Bill and Mary never did get it on. One thing led to the next to the next to the next and before either of them knew it, step-by-step, Henry Lee was in and downstairs cutting meat, they had moved through everything that had to be done for the prep cooking and Bill had gone down to join Henry Lee to help him in the meat room.
He and Henry Lee had a long discussion about Marie. They had such discussions several times already, Henry Lee expressing his hope that Bill would get with her because she had become a major pain in the ass. He was happy when he learned that Bill had been with her.
Bill told him about the night before. He also told him about getting home and finding his fiancé sleeping with Tim. He had to explain exactly what sleeping with Tim meant. He had to emphasize how innocent it was, really, and how gay Tim was. Still and all Henry Lee thought it rather strange, and Bill couldn’t disagree with him because on some level it really was rather strange.
“I’d get pissed if some other dude was in my bed,” Henry Lee said. “Gay, straight, or non-sexed at all, man.”
“Yeah, well I ain’t too happy about it.”
“Say something.”
“People in glass houses, man.”
“Yeah, I can see where you might not want to rock the boat.”
“Yeah, well…”
Tommy stopped in the meat room. He didn’t check out the work they were doing, but he did ask about the inventory. Henry Lee told him he was making enough of everything to get through record nights at both stores and he was making sure he had plenty of meat cut today so that everyone had enough to make it till late afternoon tomorrow.
“You going to stay down here with him?” Tommy asked Bill.
“I’m working through. I’ll be up with Mary when I know she needs me up there and I’ll be cutting meat here when I’m not up there.”
Tommy turned and was about to leave the meat room when he stopped and turned back. “Don’t you boys be getting drunk,” he said. “And you,” he said to Bill, “stay away from that funny stuff.”
Bill and Henry Lee took it. Henry Lee was about to curse Tommy, but he held himself in check. Bill wanted to give him the finger, but he didn’t. They both knew Tommy was right. Not only was he right, but he was under great pressure too. Drenovis went at him every chance he could, especially since this store was physically bigger than the other one and did less gross sales. Still, on days like today promised to be, this store did much more business.
About ten-thirty, when they’d finished cutting the steaks they were going to cut for the moment and were about to start grinding meat for the hamburgers, Bill went up to check in with Mary. He had already carted a case of chickens up and helped Mary set them to boiling in a big stock pot. This meant they would have chicken soup tomorrow and chicken pot pies next week. They’d also have a baked chicken special with Supreme sauce sometime next week too.
Bill and Mary were all about business. He set the washed potatoes into the convection oven to bake and then quickly set up the steam table. He filled it with water, put in all the inserts then fired it up by turning on the steam valves. Then he carted over everything that was ready to come over at the time.
Mary saw that he had not changed his kitchen shirt and reminded him to do it before he came up for the lunch service. She also asked him to bring up two prime ribs to be cooked off. Bill told her he would change his shirt right after they finished the hamburgers.
