The night lumbered on. The rush came and went, and like all nights, when it was their time, Grandma and Jimmy changed to their civvies and quietly went out the back door and home. It was another change-the-grease night, so at eleven, after he’d fed the help, all but Bebe, Bill broke down the steam table, wrapped the leftovers, readied them for the walk-in and scrubbed down the line. That done, he went and took himself a coffee.
Marie was already pretty much done. She was sitting on Bea’s stool reading a book.
“Prime rib any good?” she asked.
“Same as always. You want some?”
“Wanna share?”
Bill did not say anything. He walked to the knife sheath and drew out the slicer. Then he walked to the back and set the rib on a cutting board on Mary’s counter. He cut a thick slice, trimmed the fat from the tail, separated the little tail from the main piece of beef and ate it. Then he cut the beef in half, cut one half into eat-size cubes and put them on a plate. He did the same with the other piece of meat and put those cubes on a second plate. The first plate he brought over to Marie. The second he covered and set up under the warmer lights.
Soon after he started on the first fryer, Victoria came in. She was closing girl this night. She ordered Bebe’s dinner. Bill told her to take the plate out to the hall and after he’d emptied the draining pot into the big stock pot, he stood from on his knees and walked to the doorway past which Victoria stood eating the cut-up prime rib.
“I don’t have to you-know-what for this do I?” She shook her butt playfully.
“Only if you want to.”
“I might after what I heard from Lexi.”
“Was I good?”
“She gave you an A+.”
“Is that good?”
“Enough to pique my interest.”
“Well, I feel so relieved.”
“She wasn’t one to be shy about it.”
“So much for discretion.”
“She was pleased as pleased could be. Not gloating or bragging or anything like that. She was just plain happy.”
“She has a really healthy attitude toward sex. Like the women’s libbers over at the University.”
“Yeah. But she ain’t free and easy. She turned Drenovis down. And she doesn’t use her sex to get tips.”
“I respect that.”
“Me too.” Victoria was finished eating. Bill took the plate from her and led the way back into the kitchen. He handed the plate to Paul and watched Victoria head out the door to the front dining room. Then he went to the broiler, fetched a steak for Bebe from the meat cooler and threw it on the grill.
From the corner of his eye he could see Jim watching him. The dish machine was idle now. Having eaten their dinners and finished their break, Paul, Jim and Mickey stood around hanging out. Andy was back to the sink. He was still washing pots.
Bill flipped Bebe’s Super and moved it to a fresh spot on the grill. Then he plated a baked potato, slit it and scooped some butter into the slit. He had to go to the back to get vegetables, which he did, spooning them from the steam table pot he had stored back there into a side dish he carried with him. When he returned to the line, Jim was standing by the knife sheath.
“You want something?” Bill asked. He stepped to the broiler, took up his tongs, plated the steak. He noted that the butter inside the potato slit was melted and sat there in a little puddle that looked picture-perfect. Then he looked to Jim.
“Nah. I don’t want nothing from you.”
Bill saw Jim was studying the knives in the knife sheath. It seemed he was preoccupied with them of late and while there was nothing Bill could put his finger on, it played on his mind. He set the plate up under the warmer lights and tapped the bell for Victoria.
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