Chapter 16
RORY
It is Wednesday already, and the week is thankfully passing with no major issues happening at the diner. My life in general is quiet and at times lonely. But I am grateful for my job and the customers who have become familiar and friendly.
I turn to look at Grady who happily greets me when I pick him up from school. He could catch the bus now that it passes closer to my house, but he keeps telling me he likes me picking him up, and he looks forward to seeing me.
We started his math lessons for a few minutes each day when we either went to my home or to the diner.
I make sure he understands the basics of what he needs, and on Saturday I will push him that bit further.
I can’t wait to see what his next test results show because I have seen an improvement in his understanding already.
I’m not sure his teacher, Miss O’Grady, is suitable for teaching math, if I’m being honest. She seems to gloss over the basic understanding, which leaves the class wondering what the heck they are doing.
I’ve checked the results from Grady’s previous tests, and I’m going to challenge any further results if I see that they're not what they should be.
“I got a B in math today, Rory. I was excited about it, but Miss O’Grady just said, “Oh, you have a long way to go yet, so don’t get too excited.
” But I didn’t care. I know it was better than my last test and you’ve only been helping me a week,” Grady is smiling from one ear to the other, and I’m happy about that, but not happy with her comments.
“Well done, Grady. Next time we’ll get a B+ I’m sure.” I reach over and squeeze his hand, and when he squeezes back, I know we’ve made a connection. Pupil and tutor. But I sincerely hope we will become friends who resemble family.
“Where are we going?” Grady asks, and I give him a huge smile before answering.
“We, my clever little friend are going to pick up a pizza, garlic bread, and anything else you fancy as a reward,” I reply quickly, and the smile he gives me along with the delighted laughter makes it all worthwhile.
Back at the house we work through another math problem as we eat pizza. For me it’s a great forty minutes of companionship. We don’t have long before we have to be leaving for my shift at the diner. But an hour is better than no time at all.
“Do you fancy going to the ice skating rink next week, Grady? You are on break soon though, aren’t you?” I ask while trying to think how long summer break is since it’s been such a long time since I was at school.
“Yes, two weeks and we’ll be on summer break. Not sure what Jill is going to do with me while she’s at work. Momma isn’t getting better, and I don’t think she’ll be coming home again.”
I squeeze Grady’s shoulder because I’m not sure what to say, but I won’t lie to him.
“No, it doesn’t seem like she’s getting better.
How about you have Jill drop you here when she goes to work, and then we can put extra work in on your math, and have some time out, like skating, or going to the cinema? ”
“You would do that?” Grady looks at me carefully.
Shrugging, I easily answer, “Of course I would. I never had siblings and would have liked a brother. I could adopt you as my unofficial brother figure.” I laugh at the shocked look on his face, but then he throws out a warm smile which tells me he’s thinking about it, and although I was teasing, I don’t think he is.
With a giggle, Grady blurts out, "That means Jill's your sister too now!"
“Well, I suppose it does, and as I didn’t have a sister either it means I got myself two siblings. A family.”
Throwing his arms around me takes me by surprise…but you know what? I hug him right back. I never intended any of this, however, I’m not worried about it either.
“Let’s get your lesson done so I can get to work. Shelby isn’t going to be my best boss if she rips me a new one,” I giggle, which turns into a laugh when Grady joins in.
“Do you think I can get good enough to get an A, Rory?”
“Why not? You have the best teacher sitting right here with you. Let’s show Miss O’Grady that you are the best in her class.”
You guessed…I get a phone call asking if I’m going to work today? Also, Jill is covering for me since I have Grady with me. “Shit, Grady. We are late.”
The speed we pack up and get to the diner is ridiculous, and Grady looks worried. “Hey, do you think you’ll get fired?”
“No, Shelby won’t do that. I may get some shitty jobs for a while, like having to serve Mrs. Flemming when she comes in.
Why she bothers I don’t know. She complains if she finds a lump in her smashed potatoes, and I often wanted to drop a dead fly in her meal to see how she reacts.
” I giggle at the thought, and Grady for a second looks astonished but laughs along with me after a moment.
Walking into the diner, I quickly make my way over to Jill and Shelby who are standing behind the counter. “I’m sorry, we were working on a tough math problem, and I lost track of time. Thanks, Jill, for staying and covering for me. Shelby, I’m sorry, I’ll not do it again.”
Jill shakes her head. “I’m happy to step in, Rory. You’re looking after my brother and helping him with his schooling. The least I can do is cover for you.”
Grady jumps in before anyone else can say more. “Hey, sis, we have a new sister. Rory unofficially adopted me as her brother because she never had one. That makes you her sister too, doesn’t it?”
Jill looks at me shocked for a moment, then a smile so wide crosses her face that I’m smiling right back at her. Shelby is mumbling something about idiots and they are always in her zone before she walks away, still mumbling I might add.
“Well, sis…” Jill shakes with laughter. “Seems you've joined the family.”
“I’m a good family member, honest. I’ll look after Grady, my bro, any time you need me to.” I grab Grady by the neck and mess up his hair, which gets me the laughter that I was aiming for. “You still want another sister, Grady? Because you know sisters can be crazy at times.”
Jill is laughing at my antics and at Grady’s laughing response. “Come on, Grady, let’s get home and eat.”
“Oh, I had pizza with Rory. But I could eat if it’s something good.”
I look at Jill, who is astonished at his comment. I burst out laughing as I head to the staff area to grab my apron. I’m late enough without Shelby getting really annoyed with me.
The evening customers keep me busy, but the atmosphere is light and I have easy conversations with the regulars now that they have accepted me into the fold.
I am speaking to Mr. Beresford about my background in financial management when a biker who I’ve not met before takes an interest in the conversation. He is sitting at the next table, so he has overheard everything that’s been said.
“What exactly did you do as a financial manager?”
Looking at him more closely I see his vest has a patch that says Coin, so I presume that is his name, since Truck has one on his vest giving his name.
“Okay. Let me tell you quickly because I’ve been in trouble once today and don’t want Shelby on my butt.
I do, because I still have two clients I’m working with, financial reporting and analysis, which involves creating detailed reports regarding business activity and forecasting performance.
Manage budgets, covering the day-to-day flow of monies, payroll, expenses, and the like.
Risk management and tax oversight. It’s quite diverse if I’m being totally honest with you.
” I can see Coin is impressed. But when he speaks again, I’m very surprised.
“Do you think you could look at some of the club's businesses? I’ll have to run it past Pres mind you, but if you can save us some cash, it would be a hell of a thing. The gas station is opening next week, and I reckon a pair of eyes like yours right from the start could be a good thing.”
“I’m not sure if I have the time.” The pained look he gives me and the chuckle from Mr. Beresford earned them a sigh. “Okay, speak to your boss and if he’s okay, I’ll look at the gas station. After that, we can discuss any others. How does that sound?”
“Great. That sounds great. I’ll catch you here when I’ve spoken to Pres, but I’m sure he’ll be okay with it.” Coin stands and holds his hand out to shake. “Name’s Coin, and it’s good to meet you, Rory.”
“Likewise,” I respond and turn when Shelby shouts to me from behind the counter. I rush over to her and take the two meals that need to be served.
Coin leaves the diner a few minutes later, and I allow the conversation to dissolve.
Probably nothing will come of it, and I’m beyond waiting for people to follow through with things they say or promise.
I’m loving my job, although it’s not what I trained to do.
I love interacting with people, making friends, and filling my evenings so I don’t have time to think.
The next day at lunchtime, I’m sitting at the kitchen table with a can of soda and a frown on my face.
The conversation I just had with Mrs. Silvermaine over financials has gone how I expected.
The woman just won’t stay within the assessments I give her.
I’m ready to step away and just serve meals.
All this changing of the budget I set is a waste of time for me.
The woman thinks I’ve nothing better to do.
Mr. Bush retired as of last week. His son, Baron, has taken over the business fully and has also signed with a local management company. That leaves me free of that client, and my contract as far as I see it is null and void.
Tapping my fingernail on the table, I decide to contact Thomas. I’m done. He can sue my ass if he wants to. Picking up my phone, I make the call, and surprisingly it is answered quickly.
“Hello, Rory. You are going to tell me you want out of the contract aren’t you?”
I shake my head, which I know he can’t see, but he’s so intuitive it’s shocking.
“Yes. Mrs. Silvermaine is wasting my time, Thomas. I spend time creating the budget for her, and within days she’s messed it up, and I have to start again.
It’s a total crock of shit to put it bluntly.
Oh, and Mr. Bush retired, and his son has signed with a company close to him.
With that in mind, let’s just call it a day, Thomas. ”
Thomas sighs at his end of the call. “Okay, Rory. I hoped that keeping those two clients would give you the desire to come back. But I can see now that it’s not going to happen. Are you okay?”
“Actually, Thomas, I am doing fine. I love serving at the diner. Yes, it’s not what I trained to do.
But after losing Terrence I needed a fresh direction.
I’m happy here, making friends and family.
Thank you for my time with you and for all the support you’ve given me over the years.
Particularly for being so kind when I needed help through the funeral. ”
Thomas quickly speaks, cutting off more of what I was going to say.
“Rory. You don’t have to thank me for that.
I liked Terrence very much. He was a great man, and he loved you deeply.
Everyone could see how much he loved you, and we all should live up to that with our own wives or girlfriends.
Take care of yourself, Rory. If you ever need me, you know where I am. ”
“Thank you, Thomas.” The call is cut before I can say more, and I know Thomas well enough that he doesn’t do emotional stuff since he also lost his wife six years previously.
Looking at the laptop, I close out all the open files, and upload them to the server, then I sign out for the last time. It feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
I love my job of financial management, but I think I need to step away from my old life and create a new one. I can continue with that part of my life if I want to, but only on my terms. For the moment, I’m happy being Shelby’s evening server.
My phone pings, which tells me I have a message. I wonder if Shelby needs me to go into work early?
Picking my phone back up from where I’d placed it on the table I smile because it’s not Shelby, it’s Truck.
Truck: Saturday evening, I’ll pick you up at 7:00
Rory: OK. Where are we going? What should I wear?
Truck: The Prime Cut. I’ve not been there, so it's a fresh experience for both of us.
Rory: OK. Great.
Now, I’m nervous. My first date since… No, stop, don’t go there, Rory. Enjoy the experience and move forward as Terrence wanted you to.