Chapter 3 #3
The breakfast rush was ending at the diner, which was good.
It gave the staff two hours to prep for lunch, take breaks, and switch shifts.
Generally Kelly helped with clearing tables and cleaning the floors, but Sophia was trying to keep her in more of a hostess position so there was someone always at the door.
Kelly felt weird being so stationary. She got the idea of the immediate greeting from the customer service standpoint, but the downside was slower flipping of tables.
Was a smiling face at the door worth slower service?
Kelly figured she’d try it for two weeks to give Sophia’s idea a chance, and then she’d give her honest assessment.
Grumpy: My sanity couldn’t take it anymore.
Kelly wasn’t surprised by that answer, but it also wasn’t the details she was hoping for. But using the expression “pulling teeth” took on a different tone when she was speaking with someone who’d literally broken his jaw six months ago.
Kelly: I have the double morning shift this morning. Want me to bring you lunch on my way home?
Grumpy: I’d like that. I need to un-Mom my house.
Kelly chuckled. She knew from previous conversations that Margery had moved things around in Grumpy’s home.
Apparently this was something she did every visit, but it was more extreme this time due to the length of her stay.
Personally, Kelly was glad to see the woman go.
She meant no disrespect towards the older woman, but Kelly just did not like her.
Grumpy’s mom acted like she was the only person in the entire world who could care for Grumpy.
Like she had been the one to save his life instead of the countless doctors, surgeons, first responders, and nurses that actually had.
And the few times Kelly had been by to visit in person since Grumpy had gotten back from rehab, Margery never left them alone.
Did she think Kelly was going to jump Grumpy’s broken bones if she dared to leave the room?
It was just odd. So Kelly was not sad in the slightest to see the woman go.
But… Her absence did leave an opening, like cracking a door at the possibility of a future. Grumpy was getting better. Eventually, he’d be back to his life. There’d be slight changes to his routine, but she had no doubt he’d be right back at the diner every day as he’d been.
So where did that leave them?
Kelly did not trust Margery, but she also couldn’t get the woman’s words out of her head about Grumpy having cheated on his ex-fiancée and ex-wife.
One relationship with a cheating allegation wasn’t great, but it was understandable.
People saw what they thought they saw, and it was hard to change opinions.
Maybe one of them took something the wrong way, accused him of cheating, and broke it off despite his innocence.
Kelly could understand that, even get behind that.
But two? And if he was ready to marry one and had married the other, then they were serious relationships. Kelly didn’t take Grumpy as the sort of man to just throw engagement rings around. Margery had also mentioned “others”. Likely girlfriends.
Kelly had been cheated on before. Numerous times.
It was why she no longer did long distance relationships.
A tourist would travel through, flirt with her, they’d start something, and then he’d leave with the promise that the distance would not affect his feelings for her.
Bull to the shit. Fool her once and all that rot.
Nope. Kelly did not do cheating. There was no such thing as an accidental cheater.
It was a choice, and that choice meant “bye-bye” in her book.
Beyond the choice, it was about respect.
The cheater did not care enough about her or their relationship to consider the consequences.
No matter what men said, it was impossible for any man to trip and accidentally jam his dick into another woman’s vagina.
Kelly hated to admit it, but having Margery around had been an excuse to keep Grumpy in the friend zone and not have to confront him about his mother’s allegations.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get that other woman out of her head.
The crying one from the hospital hallway.
Clearly, Margery knew her or about her. Which meant she had a big enough role in Grumpy’s life for him to have introduced her to his mom.
Personally, the obvious age-gap bothered Kelly, but only on a vanity scale.
Her boobs were not as perky as they’d been when she was in her early twenties.
So long as everyone was over eighteen and consenting, Kelly truly did not care who slept with whom.
But if Grumpy was used to skinny twenty-somethings, there was no way she was undressing anywhere near him.
Heading into the kitchen to put Grumpy’s order in, Kelly nearly walked into Tally.
Thank God the blind woman saw better than most people with working eyeballs, or that would have been a complete disaster.
Kelly skidded to a halt, nearly knocking over the giant bowl of coleslaw Tally had just put on the counter by the door.
“Careful,” Tally warned. “You forgot to knock.”
Shit. “I’m so sorry!” Kelly proclaimed, looking around to ensure there was no damage. “My head’s on another planet. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so sorry.”
“No harm done.” Tally propped the fridge open with her hip before counting the shelves with her fingertips.
The special machine Sophia had purchased for Tally allowed her to print up prep stickers in both English and Braille.
Tally confirmed what she was looking for and then added the giant bowl to the shelf in the fridge.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“Not if you’re busy. I can come back—”
“Kelly,” Tally spun towards her. Though her eyes were fake, they seemed to burrow straight into Kelly’s soul. “What do you need?”
“I just wanted to give you a head’s up that I’m putting an order through for Grumpy. He won’t need it until after my shift since I’m bringing it to him.”
Tally nodded once. She’d purchased several purée cookbooks after the extent of Grumpy’s injuries were known, claiming that just because he had to eat slop didn’t mean it had to be gross slop.
Several older residents in the community had then heard of Tally’s ability to turn puréed meals into something actually desirable and edible, and the next thing the diner knew, they were having senior-only designated meal times where teeth were optional.
“I heard he finally kicked his mom out. Good for him.”
Kelly frowned, though Tally couldn’t see it. “How did you hear about that? He only just told me.”
Tally patted her pocket where she kept her phone on her chef shirt. “The club’s got an app for certain types of messages. Went out as soon as he messaged Keys to get her a plane ticket.”
Kelly chuckled, shaking her head. “Of course the club has an app for that.” There was a knock at the kitchen door. Kelly stepped to the side while opening it as she added, “I’m not even the least bit surprised.”
“Surprised about what?” Sophia asked, entering the kitchen.
“Grumpy’s mom,” Tally input as she headed over to the sink where she had veggies soaking.
Sophia laughed. “Pirate won that one. But he put up babysitting time so we can have fun Mommy-Daddy time tonight while someone else gets to deal with stinky diapers.”
“Isn’t fun Mommy-Daddy time how you got stinky diapers?” Kelly inquired with a raise of an eyebrow.
Sophia waggled hers. “Hell yeah it was. There was also a lot of rum involved.”
Kelly’s eyes fell to Sophia’s ass, where her black pants had a white handprint and the words “Property of Pirate” over them.
Tally had similar ones with “Property of Scar” but it was covered by her long chef shirt.
Not that anyone sane would question who Tally belonged to.
Prior to Tally and Sophia becoming club sisters and business partners, Kelly really didn’t know who Scar was.
She knew of him, rumors and the like, but unlike the other club members who would frequent the diner, Kelly never saw Scar.
Not until that first day that Tally had walked into the diner after Sophia’s mom had handed the business off to her.
It wasn’t like Kelly knew who Scar was now either, but at least she had a face to the name.
Scar was just there. Always. He couldn’t be seen, couldn’t be heard, but Kelly never doubted his presence in the diner if Tally was there.
On the rare occasion, Tally would force him to sit in the kitchen and eat something, but in the year and nine months since Sophia and Tally had taken over, Kelly had only seen that happen twice.
The club made Kelly feel like the odd-ball cousin, like family but not.
She got the difference, understood that she wasn’t part of the club, but she still appreciated being included.
They didn’t have to do that. Really, she was nothing more than an employee.
She wasn’t an ol’ lady or related to anyone in the club.
She could work her shifts, go home, and never be anything more than that.
But Sophia being Sophia forced Kelly to many club events and even worked her schedule so she could also be included.
It was nice—but Kelly always made sure both she and Sophia remembered that Kelly wasn’t part of the club.
Then again, from Kelly’s understanding, neither was Sophia in the beginning.
Yet she’d wormed her way in anyway. Still, Kelly wasn’t Sophia.
If she and Grumpy remained friends, she’d always remain on the outskirts, looking in on the large family she’d always craved.
Not that that was a reason to be with Grumpy. But it was a mark in the plus column.
Unfortunately, accusations of cheating were big and bold in the negative column.