They had a gangbuster night too. Bill was able to sit in the hall until about 6:15 when the first steady orders started coming in. Before then orders came in but there was a lull between them. So during the time that he sat he was able to have a conversation with Lorraine, Arlene and Victoria although each conversation was separate.
Lorraine told him nothing much was going on and that her kids were doing well. She did not make any advances or any suggestions as to times to meet, so Bill did not bring up the subject.
Victoria’s, as always, was a shoot-the-shit chat of no real consequence. They talked about the winter coming to an end, the basketball playoffs, although Bill did not really care about basketball, Drenovis and business. Apparently Drenovis had been hitting on the girls again. Victoria mentioned that she thought they would have a slow period once the basketball season was completely over.
Arlene told him her mother was doing as okay as possible and that the help she had had for the day made sure she was comfortable. She asked Bill if he wanted to meet after work even though she was not closing girl but Bill told her he wanted to go home since he wasn’t home last night and didn’t want to stay away too long. Arlene was understanding and said she’d go home to her mother’s house instead of to her own apartment. She also said she hoped Bill would find time for her.
Jimmy did most of the work on the line until Bill was needed inside. This was the way they did things most of the time because Bill worked all day long. Jimmy, a high school senior by day, was considerate and accommodating. He didn’t mind this arrangement since Bill was quick to let him go early at the end of the shift if there was no business.
Tonight was a change-the-grease night. This meant Bill would be tied up for the last hour or so, and if they were really busy he would not get home until about 1:30 in the morning. He would discover that that was the case.
Tommy expedited until Lillian came in. When Bill saw it was going to start to be busy, actually at the time when the orders started to almost get steady, he went out to call his fiancé. He made a quick call, told her he’d be home right after work.
By the time he got back into the kitchen, Jimmy had multiple orders working and more coming in. Bill stepped into place and started into work. Tommy came in shortly after Bill. He worked straight through until Lillian relieved him. The kitchen worked all the way through until almost 11:00 PM.
Then it was the normal routine. Bill fed the waitresses and the dishwashers. Then he fed Esserine. Around 11:30 Arlene came in with Bebe’s order. Bebe ate a Super medium-rare with a baked potatoes and vegetables. Bill pretty much knew her order.
Jimmy and Grandma left a little later than usual, almost at 11:00. As they were leaving Bill was already starting the beginning stages of cleaning up the line. At this point there was not much that he could do, but he knew the steps well and did everything possible so he would not be delayed at the end.
Bill started drinking when the orders were mostly over. He had the waitresses bring him a beer, and when he went down to pee he slipped into the meat room and took a big swig of bourbon. He also popped a black beauty which he washed down with the bourbon.
Back upstairs he settled in for the endgame of the night.
Arlene stopped into the kitchen to say good night since she was not closing girl. She gave Bill a big smile and told him she would see him in the morning, that again tomorrow she was working a double.
As quickly as he could, Bill finished out everything and went straight home.
