“You know,” Marsha said. “I’m going to miss you when you graduate.”
I made a face. “I’m sorry?”
“Not even and you shouldn’t be. I think you’re hands down the best teenager who has ever worked for me.”
My face warmed. “Thanks?”
“You’re welcome. Now, reality talk.” Marsha leaned against her desk and folded her arms. In her mid-50s, Marsha had a suggestion of gray in her light brown hair that looked more like highlights than streaks. “You’ve got a big load a school, you’re staring down graduation, college apps, time with your friends… big year. Do you need to tighten up your schedule some?”
“I already did before school started,” I reminded her, my stomach bottoming out. I needed this job. The money—I was saving every penny I could. “We worked it out for the two week nights and then weekends during the day.” It had been Marsha who insisted on Friday nights off for me, but now I was glad I had them. “Am I not keeping up or something?”
Ian and Jake distracted me a little, but I hadn’t kept any tables waiting. Even when I paused to talk to Rachel, it hadn’t caused a backlog.
“Not at all. You’re great.” Marsha put a hand on my forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Seriously. The best. I’m—I raised a pair of kids, Frankie. They may both be at college bankrupting me,” she said that with a laugh. “But I know how important this year was to them. I don’t want you missing out on anything.”
“I’m not.” In fact, I had four guys—five guys—I was dating at the moment. Or intending to date. Actually, I was just going to keep all of that to myself. “I promise. I’ve got plans.”
“Yes,” Marsha said with a sigh. “You’ve also got two beautiful young men keeping an eye on you. Hubba hubba.”
I made a face. “Please don’t do that.”
With a laugh, Marsha waved me out of the office. “Go finish up and get out of here. But, remember, if you need time,tellme. We’ll make it happen.”
“Thanks, Marsha.”
“Yep.”
Out front, Ian and Jake’s table was empty, but they were still in the parking lot, talking by Jake’s SUV. I pulled out a silverware tub and walked it over to where Rachel waited. “Sorry, that took a minute.”
“No problem,” she said taking a sip of her coke. “So I wrote this. Would you mind giving it a look and telling me what you think?”
Yep. Definitely weird.Rachel had never been a total mean girl. For, like, five minutes we’d been almost friends. But she was blunt and sometimes painfully so. Too painfully. She always went out of her way to tell me shit I’d probably rather not know… like the untouchable thing.
Then again, if she hadn’t told me… I probably wouldn’t have been making out with Jake that morning.
“Sure,” I said, and she nudged her notebook over so I could read it. She had really neat penmanship. I got busy rolling the silverware. At this point, I could do it in my sleep, and I wanted to get it done and read at the same time. She’d used a lot of what I told her, but the last bit about the pain being like a drug, that was pretty awesome. “I really like the last bit and, you’re right, she knows she could keep going there and spending time and languishing in her heartbreak…”
Kind of like me missing the guys all summer and wallowing in that hurt. It had left me lonely and them confused.
“…exactly,” Rachel said. “Feeling the pain isn’t a bad thing but if you keep going back, it can consume you. So small tastes are better.”
“Cool.” It worked for me.
“Really?” Her eyes lit up and turned the notebook back to her. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” I meant it.
“So,” she said as she packed up. “You’re not interested in Mat cause you’re with Bubba now?”
I stared at her.
“I mean, I’m asking cause you’re holding hands with Jake, making out with Bubba, and the hot French exchange student stares at you like he could eat you up whenever he’s around. Are you just experimenting or something?”
Had I mentioned that Rachel and I were not friends? “Does it matter?” It wasn’t an outright rejection, but I didn’t want to talk about my incredibly confusing personal life with her. Not when I didn’t have a full handle on it. “They’re my friends.”
“Friends,” Rachel said slowly, then slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder before placing a twenty on her check. “Right. See you tomorrow at school?”
“Yep.”