Different races.
Hunter’s words echo in my head, and I nod, almost to myself. I hope no one else noticed it, anyway.
“Deb,” Luca says, and an older woman with wavy blonde hair turns around. Even if I didn’t already know this was Austin’s mom, it would be impossible to miss. They have the same eyes and the same blonde hair. “This is Theo.”
Her lips curl into a smile. “Theo, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”
I hold my hand out awkwardly, and she glances down at it. “I’ll give you this one, but we’re not really the handshakin’ types. We’re much more for hugs.”
She lets out a warm laugh when I clasp her hand in mine. “Thank you for this opportunity. I promise I won’t let you down.”
I wonder if I should tell her about my depression, especially because it’s likely Iwilllet her down.
She makes a noise, and I let my hand fall. “Now, you don’t worry about that. We’re a family here. And we take care of each other.” That’s a line I’ve heard at many jobs, but for some reason, coming from her, I really want to believe it. “It’s not about lettin’ me down or not. It’s just about doing your best.”
“Alright, ma’am.”
“Uh-oh,” Arlo says, casting me a glance from where he’s washing dishes that has my stomach churning. Uh-oh? How have I fucked up already?
“You can call me Deb or Ma, like these two do. Not ma’am.”
I thought small towns were all about respecting your elders and stuff? But the way Deb has her eyebrow raised at me would suggest that she might not give a shit about that. “Sounds good, Deb.”
Her grin overtakes her face again.
“Okay, so for today, I’m going to have you shadow Arlo. He can show you the ropes. Most folks ’round here know the menu like the back of their hand, and I figure you probably will too after a time, but we have some stacked up there,” she says, pointing to asmall table against the wall where the food counter is. “So if you want to take one home, you can.”
I nod. I’ll definitely be doing that. Depression really fucks with your memory. It’s something I wish I knew early on, because it always made me feel like I was failing when I couldn’t remember basic things I had just been told.
“Sounds great. Thank you.”
Arlo dries his hands on a small dish towel, then turns to me. I’m not sure how to feel about him or how he feels about me. So far, we’ve barely interacted, and the one time I was supposed to meet him in a real capacity, Luca had to cancel our plans.
Luca clears his throat. “Arlo, this is Theo.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
To my surprise, he smiles. “It’s nice to meet you too. Officially.”
He has an accent, but it’s different from everyone else’s. A little more twang and less drawl. It’s nice. There’s a small freckle on his bottom lip that catches my attention while he’s talking, but I look away quickly so he doesn’t get the wrong idea.
“I’m really excited to work together,” he says. Leaning closer, he whispers, “Between you and me, we need to get Deb retired with her husband.”
“Heard that,” she quips.
Luca laughs, and I find myself following suit. “C’mon,” Arlo says. “I’ll show you around and kinda give ya the rundown.”
The rest of the day passes by in a blur. Arlo shows me everything from side work to where to find cleaning supplies to how to stock the ketchup and mustard placed on each of the tables.
“It’s real easy,” he says after almost everyone has cleared out for the evening. “Just takes some time to get used to all the people.”
“Oh?”
He nods. “It’s exhausting some days. I enjoy it, and it’s decent pay, but…”
“Peopling is exhausting,” I say.
“Exactly.” Arlo grins at me. “I don’t see how Luca does it. He’s the outlier. Well, him and Deb. Theylovepeople. I like the people that work here, and Austin and Jasper.”
