I’ve almost got the menu memorized, and I already shadowed Maria and another server named Natalie this weekend to nail down the protocol and get a feel for the place. Maria did what she could to trip me up, but I gave it back in kind—it’s not the first time I’ve been engaged in a turf war at work, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I’m actually looking forward to the shift, even if it means wearing braids and the ridiculous costume. Work will allow me to clock out of my mental turmoil and focus only on completing the tasks in front of me. And, besides, it’ll feel good to earn money and talk to customers again. I’ve been waitressing since I can remember, and I’m damn good at it if I do say so myself. So, I’m getting back on that horse, and I’ll worry about a place to stay tomorrow.
I’m just glad I won’t have to think about Milo Papatonis ever again.
Chapter Nine
MILO
“Here’s to you finally growing a set of balls.” Bran holds his beer glass up in a toast, and I frown at him. Ted looks only slightly less repulsed than I do.
“You mind keeping your voice down, man?” I sip my beer without touching my glass to his. We’re all belly-up to the bar at the SWiN, and Bran’s still grinning like a fool.
“Hey, getting a job is always something to celebrate. Congrats.”
Ted turns to me. “I didn’t know you got a job. Excellent. Congrats, man.” He raises his glass too. Of all of us, Ted fits in the best here at the restaurant. He’s in his usual tweed jacket, complete with leather elbow patches, and his professor glasses I’ve been told make him something called a “hot nerd.” These are Rayna’s words—and Haley’s, Ted’s girlfriend, but she’s obviously biased. All I know is he’s a decent guy and some kind of comic book guru who takes time out of his busy life to mentor my niece, which makes him good people in my book.
I finally give in and clink my glass to theirs. “Thanks.”
This day has lasted a good month if you ask me, but when Bran called and said he and Ted were headed out, it sounded better than sitting on the couch watching TV alone.
“So, where are you working?” Ted asks. While Bran and I go way back, we’ve only known Ted and Haley for a few months, so he’s not privy to most of my past and all its various fuckups.
“A place called Coastal Adventures. It’s a dive school.”
“Oh, right. I imagine you’ll be happy getting back to diving after this hiatus. Good for you.”
I nod because I don’t feel like admitting to Ted that I’ll be spending most of my time in a swimming pool.
Bran sets his glass down with a clunk. “Don’t know that I’ve seen you go this long without diving. Well, except for back… you know.”
Oh, I know all too well. We both do. Doesn’t mean we need to talk about it.
Bran keeps yammering on while I try not to relive my phone conversation with Leah. “I told you from the beginning Leah would give you a job, but noooo. You had to exhaust every last possibility before picking up the phone to call her. Waste of time if you ask me. You could have been working for months by now.”
I drop my beer back down to the bar top. “See, I don’t remember asking you, now that I think of it.”
He grins and takes a healthy swallow of his ale before quickly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, class act that he is. But his actions are explained when Rayna pops her head between us in the next second to drop a kiss on my friend’s cheek. “Hey boys.” She turns to me and smiles, her perfect white teeth standing in contrast to the deeper tone of her skin. “Heard about the job. Congrats, Milo.”
I scowl at Bran, but he just laughs and says, “Dude,” like the one word is adequate explanation for sharing my business. Ted must agree because he’s now grinning around his beer.
Since I’m not a complete asshole, I thank her and then try to change the subject. “What’s the special tonight?” If there’s any surefire way to distract Rayna, it’s by talking about food.
“Oh, you guys picked a great night to come in. It’s leg of lamb with roasted pumpkin salad and mixed greens.” She continues to describe the dish using words like succulent, gorgeous, and ripe. You’d think she was talking about a naked woman from the way she’s going on. But it does sound delicious. “I’ll have the new girl run a few plates out to you guys.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be an imposition,” Ted says with his usual politeness, but Rayna waves him off.
“Not at all. I live to feed people.”
“Thanks, babe. You’re the best.” Bran kisses her, and my attention returns to my beer.
“And don’t you forget it.” Rayna laughs and pats me on the shoulder before dashing back to the kitchen.
Bran can’t wipe the stupid smile off his face. Him sitting there, arms folded, swiveling his bar stool side to side like a little kid makes it impossible for me not to laugh. “You’re an idiot, you know that, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” he acknowledges, completely unbothered, smile still firmly in place while he picks up his beer glass and raises it again. “You should be so lucky.” He doesn’t wait for me to toast this time, instead clinking glasses with Ted and maintaining his grin as he takes another sip. Ted’s unabashed smile tells me he speaks the same language. I shift my attention elsewhere because I can’t watch these assholes anymore.
Not being in ownership of vaginas, we’re all content to sit quietly at the bar, each in our own thoughts for a while. The décor in this place is a bit on the horror-movie end of the spectrum, despite the fact that it contains nothing of an outright violent nature. Marionettes hang limply from hooks, surrounded by shelf upon shelf of porcelain figurines and snow globes, with dusty signs I can’t interpret lining the moldings above. And then there are the dolls which, I admit, make me more than a little uncomfortable. It’s the frozen expressions that do it. A menagerie of dead-eyed Austrian children in their Sunday best watching me drink my stout. Combine all that with the dim lighting and dark wood, and it harkens back to a bit of the creepy/obsessive collector vibe I remember from the classics. Hitchcock would have a field day with Camille and her collections. She’s lucky for the award-winning food, or she’d be out of business and most likely locked up somewhere to save her from herself.
A glance at Ted tells me he’s mulling over some work issue, while the expression on Bran’s face reveals he’s still thinking about Rayna because, let’s face it, when isn’t he? I can’t even remember the last time I went on a date. Had to have been almost a year back. Yeah, that hotel clerk in the Virgin Islands. Although, I’m not sure you could call that a date. Before that, hell… there really hasn’t been anybody apart from a few brief connections that had expiration dates before they even began. That’s one perk of moving around. No strings to tie you down, and nobody in your business.
I roll my neck, trying to relieve the ever-present tightness. What I wouldn’t give to head back out there and lose myself in the deep with nobody to worry about besides me and my diving tank. Not that living with Felicity is a hardship. I’m the one who made that choice, and I like having her around. I had to stay in town for a while anyway, dealing with my dad’s estate and all the bullshit involved there. It’s not like he had anybody else besides my mom who he could trust as executor of his estate. Although, the word “estate” is a bit of a stretch. It took me three months and all my savings to clean up both his debts and the piles of trash he’d accumulated around the property.