“You can’t fire me,” the bitch sputters.
“The way you’re treating the customers? Absolutely I can.”
“Here, I can help,” Enzo comes walking up, taking Becca’s other arm.
“You’re not very nice,” Mrs. Chapman contributes, leaning out of her booth.
“Let go of me!”
Becca shrugs free and tears her apron off, flinging it in the direction of the counter where Kim stands, glaring at her.
“Key,” Kim says, holding up her hand as Becca stomps past her to grab her stuff. “I’ll need the key.”
I notice the quick glance the bitch throws at Robin before she straightens her shoulders and turns to Kim.
“I lost it.”
With that, she turns on her heel and marches out the door.
The diner is dead silent for a second before people turn back to their meals, and I sit down across from a wide-eyed Paige. She’s not looking at the door Becca just disappeared through, but straight at me.
“Sorry about that,” Robin says approaching our table, and looks from her daughter to me and back. “Everything all right here? Can I put in your order?”
“I lost my appetite,” Paige mumbles, scrambling out of the booth and darting past her mother.
Robin throws me a pained look and takes off after her.
I get up too. Not feeling much like breakfast now.
“Don’t let it get to you,” Enzo says when I pass him and Mrs. Chapman.
I grunt in response but keep walking.
Robin
“Hold up!”
Paige ducks into the bathroom, but I’m right behind her, finding her leaning on the sink with her head down.
“Are you insane? Murder, Mom? Do you have a death wish or something? God! You have the worst taste in men.”
Ouch.
That hurt.
I want to lash out, put her in her place, but yelling at each other is not going to improve this situation. I should’ve told her, but she was already so leery of Gray, I really didn’t want to feed into it by telling her his history. Hindsight being twenty/twenty, I should’ve told her right away.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Paige. Don’t make judgments until you have all the information.”
She pushes off the sink and swings around.
“Was he in jail for murder?”
“Second-degree, but—”
“Oh my God, Mom!” Both her hands come up and grab at her hair, a grimace on her face. “I can’t even talk to you right now.” She ducks into one of the stalls and slams the door shut.
I close my eyes and tilt my head back when the door hits me in the back.
“Oops, sorry, dear.” Mrs. Chapman slips inside and turns to face me. “Kim is looking for you. The orders are piling up.”
I groan, looking at the stall door where my daughter is hiding out.
“You go ahead. I’ve got this,” she says placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Mrs. Chapman, I—”
“Go. I’ll look after your girl.”
With one last look at the firmly closed door, I nod at Mrs. Chapman. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get through to Paige in this state, but maybe she’ll have better luck.
Kim’s head turns my way when I come down the hallway. A few people are waiting to pay at the counter and the pass-through is loaded with plates. Yikes.
I mumble a quick, “Sorry,” to Kim and grab the first order.
My eyes go straight to the table where Gray had been sitting just minutes before, but is now empty. Damn. He took off. I briefly consider if he might be running again, but I have a diner full of hungry people and quickly file it away to worry about later.
In no time I have food in front of waiting patrons and am taking orders for new ones. I’m handing those in with the kitchen when Mrs. Chapman appears, a subdued Paige following her as they make their way to the booth where Enzo waits. They were in the bathroom for a good fifteen minutes, and I’m struggling to keep my curiosity in check as I go about my work.
“You okay?” Kim asks, when I stop to make a fresh pot of coffee.
“Yes. I’m so sorry about all that.”
“Not sure why you think any of that had anything to do with you. It wasn’t the first time she was rude with customers. Good riddance if you ask me.”
“But it leaves us shorthanded,” I protest.
Kim shrugs.
“Not for long. Holidays are over. This is the last weekend before everyone’s back to work and it’ll slow down. Besides, I talked to Shirley last night; with Mike safely locked away, she plans to return to Beaverton some time next week. She wanted to know if she still had a job to come back to.”
“That’s good news.”
I feel a little guilty I haven’t been in touch with Shirley as much since Paige got here, but I’m glad to hear she’ll be back home soon.
“Orders up!” Jason calls from the kitchen.
I collect the plates and bring them to Mrs. Chapman and Enzo, who seem deep in conversation with my daughter.
“What can I get you, Paige?” I try again.
Paige looks at me from under her eyebrows.
“Can I have a coffee and a muffin or something?”
She doesn’t have to say anything; I can see the apology in her eyes. I stroke my hand over her hair while sending my own silent message to Mrs. Chapman, thanking her for whatever it was she conveyed to my daughter.
“Coming right up.”
“Oh, and Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you put in an order for whatever Gray likes for breakfast for takeout?”
God, I have such a great kid.
My heart swells in my chest and I smile down at her.
“You bet, sweetheart.”
Fifteen minutes later, I hand her a container with a Western omelet for Gray and a carryout cup of coffee.
“Can we talk when you get home?” she asks.
“Of course. I’ll be home midafternoon. Want me to bring home something for dinner?”
“No, I’ll take care of it.”
She leans in to kiss my cheek before she walks out. I see her get in the rental car and watch as she drives off, turning right toward Olson’s.
When she’s out of sight, I head straight for Mrs. Chapman’s table.
“Should I be
