They stood at the counter kissing. He reached up under her robe and helped himself to a gentle feel of her, a feel that was designed not to be sexual as much as intimate, a feel designed to let her know they were close.
As it happened, his mother-in-law walked into the kitchen at that precise moment.
Ain’t it funny how the night moves, Bill thought.
That was always the way it was.
Her mother didn’t flinch or look away or do anything but go about what she had come into the kitchen to do. Bill, of course, withdrew his hand immediately.
“I’m not saying anything,” his mother-in-law said. “You’re married almost getting on a year now.”
“I’m gonna go start the car,” Bill said. He left the kitchen, went outside in just his clothes, opened the car door and inserted the key. He started the engine and waited a moment to make sure it ran without stalling out. Satisfied, he ran back into the house.
The dog was waiting for him. He stayed in the foyer a good moment to play with the dog, big boy German Sheppard that he was. He petted the dog, kissed him on the snoot, petted him some more, tapped his side a few times telling him he was a good boy. The dog wagged his tail happily and followed Bill back up and into the kitchen.
“You gonna get here for dinner?” his mother-in-law asked.
“For sure not,” Bill said. “Even if we close early, can’t see getting back here before 11:00.”
“That’s too bad,” she said. “Maybe next year.”
Bill smiled. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Bet your ham is better than the one I’m serving.”
“I’ll same some for you,” she said.
Bill went back to his wife who was still standing at the counter. While he was out starting the car, she had started some water for tea. The kettle was just beginning to whistle. He kissed her a full kiss and then kissed her a second time before he went over to the stove and shut the light under the tea kettle.
“See you later,” he said. “I love you. Merry Christmas to you all.”
Down in the family room he put on the coat he had never hung up. He didn’t bother to zip it, just wrapped it about him and headed out the front door to the car. Then he was on his way.
Being a holiday, the roads were empty and the ride into the city proper quick. He pulled onto the loading dock as he almost always did and parked where always parked, an away spot out of the way good for the small car he had.
Now that he’d been there awhile, the routine that had been so strange the first day was just that, a routine, a familiar one. He said hi to everyone, punched his timecard and went on his way where he found the back of the house empty and quiet, the normal hustle and bustle conspicuously absent. This was a good thing.
He hadn’t been to the laundry in a couple of days so he needed uniforms. He didn’t know if Millie would be there or not, but if not, he hoped she’d at least have left him some clean ones. It wouldn’t have been like to her not to have done so, so he expected at the very least to find a rack of uniforms with some of them on the rack bearing his name.
Jimmy G was just tying his shoes when Bill got to his locker. Jimmy Banquet Chef and Victor were there too, both already in uniforms and both already having been at work.
“There’s a buffet table with breakfast stuffs,” the banquet chef said.
“I need to get uniforms,” Bill said.
“Ya,” Jimmy G said, “I’m hungry.”
Bill opened his locker and took out the two sets of dirty uniforms he had left in a ball on the bottom the locker. “See you in a few,” he said.
