She chalked it up to small-town weirdness and kept going.
Next,shetriedBrew-Ha’scoffee shop, the purple building next door. The turquoise building turned out to be an antique shop. But neither of them were hiring.
When her stomach began to inform her it was lunch time, she followed the antique store owner’s directions to The Busy Bee diner. After her heavy dinner the night before, Maggie wascraving something light. And according to the older woman behind the antique store’s counter, they had excellent soup.
She found the diner across the square, taking up a triple storefront and painted bright yellow. The logo of a happy little bee in the sign made her smile as she pulled on the shiny chrome door and took a whiff when the smells wafted out. Inside was a clean chrome counter with yellow vinyl stools. Booths lined the wall of windows with black and yellow seats. About ten tables had customers sitting around chatting. Taking advantage of the ‘Seat Yourself’ sign, she slid into a cushiony booth and pulled a menu from the rack on the table.
“What can I get you, Hun?” Maggie looked up to see a woman with a net over her gray bob, wearing an apron, standing next to her table.
“What’s the soup of the day?”
“Chicken noodle.”
“I’ll have a bowl of that and a glass of water.”
“That comes with garlic toast.”
Her stomach murmured happily. “Great.”
“That all for you?” Maggie noticed she didn’t even bother to write it down.
“For now, yes.” Maybe she’d splurge on dessert.
The server disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a big white bowl of golden soup, steam rising in a swirl, and a plate with two pieces of thick bread slathered with butter and garlic. “Gimme one sec to grab your drink.” She hurried behind the counter and returned with Maggie’s requested water and a straw. “I’ll be in the back. If you need anything, just holler for Deb.”
“Hey Deb, can I get another coffee?” called a man from another table.
“Yeah Earl, be right there.” She hurried off and Maggie watched as she poured coffee for the other guests. As Debhurried past again, she heard her call out to a different table. “Just a few more minutes on your chicken, Nancy, I’ll be right back.”
She looked down at her bowl and marveled at the chunks of chicken and vegetables floating in it. While chewing on the thick homemade noodles, Maggie found herself fascinated by the way Deb flitted around the diner. Didn’t she have anyone to help her? Another patron asked Deb that question while Maggie thought it.
“Did Katya call out again?”
Deb just shrugged. “You know she’s got no one at home to watch those kids when they get sick. What am I going to do?”
Just then the diner started filling up. Maybe the locals ate their lunches later in the day, but customers suddenly swamped poor Deb. She shook her head and Maggie watched as she rushed from the front to the back of the house, trying to cook and wait on tables at the same time.
Maggie ate her soup and sopped up the last of the broth with her toast. The lightbulb had gone off when Deb confirmed her employee called off. It wouldn’t be easy, she hadn’t waited tables since college, but surelysomehelp was better than nothing.
Deb swung by on another mission when she noticed Maggie’s nearly empty bowl. “Can I get you anything else?”
“How about the check and an order pad?” Maggie looked around the room before meeting Deb’s gaze again. She looked at Maggie like she’d grown an extra head. “Unless you’re not hiring?”
Deb snorted. “Honey, I need all the help I can get. But I’ve never seen you around before. What’s your name?”
“Maggie Watson.”
“Are you just passing through?” Deb’s hands rested on her hips as she gave Maggie a searching look.
“I don’t know yet.” Maggie took a deep breath, trying to project confidence. “I need money to stay anywhere, so if I can’t find somewhere that’ll hire me then I’ll be on my way.” She crossed her fingers under the table. How much farther could she go? Maggie desperately wanted to stop running.
“Well, if you’re looking for work, I got plenty of it. Can you wait tables?”
She shrugged. “It’s been a while, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Alright. Let’s call this a trial run.” Deb looked around at her restaurant filling up. “I better call Shorty to get over here and help me in the kitchen. You’ve got yourself a job, at least for today. If it’s not for you, no hard feelings.”
“At least let me take care of my check first.”
