Towards the late evening, a group of people came in that took up both my tables. I had brought them the bread basket and ten gla.s.ses of water. Now I just needed to take their orders. But they were so caught up in their conversations that they pretty much ignored me.

"h.e.l.lo. Is anyone hungry?" I said loudly, to be heard over their chattering. It didnt work. They kept talking and nibbling on the bread.

There wasnt much else I could do, so I went into the back and sat down, momentarily relieving the pain in my feet. All of a sudden the manager came bursting through the swinging doors and hollered my name.

He rushed me out the door and I went back to my tables where the customers sat staring at me, no one saying a word.

"So, are you ready to order now?" I asked with pen and pad in hand.

"We were ready ten minutes ago," one man snarked.

"And I tried to take your order ten minutes ago, but you ignored me." I might have been a bit snarky myself, but it was the truth.

"I dont think I care for your att.i.tude very much, young lady." One of the older women wearing a fake fur stole said condescendingly.

"Im sorry to hear that, now, would you like to order?"

"No, I would not." She adjusted her stole and looked me straight in the eye, "Do you know who I am?"

I suddenly had a rush of dej vu, but didnt have time to discover why. These a.s.sholes were starting to p.i.s.s me off.

"Lady, it doesnt matter who you are, Im just trying to take your order, for G.o.ds sake."

She let out an impertinent gasp, like I was beneath her contempt.

"Look, if you knew who I was, youd dial back that arrogance of yours, and let me take your d.a.m.n order."

I was angry and ready to tell all of them to go f.u.c.k themselves, when Chris ran up and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Why dont you get these nice folks some more bread, while I take their order, all right?"

But I couldnt let it go, I had to get it off my chest, "I could buy and sell your a.s.s for less than what you paid for that moldy fur around your neck."

"Well, I never!" she bellowed so the entire restaurant heard her.

"Yeah, Im sure of that!" I bellowed back at her as Chris literally pushed me into the kitchen.

A minute later the manager came storming in, fume emitting from his ears, and shouted in my face, "Youre fired!" and then he stormed out again.

"Fired? You cant fire me, I quit!" I shouted after him but he was gone already.

Chris drew my eyes to her angry face and shouted, "Melinda! Shut the h.e.l.l up!"

I opened my mouth to make a snotty retort, but her face softened into a smile and she took my hand in hers and patted it. It was then that I remembered having been just as mean to her, as those people were being to me.

"Wow, paybacks a real b.i.t.c.h, isnt it?" I joked halfheartedly.

"Yes, it certainly can be."

"So what do I do now? Ive never been fired before."

"Stay here until the boss cools down, then maybe we can ask him for your job back."

"Yeah, well I dont see that happening. But since I have no place else to go at the moment so I might as well stay in here as long as h.e.l.l let me. But first I think maybe I should go apologize to those people and see if I can smooth things over."

"Oh yes, thats a good idea. But Melinda, keep calm when they refuse to accept your apology, all right?"

"I understand."

I have faced many difficult times in my life. The worse one was when I had to apologize to my mother for calling her a b.i.t.c.h. Truthfully, she was acting like one, but I did regret calling her that. And now, as humbly as I knew how to be, I walked over to the table and looked the lady right in the eye and apologized. And then I apologized again because the first time my heart wasnt in it. The b.i.t.c.h was not very gracious about it, but everyone else seemed to accept it, and some in the group even smiled at me and said it was all right. I walked back into the kitchen with a self-satisfied smile on my face.

For an hour, I was jailed in the kitchen while Chris took care of my customers, as well as her own. I felt bad, watching her rush in and out of the kitchen, placing orders, picking up food, and grabbing the bread, barely stopping long enough to catch her breath.

I guess the manager was waiting for the customers I had p.i.s.sed off to leave. When they were gone, he finally came over to me and said I was hired again and to get my a.s.s out there and not screw up this time. I dont know if it was Chris who had convinced him or if he was just really desperate for help, even really bad help like me. I didnt stick around to ask. I put on my ap.r.o.n again, and grabbed a pen and pad, and hightailed it back out there.

During that hour of incarceration in the kitchen, I had a lot of time to think about things. How I had failed twice already and if I were truly poor, truly without access to my money, I would most likely be dead within a week. Im just not any good at being poor.

I behaved myself for the rest of the shift. Perhaps because of that hour of rest, I wasnt as frantic as I had been, and neither were the customers. As my self-imposed penitence, I helped the others with their tables whenever I could, and I think they really appreciated it. I was beginning to feel a part of a team, one that worked their collective a.s.ses off for a measly $2.13 an hour, including tips. It was the tips that they strived for because, as one of them told me, making ends meet on minimum wage was practically impossible.

But it wasnt all bad, there were a couple of surprises that I wasnt expecting. Chris called me over to a table and when she stepped to the side, a sudden flash of light blinded my eyes for a second. Then I heard it, the laugh that could only have come from George Kirk.

"George, what the h.e.l.l?"

"I needed a picture of you to prove to your parents that you were actually working. Imagine that, Blackie Blackstone with an ap.r.o.n on, schlepping food around. How could I pa.s.s up this opportunity to see you in action, Blackie?"

"All right, youve had your fun. Now delete the picture, understand? I dont want my parents or anyone else knowing what Im doing."

"Oh dear, and here I was going to give it to them for Christmas." He laughed and then asked, "So, arent you going to introduce us?"

"George, this is Chris Livingston. Chris, this is my uh..."

"Friend. Im her friend, George Kirk. Its nice to meet you, Chris."

"Im happy to meet you too, George. Have you known Melinda long?"

"Yes, all her life."

"And yet were still friends," I joked seriously, giving him a scornful look.

"Can I get a picture of you two together?" George asked, and without waiting for us to answer, he held up his cellphone and snapped several pictures.

To his credit, George stayed only long enough to enjoy some barbeque and leave a hefty tip. And since it was Chriss table, I was thankful to my friend for his generosity. I wish I could say the same for the next surprise. Jeez, I only have two tables to cater too and they sat at one of them, right after George had left.

"Blackie, can we get some service over here, please?"

"Whats your pleasure?" I asked Meg disdainfully.

"Menus would be nice for starters," she replied contemptuously.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were just here to torment me."

"Meg, Frankie, what a surprise seeing you two here." Chris sat down beside Meg and gave her a hug.

"We were in the neighborhood and thought wed drop in to see how you were doing, Chrissie." Frankie explained.

"Thats so nice, Im so glad you did. Im doing pretty well, but Im really missing my folks right now. Melinda and I drove by their house the other day and I saw where dad had a new car. I guess their life has gone on without me."

I was stunned. I mean I knew she missed her folks, but I had never heard her lose hope like that before.

"You cant think that way, Chrissie, because you dont know for sure what theyre doing or feeling. Just give it time. Whatever it is between you and your parents will smooth over eventually."

"Shes right, Chris, I didnt speak to my mother for years, but now were the best of friends," Frankie said.

"I hope youre both right about that."

"Of course they are, Chris, Megs never wrong about anything."

I didnt mean it to come out snarky, but it did anyway. Chris gave me a curious look, then asked me if Id mind getting them some fresh baked bread. Since it was my table, I of course said sure, and went off to get menus, bread, b.u.t.ter and water. And d.a.m.n it if Meg didnt have to remind me to get them some forks and knives too. They stayed longer than George had, and I felt like Meg was trying to rile me up, having me run back and forth for first one thing and then another. She watched my every move and when I wasnt moving, she found a reason to call me over and ask for something else. She ran my a.s.s off and enjoyed it. It was Frankie who left the tip, a generous one at that. d.a.m.n straight Im keeping that money now.

At the end of the shift, as I dragged my exhausted body over to the time clock to clock out, I asked Chris how I really got my job back. She explained that the woman with the fur was a legislator who was well known for helping prisoners a.s.similate back into society, through her jobs for convicts program.

"No s.h.i.t? She thinks Im a convict?"

Chris laughed and nodded her head, "Yep, she sure does. The boss told her that he was following her lead when he hired you, and she came to that conclusion on her own. She praised his compa.s.sion and said she would bring her friends back to eat here very soon."

"d.a.m.n. He worked that angle pretty good, didnt he? So does that mean I can keep acting that way?" She knew I was kidding, even before she saw the grin on my face.

"Uh, no, I wouldnt advise it, that was a onetime only deal."

I laughed and made a mental note to buy this restaurant when Im rich again, if for no other reason than to have a keepsake of my first firing.

Melindas first day at work was unique, to put it mildly. I felt sorry for her at first, trying to keep up with her orders while her feet had to be burning a hole through those Italian suede leather shoes of hers. And her exchange of words with that customer that ended up getting her fired, was pretty scary, and hit really close to home for me. But unlike my former boss, this time our silver tongued manager had the woman wrapped around his little finger, even secured a dinner party from her out of the deal. So he was pretty happy. But Im most proud of the way Melinda pulled it out of the fire and began to work her a.s.s off. She even helped me and the others out of some jams.

After the run in with the fur lady, I thought for sure that Melinda would lose patience with Meg, who kept her hopping the entire time they were there. I know Meg thinks shes just a rich spoiled brat, and at times I would agree with her, but this rivalry between the two of them seems to go deeper than what is on the surface. To watch them together youd think you were watching two roosters fighting over the hen.

While waiting at the bus stop for our bus to take us home, I saw Melindas head bobbed, and she woke up startled and looked around. And then once we were finally on the bus, she nodded off again. By the time we got home, both of us were completely exhausted and walked into my apartment like zombies on a death march.

I fed the kitten and changed her water. When I turned around, Melinda was sound asleep on the bed. I had to smile because I knew just how exhausted she must be. I took her shoes off and covered her with my blanket, combing the hair from her face. She looked so peaceful when she slept. I decided to forego the shower and fell on the bed beside her, asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Later that morning I awoke to a knock on the door. It was Norma inviting us to brunch, although it was almost one in the afternoon. We had slept for a solid nine hours and truthfully, I wouldnt mind sleeping in for another nine hours. That twelve hour shift yesterday was murder on my legs and feet and I can only imagine what it must have done to Melinda. I told Norma that I needed to shower first, then wed be right over.

Melinda was still asleep and I envied her as I stepped into the shower and washed away the day old restaurant smell. The water was luxuriously hot and the steam on my pores rejuvenated me. I was blissfully ready for another day. The same couldnt be said for Melinda.

It took several shakes to get her to wake up, and when she did, she sounded drunk, slurring her curse words, as she pulled the blanket up over her head. At one point she thought I was her butler, Charles, because she asked him for an aspirin and a bottle of vodka to wash it down.

"Youre not hung over, Melinda, youre just sore from yesterday. Go take a shower, youll feel a lot better, I promise you."

She whined for a little bit, but finally got out of bed. But she just stood there, half asleep and not knowing what she was supposed to be doing. I grabbed a clean shirt and pair of boxer briefs from her drawer, and then I took her by the hand and led her to the bathroom. I even turned on the shower for her, and then I closed the door behind me, and tended to the kitten.

I really appreciated having brunch with Norma in her apartment. I really didnt feel like boiling hotdogs on my hot plate again. That and I was eager to hear how her visit with her grandchildren was going. She told us that they had already left.

"Theyve already gone back to Texas? Oh Im so sorry. Norma."

"They could only afford a hotel room for two nights, and refused to take my money when I offered to pay for an extra night, so they left this morning. Oh, but we had a wonderful visit, and they promised me that they would come back to see me again soon."

She didnt sound very convincing and I wondered then, if she would ever see them again. I looked at Melinda and regretted not letting her help them out when she could have. She must have read my mind because she looked at me and shook her head, as if to say it was the right thing to do. When I get rich again... if I get rich again, Im going to use my money to reunite Norma and her family permanently.

"So tell me, children, how did you find him?" Norma had a smile on her face and we knew we were busted.

Melinda spoke up before I could, "It was Chriss idea. Using a private detective I know, they did the legwork for her, and long story short, found Ben living in Texas. Chris wrote the letter to him."

"Yeah, well you paid for the detective to find him." I said.

Norma looked at me contemplatively, "So, Chris, you took it upon yourself to have someone probe into my private affairs without my knowledge or consent?"

I flushed a hot red, tears stinging my eyes. My G.o.d, what have I done?

Melinda tried to defuse the situation, "No, Norma, its nothing like that at all, she was only trying to help you."

"I know, dear, I was making a point. Chris was upset when you bribed our landlord for her apartment number and the similarities were just too close to ignore. You paid the landlord, and in a roundabout way, Chris paid the detective."

Now I blushed with relief and embarra.s.sment, "Oh, my G.o.d! Youre right, Norma. How could I have not seen that?"

"In both cases, your hearts were leading your actions, and as for me, I will be eternally grateful to both of you. Thank you doesnt seem like enough to say, but I do indeed thank you."

Now I was crying with love, "Norma, you are so..." I choked on the words and Melinda finished my sentence for me.

"You are so crazy! A wise, all seeing, all knowing, all loving kind of crazy and we love you for it."

"Um, yeah, what she said."

Chapter Sixteen.

First Argument - Melinda Blackstone and Christine Livingston "No, I dont want to go back!"

Melinda was having a crisis of faith, as she faced her second day of work. I couldnt say that I blamed her very much.

"Listen, that was my first experience at working a holiday shift too, and you dont hear me complaining. We need the money, Melinda, because I cant support you on my measly little salary."

"Im not asking you to support me financially. But d.a.m.n it, how about a little compa.s.sion here? My feet hurt, my back is killing me and Im tired."