"Yep. But I'm glad to get away from him. The fucker took my pain pills."
"Why did you need pain pills?" She poured milk into a saucepan.
"Got my head slammed into a trash bin and … long, stupid and ugly story, which is typical in my life."
She let the milk heat and tore open a pack of cocoa. "Ronan, you know I love you. I've loved all of you guys since we were kids." She laughed softly. "Sometimes, I was sure my grandmother was going to take you all in so you could get away from your dad."
I dropped onto the chair. It helped the dizziness in my head. "Your grandma, El Honey, was the best. I miss her. She was the only person who could put Dad in his place, and she was damn good at it." I peered up at her even though the light in the kitchen felt harsh and made my head hurt more. She immediately sensed it and turned off one of the lights. "I've seen you do a pretty good job of it, too," I said. "Dad respects you. Maybe you could give me a few tips cuz he thinks I'm the scum of the earth. I'm his big disappointment. You know what that feels like? To be a disappointment to a man who was literally the worst parent on the planet."
Nev walked over and put her hand on my shoulder. "You're not a disappointment, Ronan. You just haven't found your path in life. You'll find it."
I smiled up at her. "Now you really are starting to sound like El Honey."
"I consider that the highest of compliments." A hissing sound came from the stove. "The milk." She flew back to the saucepan and pulled it off the heat just before the milk boiled over. She carried the hot cocoa over and stopped to look at the back of my head. My hair was matted with blood. "You poor guy. How many stitches?"
"A dirty dozen. Hurts like hell, too. Do you mind if I crash here tonight? I'll figure out something else tomorrow."
"Stay as long as you like," she said. "I can make you a sandwich if you're hungry. I'm pretty good at it." She winked. Nev owned the local sandwich shop. It was a popular place to eat.
"I'm sure you love making sandwiches in your spare time when you make them all damn day. I'm good. My stomach's not feeling great."
Nev sat down while I drank the cocoa. "How are the job prospects?"
"I'm waiting to hear about that construction job. They're breaking ground on a shopping center over in Juniper. I'll be a low man on the pole, but at this point, I'll take coffee errand boy if they offer it to me." I closed my eyes and winced as a jolt of pain went through my skull. I loosened my jaw and took a breath. "Guess those pain pills have worn off completely."
Nev got up from the table. "Finish your cocoa. The bed's made in the spare room." She headed toward the coat hook and pulled her parka on over her pajamas.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I'm going to get those pills back." She walked confidently out the door. I knew my luck had changed when I spotted Nev through the window.
three
. . .
Rachel
"Ithink things are going to get busy," Nora chirped enthusiastically. She was standing at the big window behind the cash register. She turned around. The pink streaks in her hair glowed neon in the sunlight streaming through the window. "Carol said she might even give us raises." She straightened the small white apron around her waist and tucked a pencil behind her ear.
I smiled. "I'll believe there's a raise when I see it in my paycheck." I joined her at the window. The massive empty lot across the road from the diner was crawling with work trucks and workers in yellow hardhats and orange vests. The plans for a shopping center had been approved a year earlier, and they'd finally broken ground. Carol, the owner of Carol's Diner, had been anxious for work to start. The only other eating places within a decent lunch break distance were a greasy taco stand where the cleanliness was more than questionable and a donut shop that closed at eleven in the morning. Occasionally, a food truck stopped in town, and I was sure that would happen more now that a large crew of hungry workers would be on the site, but my best friend, Nora, and I had big hopes for generous tips. Every dollar more would be appreciated.
A whistle blew across the street. None of us had expected it, and we all stared at each other across the mostly empty dining room. Hank, the cook, leaned his head through the pass-through window. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was the lunch whistle. Guess we're on," he said excitedly.
I had to admit, I was feeling giddy, too. If the dining room filled up every lunch hour, the increase in tips could be substantial. I hurried to the break room to check my phone and smooth my hair back into its ponytail. I leaned down to see the small, warped mirror on the inside door of the locker.
Nora joined me in the break room. "I was thinking the same damn thing. It's hard to get a good look at them in the distance, but there were definitely a few hot hunks milling about over there in their big ass-kicking work boots and tight T-shirts." She applied a coat of lipstick and held the gold tube toward me.
"No thanks. I was just fixing my hair, so I won't lose any in plates of food. I'll leave all the hunks in T-shirts to you." I fished in my purse for my phone.
Nora closed her locker door and frowned at me. She'd had her lips enhanced, and now, coated in bright red lipstick, the frown reminded me of a sad circus clown. "I forgot about your resolution to never date again."
"I've stuck to it," I gloated even though it was only April. I glanced at my phone. "Oh shit. I missed three calls from the day care."
Nora, being the good friend that she was, looked properly concerned. She moved closer. "What happened? Is Jack all right?" Nora was unofficial godmother to my three-year-old son. She was constantly showering him with toys and clothes and hugs, and he adored his Auntie.
Marcy, the manager of the day care facility, answered in an unfriendly tone. "We tried to call you three times."
"I'm sorry. I'm only allowed to check my phone on my break. What happened? Is Jack sick? Did he get hurt?"