Chapter Six
Jamie opened the doorto the apartment upstairs.He didn’t even turn on any lights.He didn’t need to.When he got to his old room, he turned on the lights, picked up the suit pants, looked at them a moment and tossed them into the corner.I’m never wearing that again.
He opened the third drawer of the chest of drawers to pull out a pair of pyjamas.Jamie stood looking at the blue-and-white-striped garments and put them back.“It’s too hot for pyjamas.”
He went to the window and opened it.Glancing out, he saw Salzy’s truck parked.He must have backed it in, he thought.That’s when he saw the light in the apartment over the old garage.It wasn’t very big because it only has space for two good-sized cars and a small workbench along the back wall.
What he couldn’t stop looking at was Salzy walking around in his tight-fitting boxers.“It really is too bad he’s not gay.He is one good-looking man.”Jamie turned his back, stripped out of his own clothes, down to his own boxer briefs, tossing his jeans and T-shirt onto the nearby chair, crossed the room, turned the ceiling fan on high, shut off the light and fell into bed.He sat up again and managed to set his alarm clock.
* * * * *
When the alarm clockwent off the next morning, it took a moment for Jamie to realize where he was.He looked around his old room.Hardly anything had changed since he was a kid.Of course, you could tell he’d been a teenager when he’d left, but none of the furniture had.It was still the same old bed, chest of drawers, chair, and nightstand.
He groaned when he stood up.“This mattress is going to have to go.”Jamie twisted his back, bending backwards, trying to undo the knots in his lower back.
Jamie made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth out with mouthwash.He for sure needed that after drinking so much last night, which was not his norm, especially on a work night.He washed his face, combed his hair, and went to get dressed.
He went to put on some underwear to discover that it no longer fit.Neither did the T-shirt.Sighing, he went to his overnight case and pulled out the only other pair of undergarments he had.He looked at the clothes he’d taken off last night and shook his head.
“If I’m staying more than one night, I’m going to have to go shopping.I can’t believe nothing fits me.I may need to do more than just clothes shopping.”He looked at the beat-up old clock radio that he’d gotten as his thirteenth birthday present.One of the digital lines was blinking.“Yep, that has seen better days as well.Crap, I gotta get a move on!”
On his way down the stairs, he again noticed how dingy everything looked.Jamie got the back door open and turned on all the lights in the kitchen.Even in here, things were showing their age, especially the floor.Everywhere he looked tiles were cracked—the grout either slightly grey or even black.
Scowling, he went into the dining room.Everything was set up for the breakfast service.He examined the stools and saw that most of the vinyl was cracked, some were a bit wonky and not exactly stable.The Formica on the countertops were completely white where there was the most wear and tear.
Next, he looked over the tables.Same thing with the chairs as the stools, and the mottled green motif was mostly gone, except in the middle of the table where the sugar caddies sat.He’d never noticed how run down the place was looking.I bet Mamaw and Papaw didn’t notice it either.
“Now isn’t the time to worry about that.I need to get ready for the day, and it was a day he wasn’t looking forward to.He knew that they were going to be busy, especially after the show that his mother had put on.Most of their regular customers knew how she was, but there was gossip to be heard and or passed along.
Just as Jamie made his way back to the kitchen, the back door opened, and Dexter walked in.
“Mornin’, Boss,” He smiled brightly.“I wasn’t sure if you was gonna make it this mornin’?
Jamie chuckled.“Dex, I’ve been way more hungover than this and still went to work.”
“Yep.”Dexter already had his cooks shirt on and was about to put on his apron.“You’re a Puckett through and through.We still doing the daily specials?”
“Yeah, if there are enough chicken livers in there for dinner.If not, I’ll run and get some from the store.I’m not sure when the last orders were made.”
Dexter turned to him.“Boss, we’re running low on just about everything.I think Ms.Mattie was feeling poorly for at least a week before...you know...passed on, and we don’t do chicken livers anymore.”
Jamie nodded.“Thanks for letting me know, Dex.I’ll get on the phone and get a regular order in.”He looked around the kitchen.“Hey, Dex...think we might could change things up a bit?”
“Oh, now I don’t know about all that.You know how Ms.Mattie was about staying on a regular basis and not doing much changing around.People know what to expect and want it exactly how it was.If Ms.Mattie preached much about anything, it was about everything being consistent.”
“Yeah, and how many new customers have we been getting?”Jamie asked as he started making biscuits.
“Well,” Dexter took off his ball cap and scratched the back of his head.“Now that you bring it up, business has fallen off quite a bit.Part of that is the new Waffle House just up the road, and that place is always full.”Dexter chuckled.“Mr.Solan, he was madder than an old wet hen when they opened up.”
Jamie smiled.“I bet he was.Let’s get this party started today.I’ll make a one-week order, and why don’t we all talk between breakfast and lunch and see where we stand?”
The smile fell from Dexter’s face.“You gonna close it up, ain’t ya?”
