Zander and I headed to the house. "Look, Ro, I'm not kicking you out. It's just—Nev and I only just moved in together and?—"
"You can't have sex wherever you want when you've got someone sleeping in your spare room," I added for him.
He smacked me solidly on the back. "See, I knew you'd understand."
five
. . .
Rachel
"Jack, sweetie, finish your eggs. We need to get going. Mommy is going to be late for work."
Jack had a dozen plastic dinosaurs lined up around his plate, like cattle at a watering hole. "The dinosaurs want keshup on eggs." Jack trotted a triceratops across his plate. His dinosaur obsession had started three months earlier after the day care teacher read them a funny book about a shy brontosaurus. Mom had insisted his fascination with them would fade as soon as he found something more exciting to obsess over. So far, his love for dinosaurs had only grown.
I hurried to the refrigerator for the ketchup. I squirted some on his plate. Jack reached for the ketchup. "No, lemme." He grabbed the bottle, squirted it, and the sticky red liquid landed on his sweater. He stared down at the red blob on his shirt. "Oopsie." A giggle followed.
"You'll need a new shirt. Finish the eggs." I raced to his room and pulled a new sweater out of the drawer. My phone rang. I snatched it off the counter as I reached the kitchen. "Hey Mom, we're running late, and I've got to put a new shirt on Jack."
"Already?"
"Ketchup," I said. "What's up? I thought you were having coffee with Kate?" I tried to squeeze the phone between my shoulder and ear, but it wasn't working. I hit speaker and put the phone on the counter.
"I just left the coffee shop but my car won't start. Can you pick me up? I'll drop you at work and then take Jack to day care."
"Hey, that's Nonna talking on the phone," Jack said, pointing with a ketchup covered finger. He'd dug his fingers rather than his eggs into the puddle of ketchup.
"Hi, my wonderful prince," Mom cooed back. "Eat your breakfast, then Nonna will take you to day care." She returned her attention to me. "Ray, I'll pick you up at the end of your shift. It's just, I have so many errands to run and?—"
"It's fine, Mom. I do wish you'd get that car looked at. We'll be by soon to pick you up." I glanced over at Jack. Triceratops was now covered in ketchup. "Just have to do some dino cleanup. See you soon."
I ended the call and the ketchup massacre. The eggs were cold, and I knew the ketchup had just been a delay tactic. I carried Jack to the sink. He was still gripping a ketchup-covered triceratops. "Don't touch Mommy with ketchup fingers." I didn't have time for a uniform change. Carol insisted that her servers wear traditional diner style dresses with short sleeves and a hem that landed mid-thigh. At least we'd talked her out of the silly little pillbox hats.
"Triceratops likes keshup." He could pronounce the dinosaur names with college level accuracy but keshup, not so much.
"I can see that. Let's get you both washed up."
After the hectic ketchup chaos morning and having to take a detour to pick up Mom, I walked in seven minutes late. Carol looked up with an arched brow as she filled the ketchup bottles. Would I ever be free of the damn condiment today?
"I'm sorry I'm late, Carol. My mom needed my car." I hurried to the back, not waiting for her scolding or annoyed throat clearing.
Nora was in the break room tying on her apron. "You're late."
"Yep. Trust me, I did everything in my power not to be, but a three-year-old and a bottle ofkeshupgot in my way."
"How is Jack? Did he get hurt badly yesterday?"
I shook my head. "Honestly, it was the most minor scrape. I don't think he even remembered it happened. And now he's sporting one of his dinosaur bandages, so knowing my kid, he's probably figuring out what he can do to the other knee to earn another bandage."
Nora stopped to check her makeup. "I wonder if any of the workers will come in for breakfast. The tips were great, but my feet are killing me. Carol is talking about rehiring Glenda," she whispered the last part. Glenda was a pushy, bossy woman who'd sneak in on your section, especially if she thought a certain group would be big tippers. Then she'd act innocent as if she hadn't realized it was your table.
"We're going to need someone else out there. I love a busy dining area, but that was hard with just the three of us." I headed out while Nora was still leaned into her locker applying lipstick.
The hissing roar of the bus pulling up to the bus stop rattled the diner windows. It rarely stopped in front of the diner. Most people were riding it all the way to the next town, a much more populated and bustling city than Juniper. I glanced up as I turned over coffee cups onto saucers. A hood was pulled up over his head, but I recognized him instantly. There was something about the way he walked, the way he carried thosebroad shoulders that made you want to look his direction. There was also something sad about the way he walked, as if he was a lost soul looking for his way in the world. He turned and headed to the diner door. It was still early for work to start across the street, but the bus schedule didn't always line up with someone's work schedule. I let Mom know I'd take the bus home, which meant I'd probably have to wait at least a half hour for it.
"Hey, Carol, I'm taking the bus home, so I can close up today. Make up for being late."
"It's a deal," Carol said. Her scowl was gone now that she knew she wouldn't have to close up. The door opened and he walked inside. I was astonished at my reaction, namely a small gasp. I hadn't imagined how incredible he was to look at, and I also hadn't imagined that sad posture.