I finally turned off the truck and slipped out, pressing the button on the key fob and jumping when the chirp of confirmation made the horn honk. Kenny was amused enough to smile, but it was Deeks who was hiding his belly laugh, something that was exacerbated by the flip of my middle finger in his general direction. I didn’t wait for them to follow as I marched toward the doors and slipped into the cool shadowy interior of my second home.
Sam was working a double shift and was flitting from table to table like a hummingbird would dance from flower to flower. Jan was, as always, looking after the customers at the counter, and I could see Rusty working as diligently as ever through the window. Everything was so familiar to me, and my shoulders sagged as the tension slowly eased from me. Asking a favor this big was going to be rough, yes, but as I eased farther into the comfort of the place, I knew it wasn’t going to be impossible. I just had to get this over with, remove the anxiety. If they said no, I would find an alternative. I had to.
I approached the counter first, smiling as I made a grab for Jan’s hand and pulled her toward the swinging doors that would take us both back to where Rusty was slinging grease and humming an Elvis song. Elvis meant he was in a goodmood at least.
“Hey, what’s going on, sugar?” Janette asked, alerting Rusty to our presence. He didn’t stop what he was doing, but the humming stopped and his head canted in our direction, telling us we had his full attention.
I looked between them, my words gathering and reforming several times before I found the right pattern. “I need a huge favor from you guys.”
“A favor?” Rusty grunted.
“Yep. And you’re not going to like it.”
The metallic tang of him scraping the grill ate up the second of silence that had fallen and left me scratching every itch I had in a matter of seconds. Rusty never said a word, but Janette couldn’t keep quiet for that long. Her curiosity demanded she investigated further.
“What kind of favor?”
“The club would like to throw Tate a sixteenth birthday celebration, here, in the diner, on Friday night… uh, invite only.”
The bubbling hiss of the fryers and the quiet din of conversation beyond the window was the only sound in that kitchen for at least ten heartbeats. I wasn’t even sure either of them were breathing, and for entirely different reasons.
“Close for a night?” Rusty finally asked.
“Yes, sir.”
Rusty picked up a stack of meat and arranged them on the surface in almost perfect lines, while Janette grabbed for my hand and squeezed. We waited for what felt like an eternity for him to think it all through. He was through flipping them when he finally wiped off his hands and turned to face me.
“Will this be helping you, Drew, and the club?”
“Yes, sir.”
Rusty looked to Janette. There was an exchange between the two of them, eyebrows lifted, heads tipped, and cheeks were scratched, but a whole conversation seemed to take place in between those gestures, and Rusty’s dark eyes turned on me.
“Don’t make a habit of it.”
I looked between the two of them. Jan grinned and nodded. Rusty shook a basket of fries, while my mouth fell open in surprise.
“You really are a big, old teddy bear, aren’t you?” I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around Rusty, chuckling as he complained his way through the gesture and patted me awkwardly on the back like that was the most foreign thing in the world to him. Janette’s big smile of adoration had me shaking my head as I released him and rushed to her. She was much more willing to accept the hug and held me close, much like a mother would hold her daughter.
“Thank you. So much. You have no idea how much this helps.”
“I have work to do.” Rusty was grumbling the words, but I saw the twitch of his cheek as he tried to hide his smile. I wanted to hug him again, but I knew I was pushing my luck so I allowed Janette to lead me out into the diner again.
“The old fool would do anything for you, sugar. Not that he’d ever admit that.” She cupped my face with her hands and kissed me on the cheek. “You just let me know what you need and it’s all yours.”
“I love you, Jan. Both of you. Thank you.”
I got a chuckle in response and a nod to the door where Deeks and Kenny were sitting in a booth turning their coffeesinto sugary messes. “Best get out of here before Rusty puts you to work.”
“I wouldn’t mind, but I have another impossible task to do.”
“I’m not going to ask.”
“Best not,” I agreed, and gave her a gentle hug. “I will see you tomorrow, though.”
“Same time?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
