Was it my fault that said piece of friendly advice also benefited me? There was an upside to everything after all. And I did actual work. Daryl had no idea how many hours I’d spent trying to scrub that horrible teal color out of the counters. Not to mention the red pleather booths. They were so bright that it physically hurt to look at them.
Who in their right mind would choose that color scheme? Oh wait, it was the Louisiana native who’d never been to Texas, yet somehow thought he knew all about that state’s cuisine. Who, by the way, was the same person to employ me for two years.
Obviously Victor wasn’t in his right mind.
I still had no idea how I passed the interview. I showed up in a pair of fuzzy onesie pajamas for Christ sake. Mind you no one else applied, so that might’ve had something to do with it.
Whatever.
Maw Maw was happy about my employment. After all, these were trying times and everyone needed to pitch in. I heard that speech more than once too. It wasn’t all bad. Sometimes I made enough to grab a snack from the food truck, which I might’ve done today if it wasn’t for the navy Range Rover parked outside.
Dropping my elbow on the counter, I propped my chin up on my balled fist and eyed the vehicle in the parking lot.
Why was Gio Mancini following me?
I saw him in the trees across the street from the trailer park. He was kind of hard to miss. That shiny new Range Rover stood out like a sore thumb. The fanciest vehicle in that part of town was a Porsche parked behind the burnt out ruins of what used to be a church. And by Porsche I meant the rusted frame of what used to be a Porsche.
Atlee swung his hand through the air while a scowl etched across Gio’s face. They appeared to be arguing about something. I wondered what about. If I had to guess, I’d say Atlee was trying to point something out that Gio was getting pissed off about. Then again Gio was always pissed off.
Maybe he was pointing out his stalker flaws? I don’t know about Gio, but if I was following someone, I would try not to be seen. Not park in a sparse patch of trees or empty parking lot perhaps? But that was just me.
Other people in this situation might freak out, and start questioning whether they were about to be murdered. Given who the owner of said vehicle was, that was a valid argument. High school should not be the place where one learned what it felt like to struggle for air. That’s what drunken parties where one choked on their own vomit was for.
Sister Mary of the hallway saved my life this afternoon. There was no doubt in my mind about that. Apparently witnesses didn’t hold a certain asshole back. Which led to the bigger question… Why was I still alive? I could sit here and try to figure out what they were saying, or… I could be the bigger person and take them a drink?
It was hot out and they did look a little parched. Letting Gio pass out from dehydration wouldn’t be a good choice on my part. Our families didn’t exactly have a great relationship, and God forbid I pissed daddy Mancini off anymore. I might get a first hand look at those cement shoes Memphis talked about.
It was definitely better to be safe than sorry.
Grabbing two cups, I turned around and walked through the swinging doors to the kitchen.
Daryl gave me a strange look when I filled them up with dirty dish water. I know it wasn’t the cleanest water but it was still water, but just because someone looked thirsty didn’t mean they deserved something fresh. One could argue that this was too fresh for them.
Maybe I should spit in it?Was I that childish?
I glanced down at the pieces of food floating in the cups.
Yes, yes I was.
Daryl did not agree with the rather nice glob I hacked into each cup. “I hope you’re not planning on serving those to customers.”
Ugh, okay Mr. By the book.
It would still be safer than the food in this place.
“Don’t worry,” I shot him a smile. “They aren’t customers.”
So technically I wasn’t hurting the business.
That argument went out the window as soon as I walked back into the front of the dinner, and the bell above the door dinged.
Atlee strutted in with a stupid grin on his face, followed by Gio who’s eyes narrowed when they locked on mine.
Crap.
“Well, they’re customers now,” I grumbled while depositing the filled cups on the counter.
My customer service may be shit, and I probably shouldn’t be serving people… well, anything. But I wasn’t the kind of employee that would sabotage a business. I had some morals. The cuisine drove people away all on its own.
