Carl, the cook, wasn't in the mood to talk. I sat on a wooden stool next to one of the metal prep counters where a radio played 90s hip hop quietly. I counted the beats to three and a half songs before Carl dinged what I called the "order up" bell. No one ever actually said "order up" anymore, but sometimes I liked to imagine that Alex’s Diner was truly back in the 50s and things were easier and people weredifferent.
It gave me something to think about, other than bills, school, and work. I cut a fresh slice of apple pie and squirted a dollop of whipped cream on top before taking both plates out into the diningroom.
Sitting in the back, I had convinced myself that the two guys at the counter weren't as potent as they had seemed the first time around. However, when I set their plates down and they both looked at me again, I knew I had been outright lying to myself. I tried to smile as I picked up a pot of coffee and filled the gray-eyed customer's mug. I moved back towards the truckers in my section, filling their mugs aswell.
"Are you always working this late?" the giant asked as I passed around thecounter.
Startled, I almost dropped the half-empty pot on my foot. Looking over my shoulder, both he and his friend had focused on me once again. His friend was actively shoveling pie between his lips as if it were going out of style while still wholly focused on me. I sighed, reminding myself that these were just boys like anyone else. No matter that they seemed far too observant; they were just like any other customers. I placed the pot back on the coffee maker’s warming plate and leaned a hip against thecounter.
"I'm usually only here this late when no one else can work," Iadmitted.
"Don't you have school?" The question came from gray-eyes. "You're like what?Fifteen?"
I bristled. "Actually, I'm eighteen. What are you – twelve?" I immediately wanted to slap a hand over my mouth, surprised that I had spoken my thoughts aloud. I glanced over at them and hoped that they didn't takeoffense.
Please have a sense of humor, I begged silently. The giant's low, baritone laugh sounded like rumbling thunder and it grew louder as his friend's dumbstruck face just stared back at me. Relief slid throughme.
"That was beautiful." The giant swiped large fingers under his eyes and looked between us before refocusing on me. "I like you, Harlow. My name's Knix and this is my friend, Marvin, and no, he's not twelve. Although he acts like itsometimes."
I expected Marvin to take offense at his friends nettling, but he simply picked up his coffee cup and took another sip before returning to his pie. Knix held out a hand the size of a bear paw for me to shake and I took it in greeting, watching as my own hand disappeared in hisgrip.
"Nice to meetyou."
"So tell me, Harlow," Knix said. "About how many times a week would you say no one else can work this late?" He released my hand, but followed me with his eyes as I shifted against the counter, wrapping my arms around my middle and pressing my palms to mysides.
"Is there a reason you want to know?" If he wanted to know if we were hiring for late shifts, I'd tell him, but if he was trying to find out my work schedule, well, it didn't matter how pretty he was, that wascreepy.
"Curiosity."
I watched him with one brow raised. I hoped he was just looking for a job; feeling me out to see if I would offer up theinformation.
"There's usually no one else working night shifts but Joanna." I nodded to the other server as she giggled with Mark-Jim-Bob in the corner. "And I work Mondays through Thursdays. Most people have other jobs, or kids, or school." I moved away to wipe down a section of the counter closer to the otherend.
"Don'tyouhaveschool?"
I paused and turned to look at Marvin who had asked the question and caught him staring back at me. "Yea."
Marvin nodded once, as though he had expected my answer, and then continued to eat the last two bites of hispie.
"Do you want more?" Iasked.
He paused as if considering before shaking his head. "Not today, Sunshine." He shifted on his stool, pulling out a buzzing cell phone. He swiped a long finger across the screen before nudging Knix to stand. Knix drained the last of his tea as Marvin straightened the collar of his white, pressed shirt and threw a bill on the counter before motioning for Knix to follow. "Keep thechange."
Knix turned back and left me with another of his stunning smiles as they both disappeared into the gas station’s entrance to leave out of the left side of the building. I waited for them to disappear completely before I began cleaning up their plates. My eyes widened as I spotted Ben Franklin's face on the hundred-dollar bill that Marvin hadleft.
Keep the change? I calculated in my head how much of a tip he'd left me, wondering if he'd accidentally left the wrong bill. A twenty-dollar bill would have left me with almost a seventy percenttip.
I don't know if Marvin knew exactly what he was giving me when he left it, but it was the break I needed. My relief followed me even as I left the diner at 6 am. I now had nearly enough to cover my mom's next medical bill. I smiled as I stuffed the cash in mypurse.
The walk home wasn't all that long, especially so early in the morning – thirty minutes give or take. Despite that, exhaustion weighed on my eyelids. I knew the bus for school would be hitting my neighborhood in less than two hours and I needed to shower off the smell of diner grease before I could getready.
I strode alongside the highway that ran under I-77, taking the fastest route home. I shivered in the early morning chill, but watched as the sky began to brighten, sharpening into a light blue. Cars whizzed past, some honking, but most ignoredme.
As I drew closer to my street – where the duplex I lived in was sequestered in the very back – I noticed a scrap of gray and black fur wiggling out of one of the ditches that lined the pavement. I watched as it lifted its head. Emerald-green eyes met mine and flashed with fear just before the little kitten meowed and ran straight for theroad.
A blue pick-up truck, blaring rap, sped up from the opposite direction just as the cat reached that side of the road. I gasped and lurched forward as the kitten raised its head and stared at the headlights speeding toward it. I thought only deer did that, but I didn't stop to criticize the idiocy of the animal. Instead, I threw myself across the road, snatching the cat into my arms as the truck's hornblared.
A scream caught in my throat as I hunched my shoulders and dropped into a roll that landed me in the ditch, out of the truck’s way. I heard fleeting curses from the truck’s rolled down windows as the driver zoomed past, not even bothering to slow down. I threw my head back, letting it thud against the wet dirt and shuddered in a deep breath as the cat lifted its ears and belly-crawled up my chest. I lifted it to look at the creature and noticed she was missing a part of her ear. Knowing that she was unharmed, I closed my eyes and willed my heart to stop galloping inside my ribs. It felt as if it was attempting to run a marathon straight through my chest. One hand drifted up to pat the cat on the head as she squirmed and purred againstme.