“When it’s busy like this, everyone is going to shout and wave at you, as if you were a taxi in the middle of Times Square. Just keep your cool and focus,” Lucy coached her. “You’re one person and you can only do one thing at a time, right?”
“Sometimes, not even that much,” Zoey said glumly.
“Chin up, pal. It’s just your first day. Your first meal, for goodness’ sake.”
“You’re doing great, honey,” Trudy agreed, as she whizzed by. “Just having another pair of legs out there is a blessing, believe me.”
Lucy silently thanked the other waitress. Trudy was so good-hearted; she could see Zoey struggling and knew exactly what to say.
“How do you feel? Still want to go home?” Lucy asked.
Zoey thought about it a moment. “I’m okay for now, I guess.”
Lucy spotted Reverend Ben coming in the door and looking around for a table. He was the perfect customer for Zoey to wait on for her first solo flight, Lucy thought. She knew Reverend Ben would be patient with the fledgling waitress. He might even undo some of the trauma from the man with the spilled coffee.
“Hello, Reverend Ben. Your favorite table in the back is empty,” Lucy greeted him. She picked up a menu and gave it to Zoey. “This is Zoey, our new waitress.”
“Hello, Zoey, nice to meet you. Shall I sit back there?” he asked politely.
Zoey nodded, looking a bit nervous. “Just follow me, please,” she said. She led Reverend Ben to his table and handed him the menu. “The specials are on the board. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Some hot tea with lemon would be nice,” Ben replied. He smiled at the girl and opened his menu.
“I’ll be right back,” Zoey promised. Then she ran off to make the tea.
So far so good, Lucy thought. She walked over to Reverend Ben’s table and turned so Zoey couldn’t hear her.
“That’s the girl I told you about, Reverend. The one who’s staying with us awhile,” she said quietly.
“I thought that must be her. She’s recovered from her illness, I see.”
“Yes, she’s feeling fine now. We thought it would be good for her to have something to do outside the house. She’s dropped out of school and won’t go back,” Lucy added.
“I see. Good idea to find her a job. So you’re working here, just to help her?”
“For a few days. I changed my schedule to the night shift until Tuesday.”
“You’re working two jobs, to help her? That’s very good of you, Lucy.”
Lucy shrugged. “It’s just a few days. I don’t mind. She’s a little nervous. She was serving some coffee this morning and a very rude customer managed to spill it on himself, then acted as if it were her fault.”
“I’ll be sure to give her lots of positive reinforcement,” Reverend Ben promised. “How long will she be staying with you?”
“I don’t know. Her caseworker is looking for a permanent placement but said these things move slowly around the holidays. I hope she’ll stay through Christmas,” Lucy added.
“It will be good for her to be with your family,” Reverend Ben said. “But I hope this isn’t hard on you, Lucy. In these situations, guardians get attached. It can be painful when the children move on.”
“I know,” Lucy said quietly. “But I can’t worry about that. I don’t think I can help her much if I keep worrying about myself.”
Reverend Ben gave her a serious look, an admiring look, too, she thought. “That’s very true,” he said.
Lucy felt he understood. Should she be more distant, more detached? Then how would she really be helping Zoey? The girl needed affection, trust, kindness. Could you give a person those things at a cool distance? Lucy didn’t think so. She wouldn’t know how.
It was still going to hurt, no matter how she cut it.
Zoey returned with the tea, then took Ben’s order and gave it to Charlie. Lucy drifted off to wait on other tables, keeping her eye on Zoey. But Zoey did very well, getting the soup and turkey sandwich and bringing them to Reverend Ben without any mishaps.
By the time Reverend Ben was finishing his pie and asking for the check, Lucy knew it had been a successful first outing.
“Good-bye, Lucy,” the Reverend said as he was leaving. He turned to Zoey and smiled. “And thank you very much for the excellent service.”
After he left, Zoey cleared the table. “Wow, what a nice guy! Look at the tip he left me.”
Lucy was also impressed by Reverend Ben’s generosity. She could see it made Zoey think that maybe she wasn’t half bad at this job—and that was making all the difference.
IT WAS ALL HANDS ON DECK FOR THE CREW AT WILLOUGHBY FINE FOODS. Betty had arrived at the shop at eight sharp on Saturday morning to find Molly, Sonia, and three other helpers already busy at work, prepping and packing the foods for the parties scheduled that weekend. Other part-time employees, who were only called during a big rush, would be out setting up and serving. Betty knew it was going to be one of those days.
She and Molly were so busy that morning they barely had time to exchange greetings. At midday, when the van was sent out to the first event and there was finally a lull in the action, Molly collapsed on a stool at the counter and let out a long sigh.
“One down, two to go. Every time I think I’m beat, I just think of all that Christmas shopping I still have to do,” she confessed with a laugh. “Three girls, who all send me wish lists of clothes off the Internet. And there’s still little Betty to worry about.”
Molly had four girls altogether. Matt’s daughter, Amanda, who was the same age as Molly’s oldest daughter from her first marriage, Lauren. And there was Lauren’s younger sister, Jill, and finally, the little girl who Molly and Matt had together, whom Molly had named after Betty.
“I haven’t bought a thing either,” Betty confessed. She poured Molly a cup of coffee and got one for herself, as well. “I don’t even know when I’ll have a spare minute to do it.”
“Well, it’s going to get worse around here before it gets better,” Molly warned. “Next weekend will be even busier. It’s the very last weekend before Christmas. We have a party Friday night, two on Saturday night, and the four on Sunday. And that’s not even counting the food pantry event,” Molly added. “But we’re just donating food to them right? We don’t have to be there.”
“We don’t have to be there. But I did plan on going.”
“We can just set up a buffet. Won’t the volunteers do the rest?”
“But I am a volunteer,” Betty explained. “I’ve spent hours on this event, and I want to see how it comes out.”
Molly shrugged. “Okay. If it’s that important to you.”
She sounded agreeable enough, but Betty could tell her friend was annoyed. Molly simply didn’t understand how Betty could take time off on one of their busiest days of the year. Betty was a partner and didn’t really need Molly’s approval—but Molly was also her best friend. She didn’t want to let her down.
“I really want to be there. I don’t have to show up at the beginning, but I’ve put so much time into this project, I just want to see how it turns out.”
“I understand,” Molly said. “I’ve heard that being one of Santa’s elves is like organized crime. It’s hard to get out once you sign on.”
“Molly, you’re terrible,” Betty said, but she couldn’t help laughing.
“Speaking of Santa, how was your date last night?”
Oh, here we go. Betty struggled to sound indifferent, though she felt anything but. “It wasn’t a date, just a friendly get-together. We talked about the party, ate spaghetti. He’s an interesting person,” she added. “He’s actually a writer. That’s how he got involved with the Santa business. He was doing research for an article.”
Molly seemed only mildly impressed by this explanation. “A writer? . . . Well, that’s almost a real job.”
Betty didn’t comment. She didn’t need to defend Nathan to Molly. She had a feeling that Molly actually
liked Nathan and thought he was an interesting, even admirable person. She just didn’t like the idea of Betty getting involved with him. Molly preferred Alex Becker in the role of Betty’s romantic partner, and her next question proved it.
“I guess it’s hard to find time to see Alex, with all these weekends booked up with work.”
“We’re getting together Sunday night,” Betty reported. “If I’m not totally exhausted. We have the Village Garden Club party at Lilac Hall on Sunday afternoon. That one will be a doozy.”
“I know it,” Molly agreed. “Those ladies are never satisfied with anything we do. But for some reason, they keep hiring us.”
Betty didn’t bring up either man again, and she and Molly were soon on their way out the door and into the festivity fray. It was good to have the distraction of such intense work, Betty thought. Life was just getting too confusing.
ZOEY WASN’T WILD ABOUT WAITRESSING. BUT SHE LIKED MAKING MONEY. When Charlie came out of the kitchen and told her that she had a half-hour break, Zoey felt the wad of dollar bills in the pocket of her uniform and grabbed her jacket off the coatrack.
“Hey, where you going?” Charlie called after her. “Are you taking off on us again?”
She thought his tone was half-joking and the other half, hoping. “I’m just going down the street to the variety store. I’ll be right back,” she promised.
“Okay. Don’t get lost now,” he warned her.
Zoey didn’t answer. If she kept up with the waitressing awhile, she would have enough money to get away on her own again. She certainly didn’t get enough tips for that this morning. Most of the customers—except for that minister guy—had been pretty stingy, she thought.
But she did have enough to get her cell phone working again, and that was the very first thing she wanted to do. She soon found the cards, which were on display behind the cash register. Zoey bought one for her phone, then found a pay phone on the street and registered the card number. She waited a few minutes, window-shopping on Main Street. The shop windows were all decorated for Christmas and full of things to buy. In the window of a gift shop, an electric train circled a miniature Christmas village. Zoey peered at the other items on display, china teacups and flowered platters and fancy Christmas ornaments. She was glad she had a little money. She wanted to buy Lucy a Christmas present. Lucy was so nice to her, Zoey sometimes thought it had to be an act. Nobody could be that nice naturally. Besides, Zoey didn’t understand why Lucy would like her so much or go to so much trouble to help her. There had been a teacher or two who had treated her that way. But after a while, they either got bored or tired of trying; they had all sort of drifted away. It wasn’t smart to depend on this sort of kindness, she had learned. It never lasted very long.
She checked the clock in front of the bank. She still had a few minutes before she was due back at the diner. She pulled out her phone to see if the service was on. It was working again, and she quickly dialed her voice mail, to check messages. As she expected, the box was full. She had only been able to call her best friend, Caitlin, once or twice from the Bates house. Otherwise, she had been totally out of touch with her friends. She typed in her code, and the messages began to play. The first two were from Caitlin. The next was a voice she dreaded to hear.
“Hey, it’s me, your own sweet Kurt. Where you been hiding, girl? Caitlin says she doesn’t know, but I think she’s lying. Don’t worry. I’ll get it out of her. You know I have my ways.” His voice hadn’t changed. It was flat, chilling. “It wasn’t nice, the way you ran out on me, Zoey. I didn’t like that. Think you can hide from me? Get real. You’re not smart enough. Simple fact: I’m going to find you, Zoey. And you’re going to be very sorry you ever tried to leave me.”
Zoey pressed down on the red button, ending the call. Her hands were shaking so hard, she nearly dropped the phone. She checked the record of incoming calls and saw that one number again and again. Kurt, her old boyfriend. It looked as if he’d been calling her for days. Why didn’t he just give up? What did she have to do to get away from him?
She swallowed hard and jammed the phone in her pocket. She should have changed her number, but since the phone wasn’t working it hadn’t seemed to matter. Could he really find her? Zoey worried that he could. Even if Caitlin didn’t tell, Zoey knew Kurt would try to scare her friend, but Caitlin was tough enough to stand up to him. Zoey hoped so anyway.
She crept back into the diner, feeling shaky. Charlie was standing behind the counter, talking to a cop who sat there drinking coffee. Zoey guessed this had to be Charlie’s friend Tucker, the one he was always talking about.
“Well, you made it,” Charlie remarked, glancing at her. “Only five minutes late, too. I was going to send Tucker out looking for you, but he was still working on his donut.”
Zoey didn’t answer. Just picked up her apron and order book.
“Hey, you okay? You look a little pale,” Charlie said. “Lucy said you shouldn’t stay here too long on your first day. I can take you home in about an hour,” he added.
“I’m okay,” Zoey said. She started clearing off a table.
The door over the diner entrance jangled, and Zoey nearly jumped out of her skin. It was just a mother with two little kids, but her stomach had lurched as if she were coming down on a roller coaster. She had expected to see Kurt standing there, that satisfied smirk on his face as he cornered her.
Maybe Kurt won’t even recognize me in this dorky waitress getup, she thought. But that was just stupid wishful thinking. He definitely would. He wouldn’t rest until he found her—and made good on all his ugly threats.
AFTER WORKING FROM EIGHT UNTIL TWO AT THE DINER, LUCY HAD driven over to the hospital and worked a full shift there, too. She finally got home around midnight, feeling so tired she could hardly make it from the garage to the side door.
Her hours were so scattered that no one in the family waited up for her anymore. She couldn’t blame them. They hardly knew when she was coming or going. She was surprised to see a light on in the kitchen and find Zoey sitting at the table, reading a magazine.
Zoey looked up when Lucy came in and almost smiled at her. “Hey, Lucy. Charlie wasn’t sure what time you were coming back. He went to bed.”
“He gets up early to open tomorrow,” Lucy said. Had Zoey waited up for her to come home? Lucy suspected she had but didn’t want to ask. She knew it would only embarrass Zoey, and the girl would likely deny it anyway.
“You should be in bed, too, young lady,” Lucy said instead. “You’re still getting over your flu, and there’s a big breakfast crowd on Sunday. Especially after church gets out.”
Lucy didn’t like missing church, but Zoey still needed her coaching and moral support. She had to keep her promise. Besides, Charlie needed her help at the diner this weekend, anyway. Trudy was taking the morning off and there was no one to cover for her.
“Do you want some tea or something?” Zoey asked. “I can make it for you.”
Lucy was surprised by the offer. “I ate at the hospital, but a little mint tea would be nice. How did everything go after I left? Did you do okay?”
“No major disasters. I got some good tips, too. I stayed until four. Trudy dropped me off.”
“That’s great,” Lucy said, sitting down at the table. But she noticed that Zoey seemed nervous. On edge. Lucy wondered if there had been some problem with Charlie that Zoey wasn’t telling her about.
Zoey brought two mugs of tea to the table and then two spoons and the sugar bowl. “Here you go—and I didn’t give you a bath in it either,” Zoey said.
“Nicely done,” Lucy complimented her. “Spilling that coffee was just nerves.”
“Thanks for helping me, Lucy . . . and for not yelling at me. And for making me try again,” she added.
“I didn’t do much. You just needed someone to push you back in the ring. Waitressing is harder than it looks. I respect the job. But you don’t have to be a waitress your whole life. For a long time, I thought I d
id. Then one day, I decided I had to try for something better.”
“Becoming a nurse, you mean? Didn’t you have to go to college for that?”
Lucy sipped her tea. “Sure I did. I didn’t even have my four-year degree. I was almost forty years old my first semester. I was the oldest student in all my classes. I felt a little self-conscious, sitting there,” she admitted. “But I just kept reminding myself why I was there. To be a nurse. That’s what really mattered.”
“Forty? I thought you went when you were young, like right out of high school.”
“Oh, no. Charlie and I met in high school, and we married right after. I daydreamed about having a career, but going to college seemed out of the question. I didn’t think I was smart enough. Then I had my kids and forgot about it for a while. But I finally got the bug again, and I just couldn’t let it go. I had to talk Charlie into it, too. Now I think he’s glad I went. He’s proud of me—in his own way,” she added. “You have to try the thing you think you cannot do. Just think how it went for you today. This morning you were terrified. You wanted to run right out of that diner and never go back. And tonight, you’re counting your tips and you know you can do it.”
“I guess,” Zoey answered doubtfully. “But school isn’t the same. Not for me. I’d never be able to be a nurse. Or do anything like that. You have to be really smart to go to college.”
“Zoey, honey, if you don’t finish high school, you’re going to spend the rest of your life getting yelled at by dumb guys wearing moose-head sweatshirts. You’re a bright girl. Is that what you want for yourself?”
“No, not really. Who would want that?” Zoey looked down at her fingernails and picked at a cuticle. “But I have this . . . this learning problem. School is really hard for me. You know that kid who’s always sitting in the back of the room and never knows what’s going on? That’s me. I just didn’t want to be that kid anymore,” she said honestly.
Lucy patted her hand. “I know. Mrs. Schuman told me a little about that. You probably have some learning issue, and no one’s ever really worked with you. But you can get help for that, too. Special classes. I’ll talk to Rita about it if you’re willing to try.”
On Christmas Eve Page 16
