Ihated my job. There was no way to convince myself otherwise. And I hated that after having a taste of what life was like through Tate’s generosity that I was back dumping frozen fries into the deep fryer and wiping down plastic booth tables.
Without realizing it, he reminded me that there was more to being alive than the struggle of bills and surviving. And I wanted out of this bottomless well of despair that I had been living in.
I set the timer on the fries. Every time I tried to find a different job, I failed so epically, I stayed put. No matter how often I spoke to the owner, and applied, and hemmed dress after dress, I still couldn’t get a job at the dress shop. And frankly, no one else wanted to hire full-time work and provide benefits. And we needed insurance. Ruby’s broken wrist was proof of that.
My head started to throb. Maybe that’s why I was feeling down. I had a headache. I went into the back and looked for some ibuprofen in my bag.
“Why aren’t you out front?” Will asked.
I held up the bottle of pills as I fished it out of my bag and rattled it at him. “I have a headache.”
“Oh, I thought you were hiding again,” he said.
My spine lost any strength I had left, and I slumped forward. “Is Mac here? Can’t you just take care of him and send him away?”
“Do your job, Kenzie. Or do we need to have a chat about your hours?”
I shut my mouth and pursed my lips. I tipped out an extra pill into my hand. I needed a couple for my head, and one just to deal with the pain that Will was being. Keeping the pills in my hand until I could grab a drink, I made my way back to the front of the restaurant. I filled a small cup with Coke at the drive-thru dispenser before finally being able to toss back the meds. I gave myself a moment to pray the pills would take effect immediately before heading back to my station.
I was doing the break rotation before I cleaned everything. “Are you ready for a break?” I asked Latisha.
“Will just gave me my break, sorry. Are you trying to avoid that old guy again?”
I nodded. I couldn’t think of anything I could do. It was time to face my reality.
I opened a third register and told Jess to finish the order she was on and take a break.
“I can help you over here.” I waved over the family that was next in Jess’s line.
Mac stepped up to the counter. “I’ll have my regular, Kenzie. You know what I like.”
I looked at him with zero emotion. Partly because my head was starting to really hurt and partly because if I gave way to what I was thinking, I would start cussing him out. “Mac, you’re not next in line. These people are. I will take your order when it’s your turn.”
“Kenzie,” he started to complain.
“No.” I said it with all the anger I felt toward him. I then turned a fake smile to the family waiting. They looked a little concerned. “Sorry about that, can I take your order?”
I took orders, processed payments, loaded up trays and paper bags, and generally was busy. It was good. I didn’t have time to think about my headache. I was better because there wasn’t time for Mac to do anything more than place an order and take his food.
Jess came back and it was Dougie’s turn to take a break. The lines were getting smaller. Unfortunately, the rush would be over soon, and I would be finished cycling through breaks as soon as Dougie came back, and I would be out on the floor, cleaning up, sooner than I wanted.
I saw Allan come in before he saw me. He waited in line like everyone else and then smiled when he realized it was me behind the counter.
“Hi, Kenzie. Sorry I couldn’t stay up and watch the movie with everyone. I’m learning to listen to my body and go to bed when I’m tired. You know, not push my limits. I don’t have the same stamina I used to.”
“Allan, hi. Is this for here or to go? Do you know what you want to order?” I asked first so that no one could accuse me of chatting when there was work to do.
If Will didn’t see me and take issue, then a customer would complain, or Mac would. Because Mac made everything about him. If I was talking to anyone, it had better be about work or he would pester me. In the past, Mac had gone so far as to interrupt the conversation I was having to ask why I was talking to that person and not him.
“Yeah, here, double-bacon burger, no tomato.”
“Do you want that as a meal deal or just the burger? Ruby fell asleep in the middle of the movie, so no worries. That dinner you made was delicious. Thank you.”
Allan smiled and nodded. I think he understood what I was doing because he didn’t skip a beat.
“Meal deal, large, please. You’re welcome. If I had known I liked to cook and was good at it, I probably never would have joined up. Didn’t think I had any skills or choices.”
I let out a heavy sign before telling him his total. “I hear you on that. That’s why I’m stuck here.”
He handed me cash. I made change and handed it back. I filled his order and slid his tray across to him.
“Do you have a break coming up?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No break, but I’ll be out on the floor cleaning in a few minutes. I can chat while I work.”
I couldn’t help but watch him walk. Now that I knew he had a prosthetic, I was curious whether it had been obvious and I was just blind, or… He had to have gone through hundreds of hours of physical therapy. The man walked with a pretty even gait.
Mac was back in my line before Dougie returned.
“What was that all about? Do you have a new boyfriend already?” Mac grumbled.
I closed my eyes and wished Mac would go away. He was still there when I opened my eyes again. “What can I get for you?”
“You know what I want, Kenzie. But you aren’t on the menu.”
Was he trying to be clever?
“You’ve already ordered lunch. Do you want a second order of fries, or do you want a sundae?”
“I want to know what you are smiling at that guy for. How do you think the big guy would react if he knew you were talking to another man?”
“There’s a line behind you. You have to order or leave.”
“Fries, give me fries. I don’t eat ice cream.”
I held out my hand for his payment. As long as he was a paying customer, Will let him harass me. As long as he was a paying customer, I couldn’t tell him to fuck off like I really wanted to.
He paid and took his fries.
Dougie came back, and my stomach sank. Begrudgingly, I signed out of my register and went into the back for the cleaning supplies. I thought about hiding in the bathrooms, but Allan was still around, and I did want to talk to him. Maybe I could find out more about Tate and how he was like in the Army.
“Is everything okay?” I asked as I started to work on the booth behind Allan.
“It’s a hamburger,” he said. “But yeah, everything is fine. Hey. I hate to ask this. My leg is aching a lot today.”
“Really? You don’t even limp,” I said.
“It takes a lot of effort to walk normally.” He handed me a few dollars. “Could you get me a sundae?”
“Of course I can.” I took the offered money and headed to the counter. I was covered in cleaning chemicals, so it was faster to have Dougie ring it up and put the sundae together.
Mac stepped in front of me as I carried a tray with a single sundae on it back to Allan. “This isn’t that kind of restaurant.”
He took the sundae and tossed it in the garbage.
“Mac, that wasn’t yours.” I turned to go back to get a second sundae made up.
“It was for your new boyfriend. How come you won’t bring orders to me, Kenzie?”
I clenched my teeth. It wasn’t my place to tell people Allan had a prosthetic leg. He clearly worked hard to appear like he didn’t.
“Dougie, I need a second sundae. Mac, you need to leave.” I finally said it, I finally told him to go. It was a relief, for a second, at least.
“Where’s your manager?” Mac said in the loudest voice he had.
“You don’t need to talk to Will. Mac, you’re interfering with other people’s orders.”
Will showed up behind the counter. “What seems to be the problem here?”
“She can’t tell me to leave. I’m a paying customer,” Mac tattled on me like he was a toddler.
“Kenzie, we’ve talked about this. I’m sorry about her attitude. Kenzie, my office.”
I slumped. I was defeated. Dougie slid a tray with the replacement sundae on it.
“Let me deliver this to an injured Army veteran.” I emphasized each and every word so that Mac could understand. I delivered food when a customer needed assistance.
Mac’s eyes went wide. I hoped he felt guilty. I grabbed the tray and brushed past him.
“Here you go.” I slid the tray in front of Allan.
“You okay? Do I need to tell Tate about that guy? Or do you want me to handle him?”
I looked at Allan. His eyes looked glossy and a little wild. Not unlike Mac when he thought he was being treated unfairly.
“Tate knows about Mac. You only need to enjoy your ice cream,” I said with a sigh.
