention.
Immediately, a shiver ran through me. The storage room really wasn’t scary, and we now had a very nice security system, complete with a small screen by the back door that allowed us to see the whole alley there.
Still, it was hard to forget that a black-eyed kid had once tried to get in there, even if I wasn’t too sure what it would have done to everyone if I’d let it inside. I was glad I hadn’t found out.
“Hello?” I said and took two steps, which brought me into the storage room.
Thaeros was getting the big box of napkins off a shelf and looked over his shoulder as I came in.
“Hi. Getting the napkins. We ran out.”
“Right. Let me help you.”
Together, we had the box down fast, and before I could, Thaeros was grabbing three packages.
“This should do. Who’s into blue, by the way? Everything’s blue, and everything has the blue logo.”
He handed me the napkins and went about getting the box back up on the shelf himself. I was used to doing that because I used to be the tallest—not anymore with Levi around—but Thaeros easily lifted the unwieldy cardboard over his head and put it back. It was a pretty big box.
“Must’ve been Dwayne. He started the diner.”
“Yeah, he seems nice. In a still waters kind of way. Not a bad thing, necessarily. You know him well?”