Marie was about to show Bill exactly what she wanted when Tommy popped his head in the door. Tommy didn’t say anything. He just ran his hand along his neck to say cut it off, that there were no more customers. When he was gone from sight, Marie showed herself to Bill, very explicitly. Bill was about to reach up to scratch her itch, or begin doing so, but the automatic doors opened and Bebe came in. She was carrying two bottles of beer and set them on the serving shelf where the finished dinners ready to serve were placed. That shelf was usually lit in the infrared of the heater lamps. The lamps were switched off a long time now and the shelf was cool.
“I have a few people at the bar,” she said, “so I’m gonna be awhile. Any coffee left?”
Marie turned to face Bebe, the front of the line and the serving self between them so that while her dress was unbuttoned from the waist down, Bebe couldn’t see it.
“It’s old,” said Marie. “It’s drinkable, but if you want it for customers, I can make a fresh pot.”
“Would you?” Bebe asked.
“Sure,” Marie said.
“Great. I’ll be back in a few.”
Marie finished her first beer and sipped the new one. She put Bill’s beer down on the carving shelf of the steam table then started buttoning her dress.
“See,” Bill said. “You should have gone home.”
“Not without getting my itch scratched.”
Bill was finished cleaning out the fryer. Before he went over to the potwasher station with the pots he had, he put the new cube of grease into the fryer and lit the fryer. As soon as the grease was melted, he would turn off the gas and make sure everything was turned off. Meanwhile, he rinsed both pots he had, the sauce pot and the stock pot, making sure not to leave anything dirty for Andy when he came in in the morning. Bill did not have to do this and throughout his career he would discover that most cooks and chefs would never do it. Bill did it because he felt it impolite not to. It seemed a breach of etiquette.
Leaving Andy’s area clean and in order, he went directly to the back of the kitchen where he began wrapping the leftovers to be put into Mary’s walk-in. Marie met him there. She carried over their beer and while Bill put things into the walk-in she took to wrapping what still needed to be wrapped. Then, finally, they were finished. They both leaned against Mary’s stainless steel counter and drank their beer.
“You got pot, right?” Marie asked.
“Yup.”
“Rolled?”
“Yup.”
“Well, let’s go get high.”
“Soon as the grease melts and I can shut down the kitchen.”
“Damn,” Marie said. She hoisted herself up onto Mary’s counter and asked Bill for another cigarette.
Bill had left his cigarettes on the steam table shelf where Marie had set them. He walked over to get them and good thing too because that’s when Bebe came in to get the coffees. She was followed by Lorraine who was closing girl. Lorraine had already changed and was wearing her coat.
“See you tomorrow,” she said. “Maybe we can get to that talk.”
Bill smiled and said goodnight. He watched both of them leave the kitchen. Then he looked to see that the cube of grease was just about completely melted. He knew they still had a few moments, or they could go downstairs and change clothes. He decided to finish his beer and went back to where Marie sat.
“What you talking about?” Marie asked.
“Just stuff. Her kids. My college days. Nothing much.”
