The rest of the week was very busy both in banquets and parties and in The Falstaff Room. Bill worked long, hard hours and did not have much time between finishing on banquets and setting up for his dinner service. Because The Falstaff Room was consistently busy now, the setup involved making sure they had enough of everything to cover what they could sell.
Caesar stayed away from Bill. Jo Ann did not mention his having said anything further to her about anything regarding his dislike for the new cook. Rosie and Edelgarde were just plain happy. They were happy they’d had that moment in the car with Bill. They were happy they were making money, lots of money, and they were happy that Caesar was himself busy such that he mostly left them alone.
Given how busy it was, the week went quickly. There wasn’t much time for encounters with any of the girls, and overall Bill was happy about this. He much preferred to be the one to initiate things, and generally he was not one to initiate things there. He much preferred for work to be uncomplicated and no more stressful than the demands of the job. The extracurricular stuff, well, he could have passed it all up if it left him alone, and he would have if he could have.
He did have one moment in the clandestine stairwell with Beverly. They had a lunch break together, nearly an hour. Bill saw she was wearing an extra earring in her left ear when he saw her that morning, and when they crossed paths they uttered a time with an if-possible attached to it. The if-possible had worked out.
It wasn’t what Bill wanted, but it did save him from Millie. Millie had been extremely quiet since their last encounter. Bill did not know if that were good or bad and he didn’t particularly care except that bad would create a mess and messes were not good to have at work. Messes were not good to have anywhere. They happened in and of themselves—the situation with Caesar had the potential to be a mess—without Bill doing anything at all.
Stuff happened.
Millie was content. Bill would learn this next time he saw her, next time they had a moment to talk. Meanwhile not seeing her that way was a good thing for him.
Beverly kissed Bill soon as he got there. She was waiting. She had been waiting, she said, since her party ended early and they were able to clear away all the food and dishes quickly.
“What’s up?” Bill asked after they’d kissed.
“Busy busy. Working just about all the time for the next month and more. You?”
“Same deal.”
“That’s it?”
“You tell me.”
“I’m just about ready,” Beverly said.
“What’s that mean?”
“It means just about.” She smiled at Bill and blushed red.
“I’m tired,” Bill said. “It’s good to just sit and rest.”
“That’s true. I’m on that big one later. When you start setting up for The Falstaff Room I’m gonna be setting up lots of tables for that banquet.”
“I hope you’ll make money.”
“Oh, for sure.” She was sitting next to Bill on the same step and turned slightly to face him. “Listen,” she said, “you can have me if you want me.”
“Well that’s about the best invitation, the warmest and most enthusiastic I’ve ever had.”
“That bad, huh?’
“Beyond bad. And you’re not getting away with it either. You’re not putting it on me. This is on you. You want to get down, I’m with it. You want to be friends and talk about marriage and all that great stuff, I’m down with that too. Just let me know.”
Bill took a moment and looked at her. “Listen, I’d do you in a flash. If I were single and you were single and we ran across each other, I’d be attracted and make a move. So that should tell you about your appeal. The rest is on you. Whatever you want will be okay.”
