"I think they were having some family issues," she said.
I changed the subject as I began to drop eggs. We were busy, and ultimately Carly didn't care enough or have the time to press the issue. She didn't even mention the money that was sitting there.
None of us mentioned that guy again. I thought about him, and taking his money weighed heavy on my mind, but I didn't mention it to anyone else.
On Saturday, I had the afternoon off. The two jobs I had taken over for my sister were the breakfast restaurant and Luna's daycare, which was three days a week in the afternoons. I didn't have that on Saturday. I did, however, have a third job now. I had gotten it to force my sister to interact with her daughter, but it didn't seem to be working. I thoughtLuna would be home with Audrey tonight while I had to work, but she went to spend the night with one of her little friends… again.
My sister had gone through some difficult things. But so had her daughter. I hoped for Luna's sake—for both of their sakes—for all of our sakes—that Audrey would be able to pick herself up and move on. I had one year left on my master's degree, and I needed to be back in Colorado by August to start my semester. At this point, with my sister's lack of progress, that seemed like it would be a struggle.
I was thinking about her as I finished cleaning my tables that night after my Saturday evening shift. It was late, and I was happy Luna was at her friend's house, where I knew she was fed, bathed, and put to bed by now.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to find my new friend Tatum. She worked with me at Luna's daycare, and she got me this job. She was also a mom to a six-month-old baby boy, so she only worked here one night a week.
"Hey, can I ask a big favor?" she said.
"Sure," I replied, listening intently to her since her face was serious.
"Jax is fussy, and Aiden can't get him settled down. Could you finish my chores in the bar when you're done in here?"
"Sure, whatcha got?" I said.
"It's just… wiping down the menus, refilling salt, pepper, ketchup. Tables should be wiped, but usually I just give it a once-over because anything the servers left falls to me. I know for sure the menus need to be cleaned. I saw someone spill salsa on one earlier in BJ's section, and you know it didn't get cleaned."
"Yeah, I'll finish in the bar."
"Thank you so much, Josie. You can ask Patrick if you forget what to do. He's in there."
"Okay," I said, nodding. "Sounds good."
"I owe you for this," she added as she walked away.
It was nearly eleven o'clock when Tatum asked me to stay and clean the bar. I clocked out and grabbed my things since I was done for the night. I would take my things to the bar and leave out of the back door when I was finished. The tables in the bar area were mostly empty, and there were only a few people sitting at the bar itself. Two ladies were sitting together and eating a meal, and a man at the far end who was alone. I assumed it was a man, but it was dark in there, and he had his head on the bar, so I didn't know for sure.
I talked to Patrick. He made me a soda while I gathered the menus, and I went to find a spot to work. There was plenty of open space at the bar, so I knew I wouldn't bother anyone to sit there and wipe down menus. By the time I made it closer to the guyat the end, he had repositioned, and I realized who he was.
Patrick had already updated me about his condition when I was at the other end of the bar. He said that the guy seemed out of it or wasted when he came in. Apparently, he ordered food and drinks but not anything with alcohol since he had been there. He spoke to the bartender and otherwise kept to himself. He had his head down for the last half-hour.
I knew in my heart that he was the same guy from my other restaurant that morning. I felt bad for him, so I cautiously took a seat that was only a few stools away from him. I had my hands full, carrying my things and the menus I was cleaning for Tatum.
I was certain that it was him. He had given me a hundred and sixty-eight dollars, and I still had it in my wallet. I was planning on giving it back to him. It looked like he needed it worse than I did. He had his arm sprawled across the bar in a straightened position with his head resting on it like he was a school kid taking a nap on his desk. His eyes were closed when I set down my things and pulled out the stool. There were three empty stools between us, but I made enough noise that he stirred. He didn't open his eyes.
I put the menus in a stack in front of me so that I could work on them one at a time.
"Are you going to eat your Southwest rolls?" I asked, wiping.
"No," he answered calmly without opening his eyes. After a few seconds, his eyes cracked open. He raised his head a little, and we made eye contact, but he stared straight through me with a dazed, emotionless expression before putting his head on the bar again. "Do you work here too?" he asked in a monotone voice, closing his eyes again.
"Yes. I was working a minute ago. I'm off now, but I'm staying late to clean these menus and make sure the bar's clean for my friend."
"Are you the woman from the restaurant this morning, with the eggs?"
"Yes," I said simply.
He didn't say anything else, and we were quiet for what must've been two full minutes after that.
Patrick brought over a hamburger with French fries and set it on the bar next to him. He cleared his throat. "Here's your hamburger, sir. Let me know if you need anything else. In a few minutes, the kitchen will be closing, except for appetizers."
"Thank you. I'm fine. I'll eat this soon."
