Bill was coming down from the trip. He was drinking a beer and hanging out by the door to the hall.
Lillian had just come into the kitchen. Bill watched her fold and set up the three towels she would use to hold the dupes. When she finished, she pulled over Bea’s stool. Then she got herself a mug of coffee and sat herself down.
Lillian was always the same. She wore a white kitchen dress, white nurse’s shoes with white hose. She had white hair and granny glasses. She only stood five-three but she had a raspy smoker’s voice, deep and steady.
“Good evening,” she said when Bill stepped on the line. She said it again when Jimmy stepped on. “What’s with the sunglasses?” she asked, gesturing toward Marie.
“Stung by a bee,” Bill said.
“Sure. And I was born yesterday.” She laughed. “Who gave her the shiner?”
“Who else?”
Lillian shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, I thought maybe her husband found out. Busy last night?”
“Very.”
“Good. They’re playing home tonight, so we should get a bump.”
“We’re always ready.”
Lillian sipped her coffee. Marie was stirring her salad dressings and making sure all her desserts were set and ready to go. When she finished, she walked out to the hall and sat where she could see her station. She sat swinging her knees and lifting her dress up and down to fan her legs.
Bill watched her a moment. He remembered the other day. Henry Lee had offered her to him then she’d offered herself to him. He remembered walking in on her and Henry Lee in the men’s room. He laughed to himself, thought they should have hung a towel on the handle.
Seeing him watching her, Marie lowered the sunglasses a bit and peered at him over them. She let her legs stay open and lifted her dress. Then she stuck her tongue out at him and gave him the finger. Bill made the notorious male gesture, grabbing himself there, then he flipped her the fingers-on-the-chin bird.
“We have to stop the animosity,” he told her a little later when he went by her station and took himself some cocktail shrimp to eat.
“Bite me.”
“Watch your step, girl.”
“Why? What you gonna do?”
“Jesus Christ. I’m trying to be square with you.”
“Maybe you should give me some of that weed and take me to the storeroom. I don’t like being turned down.”
“Maybe you should stick to Henry Lee.”
“He don’t care.”
“Jesus Christ,” Bill said again.
The quiet didn’t last long. Waitresses gave Lillian orders and before they knew it a good dinner rush started up. What they couldn’t see was that it would go straight through so that they worked way past ten with no let-up. Twice Tommy came in to let them know both dining rooms were full and people were waiting. Twice Bill got himself coffee and popped aspirin to ease his speedy-head headache.
Then it was over and tapering down. Lexi brought Bill a beer and a soda for Jimmy. Lillian was standing, returning the stool to its corner. Grandma was cleaning up.
Bill sat awhile out in the hall as he took a moment to smoke a cigarette and drink the beer. He didn’t have but a moment until the next orders came in. He and Jimmy worked these. Grandma cleaned up and was dressed to go home by the time they emptied the board. Jimmy left right after grandma. Bill went straight into cleanup and cooking the waitresses’ meals.
Just another day.
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