“THEY’RE ASKING for the eggs to be cooked again.”
“What? Those are fine!”
“What do you want me to do about it, Brad? The customer is complaining. Just make them again, alright? He wants the eggs overcooked, apparently.”
Brad took the plate from Stacey’s hand and returned to his grill, grumbling loudly. Stacey wiped the sweat from her brow and turned around, getting ready to head back out onto the floor of Papa’s Grill and Diner.
It was the middle of the day in mid-summer, which made the sweltering kitchen unbearable. Stacey was glad to leave the kitchen even if it meant dealing with a couple of jerk customers.
Back in the dining area, she looked around. She had only one couple in her section. They were older, with their shoulders hunched over and beady eyes pointed toward the kitchen. The woman hadn’t touched her sandwich, probably waiting for the man to get his eggs back before digging in.
There was only one other waitress, Maria, working, and she was in the corner, texting on her phone. Their place wasn’t exactly the hot spot of the city to eat during the best of times. During mid-day, it was more like a graveyard.
The woman motioned for Stacey to come over. She clenched her jaw, exhaled slowly and got ready for whatever ridiculous request the woman was going to make. This couple had been a hassle from the moment they were seated.
“How can I help you?” she asked, plastering a smile on her face.
The woman scowled, “Where are my husband’s eggs?”
“They’re making him a fresh batch right now.”
“Tell them to hurry up!” the woman snapped.
The husband sat there silently, playing with the edge of his napkin. But he nodded at Stacey as if to tell her he better get his eggs soon.
Stacey scurried back into the kitchen. It was mind-numbing if she let it get to her. How long had she been working here now? Four years? It was supposed to be a pit stop before she moved onto bigger and better things. She had been there, scraping by, instead of returning to college or working on making something more of herself.
No use in thinking about that now.
Brad handed her a plate of freshly cooked eggs. She walked back to the table and placed it in front of the man and his wife.
The man wrinkled his nose and said, “This will do, I suppose.”
Stacey clasped her hands together and inquired as politely as she could muster, “Would you like more coffee?”
They grunted, and she gave them a fresh pot, making sure not to add it their bill. She was sure they would want something for free out of the egg fiasco. By the time the couple left, Stacey was ready for a break.
In the break room, she slipped off her shoes and rubbed her feet, wincing. Her shoes were cheap, and it showed after standing in them for more than a couple of hours. Her feet were killing her.
She checked her phone next. There was a voicemail from her sister. It was a rare event that her sister reached out to her and she was filled with dread listening to the message.
“Stacey, hey. It’s your sister, Allison,” she added for clarification as if Stacey wouldn’t know her own sister’s name. “Listen, call me when you can? I have a question to ask you. Well, more of a favor? But I need to talk to you first. Thanks, bye.”
Stacey sighed as the message ended. Her sister wanting a favor never led to anything good. If she wants money, she can forget it. There was no cash to give Allison. There were barely any funds for Stacey.
A small TV in the break room played the news. The image was grainy but she could just make out the weatherman talking about rain later on in the evening. Great. She made a mental note to make sure the roof didn’t leak all over everything when she got home from work. Last time it stormed, Stacey had to set out buckets to catch the drips.
She closed her eyes just for a moment. If she left them closed for too long, she would fall asleep on the spot. It felt as if there was always something to do. She finished one thing, and another task popped up in its place. Maybe that was how it would always be.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.”
Stacey opened her eyes to see Amanda stepping into the break room.
“You work today?” Stacey asked, surprised, wondering why they needed another waitress working during such a slow day.
“Nah, I left my wallet here last night in my locker. I was so tired after closing, it just slipped my mind.” Amanda walked over to her locker and glanced back at Stacey. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just tired.”
“Looks dead here. I’d be tired too,” Amanda remarked as she opened up her locker.
“Yeah, it’s pretty boring.”
Amanda paused in front of her open locker, grabbed her wallet, and tucked it into her purse. When she turned back around, she had a strange look on her face. Stacey sat up straighter.
“What?”
Amanda hesitated and then sat down on the wooden bench. Stacey could see the purple circles under Amanda’s eyes. Although they both worked full time at the restaurant, Amanda also attended college. She was probably just as tired as Stacey.
“I heard something. Probably just a rumor. I don’t know. I wasn’t going to tell anyone but—”
But I know how much you need this job was the unfinished thought there.
“What is it?”
Amanda lowered her voice, “Heard at a class yesterday this place might close down.”
“Who was talking about that in your class?” Stacey scoffed. “Especially about our little place.”
“Well, I mentioned that I work here. I was in my accounting class, and we were doing a project. This kid in my group said that I should look for other work because this place is going to shut down. Especially with all those investment groups coming in here trying to revive the area.”
Stacey scowled. Her neighborhood, which was predominantly black, had indeed been crawling with rich white men in suits lately. All of them wanted to knock down and rebuild her section of town. They wanted to make it new and fresh again. They wanted it to appeal to the elite, which naturally meant getting rid of anyone who was low income.
“Thanks for the heads up, Amanda, but one kid in a college class saying we’re going to close doesn’t mean we are going to.”
“Maybe. But this place is always dead. How long do you think we can stay open like this?” She stood up. “Don’t tell anyone I told you, okay? I’ll see you later.”
Stacey watched her go, suddenly feeling wide awake. Even though she had sounded confident to Amanda that they weren’t going to close, the girl had a point. Business had been awful lately. How long would they really be able to stay open?
Maybe it was time to find another job. The only reason Stacey had stuck around there for so long was how flexible the hours were. Few places would accommodate Stacey like that. But if this place was going to close, she may have to put some applications out.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead, fending off a headache. Just another worry to add to her long list.