Chapter 3
three
. . .
Rachel
"Ithink things are going to get busy," Nora chirped enthusiastically.
She was standing at the big window behind the cash register.
She turned around. The pink streaks in her hair glowed neon in the sunlight streaming through the window.
"Carol said she might even give us raises.
" She straightened the small white apron around her waist and tucked a pencil behind her ear.
I smiled. "I'll believe there's a raise when I see it in my paycheck.
" I joined her at the window. The massive empty lot across the road from the diner was crawling with work trucks and workers in yellow hardhats and orange vests.
The plans for a shopping center had been approved a year earlier, and they'd finally broken ground.
Carol, the owner of Carol's Diner, had been anxious for work to start.
The only other eating places within a decent lunch break distance were a greasy taco stand where the cleanliness was more than questionable and a donut shop that closed at eleven in the morning.
Occasionally, a food truck stopped in town, and I was sure that would happen more now that a large crew of hungry workers would be on the site, but my best friend, Nora, and I had big hopes for generous tips. Every dollar more would be appreciated.
A whistle blew across the street. None of us had expected it, and we all stared at each other across the mostly empty dining room. Hank, the cook, leaned his head through the pass-through window. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was the lunch whistle. Guess we're on," he said excitedly.
I had to admit, I was feeling giddy, too.
If the dining room filled up every lunch hour, the increase in tips could be substantial.
I hurried to the break room to check my phone and smooth my hair back into its ponytail.
I leaned down to see the small, warped mirror on the inside door of the locker.
Nora joined me in the break room. "I was thinking the same damn thing.
It's hard to get a good look at them in the distance, but there were definitely a few hot hunks milling about over there in their big ass-kicking work boots and tight T-shirts.
" She applied a coat of lipstick and held the gold tube toward me.
"No thanks. I was just fixing my hair, so I won't lose any in plates of food. I'll leave all the hunks in T-shirts to you." I fished in my purse for my phone.
Nora closed her locker door and frowned at me. She'd had her lips enhanced, and now, coated in bright red lipstick, the frown reminded me of a sad circus clown. "I forgot about your resolution to never date again."
"I've stuck to it," I gloated even though it was only April. I glanced at my phone. "Oh shit. I missed three calls from the day care."
Nora, being the good friend that she was, looked properly concerned. She moved closer. "What happened? Is Jack all right?" Nora was unofficial godmother to my three-year-old son. She was constantly showering him with toys and clothes and hugs, and he adored his Auntie.
Marcy, the manager of the day care facility, answered in an unfriendly tone. "We tried to call you three times."
"I'm sorry. I'm only allowed to check my phone on my break. What happened? Is Jack sick? Did he get hurt?"
Nora moved even closer and put her hand on my arm. Her eyes rounded as she waited to hear.
"Jack fell down. He was running across the pavement. We have a rule. No running," she told me in strict teacher fashion.
"Yes, but he's three, and sometimes the rules fall out of his head. Is he all right?"
"He skinned his knee."
There was a loud knock on the doorframe. Carol stood in the middle of it with arms crossed and her second chin resting like a pillow on her neck. "Break time is over, ladies. We've got customers."
Nora left my side begrudgingly. "She's on the phone with the day care."
"Is Jack all right?" Carol asked. She could be the gruff boss one minute and a sweet, wonderful friend the next. Everyone at the diner adored Jack. They were his family.
Nora led her out, so I could finish the call. "Is it bad? Is he upset?"
"He wailed pretty loudly, but a butter cookie helped calm him down. We cleaned it and put on a bandage. He was asking for his mom." She knew I worked, so adding that in was just payback for not answering her call.
"Again, I'm sorry I didn't see the calls until just now." I could hear the volume in voices and chairs clattering in the dining area increase exponentially with each passing moment. "We're really busy at the diner right now—"
"It's all right. Guess you didn't listen to your last message. Your mom came and got him."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Carol was a supportive boss, but she'd be angry if I had to dash out in the middle of a busy lunch hour.
Not to mention, I couldn't miss out on the hours or tips.
I was in that terrible single mom world where working my ass off at two jobs earned me just enough to keep food in the fridge.
Mom helped whenever she could, but she was on a fixed income.
She watched Jack when I worked my night job, and he was at day care during the diner hours.
Sometimes it felt like my amazing little boy and I were just two strangers passing in the night, barely able to say hello to each other before I had to dash off to work.
Knowing that he was asking for me this morning broke my heart in two.
"All right, Marcy, thanks for letting me know. I've got to get out to the dining area. Goodbye."
A toddler began a crying fit in the background, so she hung up without another word. My phone rang the instant Marcy's call ended. "Hey, Mom, I just heard from Marcy. I'm sorry. I didn't see the call. How is he?"
"He's fine. I gave him a glass of chocolate milk, and he's snuggled down with Bronty and watching a movie. I had to leave my knitting club. They were going to teach us how to do a rib stitch. I wanted to make us matching sweaters for Christmas."
"I'm sorry about that, Mom. Listen, I've got to go. They broke ground across the street, and all the workers are piling in for lunch. Could be some really nice tips for the next months."
"Gosh, that would be nice, Ray."
"It sure would. I'll call once the lunch hour dies down.
Give Jack a kiss for me." I hung up, tossed my phone into the locker and headed out to the dining room.
I froze for a moment. The dining area was packed.
Nora and I were the only servers, so Carol had put on her serving apron.
It seemed she was going to have to expand her serving staff while the site was being built.
Carol was filling water glasses behind the counter when she spotted me. Her brows raised in question. "He's fine," I mouthed to her. She motioned with her head toward the crowded dining room and shrugged. A big smile followed. She walked past me with a tray of waters.
"Are you ready for this?" She grinned at the packed room. "You take tables three, six, eight and nine."
"Got it." I walked over to table three. Three men and a woman, each with a hardhat line on their forehead, were laughing about something. "Afternoon. Welcome to Carol's. I'm Rachel, your server. Can I get you something cold to drink?"
The woman put down the menu. "What do you recommend for a girl who likes to watch her figure?"
"I'm definitely watching Rachel's," one of the men said as he leaned back in his chair and looked me up and down.
The woman threw a sugar packet at the man.
"You can stop that shit now. I'm your supervisor, remember?
And I don't stand for sexual harassment even if it's the server at the diner.
Treat women with respect or start looking for another job.
I'll have a diet cola." The woman, my new hero, smiled up at me. "Where's the ladies' room?"
"Right past the bakery case," I said.
The woman got up, and I winked at her in a show of solidarity.
"Told you it wasn't gonna be any fun working under a woman," the man she'd scolded muttered to his coworker.
I took their drink order and moved to the next table. Four men, two older with permanent leathery tans, and two that looked no more than thirty filled the small table. One of them had a thick head of shiny black hair. He was staring down at his phone when I walked up to the table.
"Welcome to Carol's. I'm Rachel, and I'll be your server."
The exact same scene followed. It was one of the leathery-faced men.
He leaned back in his chair to get a look at my legs and then made the bold move to reach for my ass.
The guy with black hair hadn't looked up from his phone yet, but his arm shot out to block the man from touching me.
Instant tension circled the table, and it even reached the neighboring tables.
Conversations fell quiet. The man who'd tried to grab me stared hard at the man who'd blocked him.
He finally put down his phone and looked directly at the handsy man.
Maybe having hungry construction workers filling the diner everyday wasn't going to be such a great thing.
I already dealt with leering men enough at my night job.
I certainly didn't need it in the diner.
"What the hell?" leathery guy asked.
"Look, Sam, she's just working and trying to earn a living like us. How'd you like it if I grabbed your ass while you were framing a wall?"
Sam's glower grew darker, and his weak chin moved side to side in anger. Sizing the two men up, I'd say Sam only had experience in his favor. He also didn't have an amazingly handsome face to lose like my other new hero.
A hush seemed to fall over the entire dining area as Sam stared hard at the young man sitting next to him. Then his tobacco-stained teeth glinted behind a grin. "I'd like to see you try, Wilde."