Once Bitten (An Anya Maynard Novel)

Chapter Two

"Phew, what a day! Nothing like starting with the Monday rush, huh?" 

What a day indeed.

 The dark cloud my day had started with quickly lifted after the "rush" had started. There wasn't much time to think about brooding men and their attitudes once customers started rolling in for breakfast. 

After introducing me to the diner's resident old timer, Jim, Steve game me the tour he had promised. We went over where I could find everything, the storage rooms, the cooler, and the freezer for ice cream and whatnot. He went over the ordering procedures and the cash register, all the same standard diner stuff I've learned dozens of times before. He quickly showed me around the kitchen, introducing me to Pete, and showed me where certain choice items were located, like the bread for the toast that Pete was more likely than not to forget. 

A bunch of misfits, Steve called his employees. He was the only with authority here, the owners too busy and too naïve to how busy this small diner actually was to hire anyone to help him, but he said he didn't mind. He might spend more time at the diner then at his own home but he thought of us –us ­– as his family. And just like a family each had some redeeming quality that made up for their lack of one skill or another.

 I couldn't see Connor having any redeeming qualities. 

Once the tour was done I jumped in, following Jess and Steve around as they helped serve the customers. Really I could have handled things on my own but I didn't want to upset their carefully worked out arrangement. The two of them worked perfectly together, from the outside it didn't look as if they really needed my help. Like they were just trying to find things to keep me busy, like getting drinks, or refilling coffees...then the tour bus arrived and between the three of us we barely had enough hands. 

It was autumn, and autumn in the White Mountains meant beautiful flame colored foliage. Beautiful enough that people apparently took time out of their work weeks to come see it. Jess said it was completely unexpected and as each of the twenty-five table tops- and ten bar seats- filled to capacity she got to see my skills at work. It was just the two of us handling the dining room as Steve helped out Pete in the kitchen. All said it went a lot better than I thought it would, we had everyone seated, fed, and back out the door within an hour.

 At the end of the day I had eighty-five dollars in my pocket. I’d have to give Steve the restaurant’s twenty percent, but if I took what money I had left after escaping Boston I’d still have four dollars left over after renting my room. I couldn't have asked for anything better. 

Only one thing was still bugging me, and it wouldn’t stop until I got an answer. I wasn’t one to pry on matters, not even when they involved myself, but I needed to get a few things straight that way I could figure out how long of a stay I should be planning here.  "Jess...can I ask you something?" 

"Sure," she said around a mouthful of the cheese fries we were currently sharing after our day. It was another perk of this job, food. I had worked other places that made you pay a percentage of the bill but it was still cheaper than having to foot a grocery bill and less stuff to have to haul home on the city bus.  "You can ask me anything." 

That seemed like an awfully gracious statement for someone I barely knew, still, it was better than a no. "What's with Connor? He didn’t seem very happy to have someone new in the place." 

She laughed at my serious expression, "Oh girl don't you worry about him, he looks that way at everybody." 

"But you said he thinks he's better than us, why?" 

"He one of the owner's sons," she said as she heavily dipped her fries in cheese. "Because mommy and daddy own the place he thinks he’s in charge and can treat us all like shit...oops, I mean crap."