They didn’t see each other until Christmas Eve day when the lunches were packed. They were all small parties, four of them going off at the same time, all with the same menu, give or take. All of them were inexpensive-item, business-sponsored lunches, not personal parties by individuals. So it was lots of chicken breast to sauté, rolled filet of sole second choice. Chicken or fish.
Because there were four parties and because the number of covers added up, the banquet crew was full. Bill saw Beverly the moment she stepped into the kitchen, one of a group of waiters who walked in together. Nora was in the group too. Her hair was ever the same in the page boy, and her lips were ever thick-red painted.
“Bonjour,” Nora said as she passed by Bill. “How’s it going?” she asked in English for a change.
“It’s going,” Bill said. “You?”
Nora gave him her most droll expression and said, “What should be different?” Her voice was deep, sexy, swell.
Bill smiled. He was in the midst of sauté standing at the stoves next to Victor. Jimmy Banquet Chef was working the same sauté on the other side of Victor, and Jimmy G was, like always, tending to the vegetables, or reading his magazine while the stewards did the work.
Everyone passed by and said hello. Bill knew the waiters now too, most of them by name and most of them by the way they worked as well. Some were better than others, the older professionals much more serious and efficient. The younger ones, a couple of them, did not look upon this as their career and were less serious about the work. Bill paid them no mind for the most part and made sure not to ask them for anything.
When Beverly came by, Bill noticed she had a second earring in on the left side. He smiled at her and said hello, made sure she saw that he saw. She looked ever herself, pretty and made up as her usual, not much, not fancy, just to accentuate her natural look.
The chef had prepared a table for the waiters set at the glass window of his office. The setup wasn’t just for the waiters, it was for the laundry people and some of the others who worked this day, maids and maintenance people who would ordinarily eat in the employee cafeteria.
The chef had set a long, long buffet table on which was a whole host of different foods ranging from cheese platters and fruits to eggs with bacon, sausage and ham, all buffet style. Then there were breads, rolls, croissants, brioche and pastries.
This was all set away from the work areas so the employees could get their plates and eat without disturbing the banquet crew. Since almost everyone knew everyone on some level or other, those who came in to eat made sure to find a way to say hello to the banquet crew who had prepared the buffet and were busy at work on the lunches.
The buffet table had been set up and arranged to start at about nine in the morning and it remained there and was replenished till noon. For the afternoon, after the banquets were done, the chef had planned a cold meat buffet and desserts. Those people who had eaten breakfast could come back for lunch too, or just for snacks. There were no limitations, and the same deal was set to be there for Christmas day as well. No banquets were scheduled for Christmas, not because they didn’t work on Christmas but simply because it worked out that way this year.
“Hey,” Beverly said to Bill.
“Hey,” he said as he continued the sauté work. “How’s it going?”
“Same old same old,” Beverly said. “Maybe I’ll see you over at the buffet table.”
“We’re working through,” Bill said. “We’ll see how it works out.”
“Well, see you at dish up if not before then.”
Bill was starting to flip the chicken in his pan. “Okay,” he said.
