Another day, another dollar. They could have used Alvin on the line that night. It was so busy that Jimmy and Bill didn’t even have a moment to go pee. Grandma fried a lot of chicken and they went through the rib before ten o’clock. Tommy came in at seven to start expediting and Lillian relieved him at eight when she was due to begin. Tommy came back at 9:30 to give Lillian a break.
Almost all of the waitresses were working. Two waitresses served as runners and they all worked together to help the busboys clear off the tables so they could turn them more quickly. All told, when the night was through, they would do three full turns and the waitresses would go home happy, their pockets stuffed with cash.
No matter how hard they worked or how many covers they turned, the cooks only made their salary. No matter how much meat Henry Lee and Bill cut, they only made their salary. No matter how many salads she put up or how many times Marie had to go downstairs to get salad dressings, she still only made her same salary. There was something strange about that, the fact that in our society salesman always seemed to make more money than the skilled tradesmen. Anyone of the kitchen workers could have gone out on the floor and done the waitresses’ jobs, but not one of the waitresses could have come into the kitchen and done the cooks’ jobs.
Lillian worked late and it was almost eleven-thirty when she sat down to eat her dinner. By that time the orders had pretty much settled down such that Jimmy and Grandma could begin getting ready to go home. By this time Bill had had a chance to go down and relieve himself. While he was downstairs he helped himself to a nice drink of bourbon, first one he’d had since the party was over. Bebe had been swamped herself, and she hadn’t even been sending in beers. Bill, when he had a moment such that he could leave the grill, had helped himself to coffee. That was all he drank throughout the service.
Once Lillian was gone from the kitchen and the orders had stopped coming in, the waitresses began to order their own dinners. Bill, in his own quiet way, cooked up two Supers and cut them so Lorraine and Victoria could help themselves. He also cooked a steak for Marie and personally delivered it over to her station. He saw that Marie was sweating, and locks of her hair were pasted to her forehead. Rarely had he ever seen her sweat before. After he put down the plate, just for fun, he reached up her kitchen dress and pinched her on her thigh. He could feel she was sweating there as well.
“My coochie’s went too,” she said. “You ought to feel that.”
“Later,” said Bill. But he managed to help himself to a little pinch anyway. Standing there, already chewing on a piece of the steak, Marie spread her skinny legs for him.
But there was no time for fooling around. There was only time to finish feeding the waitresses and start the cleanup. With Jimmy and grandma gone, all the work was Bill’s and Bill did not want to be staying any later than he had to. Tonight was a strain-the-grease night, so he knew he would catch a break there. As well, almost everything on the line food wise had been used up and there was only a little to have to put away. However, on the other side of this, Mary, Bea, and Henry Lee had a full day’s work ahead of them in the morning.
No rest for the wicked, Bill thought as he worked. He wondered if he should go and sleep at Lorraine’s again. He wondered if perhaps they might have a moment to…
Coming Soon
