He grunted. ‘Normally I’d get it myself, but…’ He trailed off.
‘But you’re supposed to be resting. I know.’
‘And you’re supposed to be helping.’
‘I just made you breakfast, didn’t I?’
‘It wasn’t as good as your mother’s.’
‘You should prepare yourself for the fact that nothing I make or do will be.’ I rinsed my mug and put it upside down on the top of the dishwasher, then closed the door and turned it on. ‘Fine. I’ll get your paper.’
‘Don’t rip it when you pull it out of the slot. The stupid boy jams it in too hard. No one takes any pride in their work any more.’
‘He’s probably twelve years old and paid a dollar an hour. If I was him, I’d throw it in a puddle.’
‘I remember when you and your brother put my cigarettes in a bucket of water once,’ he said darkly. ‘You still owe me five dollars.’
‘Ah, so youdoremember who I am.’
He shrugged. ‘Eh. It comes and goes.’
8
JACK
The lunch rush was just dying down when they walked in. I didn’t pay them any attention at first, busy as I was behind the bar, wiping up spills, stacking empty glasses in a tray ready to be washed. They were just a couple of people in my peripheral vision, entering and taking a seat in a booth near the far wall.
‘You can take your break now if you like,’ I called to Fiona, one of the waitresses. A single mom to a seven-year-old boy named Oscar, she was struggling to make ends meet, so I tried to help out by giving her as many shifts as possible, but even that was a balancing act because of childcare. Most nights, she’d bring Oscar to the restaurant with her and he’d sit at a corner table or in the staffroom and do his homework. We had a deal. Homework first, then I’d let him watch shows on my tablet. Under my instructions, the chefs slipped him meals, and Fiona pretended not to notice. ‘Lucy and I will be fine for a while.’
‘OK, thanks,’ she replied wearily, passing the iPad we used for ordering over the bar to me before heading out the back. The summer heat made everyone tired, but add the heat of the kitchen we had to go in and out of throughout a shift, and it was ten times worse.
‘You want me to get that new table, Jack?’ Lucy asked, gesturing towards the couple who had just sat down. I flicked a glance at them. The woman had her back to me, but the man was facing in my direction and looked vaguely familiar. We had a lot of repeat local customers though, so that meant nothing.
‘Nah it’s OK, I’ll get them,’ I told her. ‘If you don’t mind clearing those last couple of tables.’
‘Sure.’
Tucking some menus underneath my arm and grabbing the iPad, I headed to the table.
‘Good afternoon, folks.’ I smiled. ‘Welcome to The Cozy Catch.’
‘What’s so good about it?’ the old man grumbled.
The woman looked up at me. ‘Ignore him,’ she said. ‘He’s sulking because the doctor refused to indulge his latest hypochondriac symptom.’
‘That man wouldn’t recognize if someone was dying right in front of him,’ the man said. ‘Probably got his degree online.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘“That man” has been a doctor since before I was born. I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s talking about.’
‘Exactly,’ Ray said, as if she’d just proven his point. ‘He’s out of touch.’
As I stood there watching them bicker back and forth, the penny dropped.
‘You’re Ray,’ I said. ‘I met you in the driveway once.’
He looked at me suspiciously. ‘What driveway? What are you on about?’
But my attention was already off him and onto the woman sitting opposite him. ‘Taylor?’
