No one did. I glanced around. I was hardly experienced. But answer a phone? That, I could do.
I went around the counter, dodging Lana as she plunked more tickets on the spindle. There was a pad to my right with a pen on top of it. I picked up the phone, clearing my throat.
“Egg,” I said. “Can I help you?”
CHAPTER TEN
Of course, there was a bit of a learning curve.
“What the hell is this?” Clark demanded, soon after I put in that first order. “A novel?”
I felt my face flush. I’d written each item the customer asked for, with an explanation of the additions or subtractions. I’d thought it was very specific, as well as—
“Hello? Anyone? Who took this to-go breakfast?”
“It was me,” I told Clark.
He looked up. “You?”
“Great.” Lana was passing with a full tray of dirty dishes. “Now can you bus?”
“Bus?” I repeated.
Kasey, suddenly at my elbow, handed me a black plastic tub. “Dirty tables. Everything in here, then over to the trash cans. Scrape the plates and throw out any paper products.”
“But not the check,” Lana said as she blurred by again.
“Not the check,” Kasey repeated. She tucked a spray bottle and rag in my back pocket. “Go.”
I went. Three of the four booths were empty except for piles of dishes. I could feel eyes on my back as I moved to the first and started cleaning.
One plate was dripping jelly. Another held a wad of napkins soaked in orange juice. Sticky water glasses, pieces of egg and toast. Well, at least I wasn’t hungry anymore.
“Food up!” Clark said from the window. “Lana. Now!”
“Dude,”she replied, the word a warning.
“Got it,” I heard Kasey say. “Where’s my side of grits?”
“Right here.” A clank.
I moved to the next table, gathering up mugs and water glasses. As I turned, a woman with three kids was standing behind me, menus in hand. “Can we take this?”
“Um…,” I said, glancing at Kasey, who was handing out plates at a middle table. There was still a large crowd at the door. “I don’t—”
“Yes,” Lana said, popping up on my left. To me she added, “Get the phone.”
I gave the table a final wipe, then grabbed the bin, hustling behind her. Dropping the dishes by the trash, I wiped my hands and answered. “Egg. Can I help you?”
“Yeah. Four breakfasts. Two with scrambled eggs, two with over hard.”
The pad was buried under a sheaf of napkins, so it took me a beat to find it. “Right,” I said, getting this down. “Anything else?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me about toast?”
Kasey, passing with a tray of dirty dishes, bumped me from behind. “Toast?” I said.
“Doesn’t it come with toast?”
