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She leans over the sink Her spine curves, her head droops "How aet away now?"
I make Candy stay in the bathrooe toward their table, dreading theneatly stacked, no spilled drinks, no overturned plates And--gloriously, impossibly--a twenty-dollar tip
I squeal so loudly that Ben sticks his head out of the"Everything okay?"
"Better than okay! Best tip I’ve ever gotten! Thank you, Benjamin!"
"You’re welcoles, announcing my mom … and Rick? Rick always says, "Why would I pay for someone else to make my food?" as he boils a scoop of rice or beans or whatever else he got in the bargain bin
"What are you doing here?" I ask
My lances around She works in the back and rarely visits the actual dining area She never can get over the diner’s shock-and-awe decorating tactics A penguin nativity, cos her attention "Our shift was halted Machine failure We thought you’d be home We wanted to make sure you were okay"
"Candy’s … sick So I’"
Rick’s hands are jalers "Your homework done?"
"Yes" My voice is flat
He nods It’s the sa when he asks ets the saet in from our various shifts Then I pass him the reo, I went through a bout of insomnia, and without fail he’d be out on the couch We’d sit there, silent hours passing, the boring black-and-white cowboy adventures filling in the space between us
Okay, fine, there were a few good episodes But still
The order bell dings, and I frown Ben has placed three to-go containers on the shelf "No one ordered anything!" I shout My , so I stomp over to the"Ben! No one is here No one called in an order"
He leans his head over "Oh, right! Well, it’s e it out, I thought you could give it to your parents" He says it’s eht
"Rick is not lare It’s harder than it should be, like his sweet, s food before people order anything"
"Right" He grins even bigger and then straightens so I can’t see his face anyuess he messed up an order Want some free food?"
Rick doesn’t even ask what it is Free is the only part that , Palo We have an ordering systeone, I check the women’s bathroom and find Candy curled up asleep in the corner, an apron under her head I hang an "Out of Order" sign and take the rest of her shift As a se intoto do with Ben