blue eyes

Chapter 15

Brandon:
The night passed by in a blur. Brandon had thought that the night before had been crazy, but somehow Saturday was even busier. He'd barely had a moment to think in between tables. Alan was cranking out drinks like crazy and Ellen was flying through pad thai. Every time Brandon brought a plate of it out, another table saw it and wanted to order some, too.
When it came time for his break, Brandon was famished. He walked into the kitchen and collapsed onto a stool. Ellen smiled at him from the stove.
"I'm ready to take you up on that offer from earlier," Brandon said. "I've been drooling over the dishes all night."
"Here you go, hun," Ellen walked over with a heaping bowl of noodles. "You've been running your butt off out there. Word must be traveling that we have a cute new waiter."
"I'm sure it's your cooking," Brandon said, after taking a bite of the pad thai. "Because, damn, this is incredible. No wonder people couldn't get enough of it."
"Yeah, okay," Ellen scoffed. "It's a team effort, then."
Brandon nodded as he shoveled food into his mouth. He could understand why he'd had a few tables order seconds. This pad Thai tasted like the noodles he'd had in Thailand.
"This is so good, Ellen," Brandon said in between bites. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"I was an army brat," Ellen replied. "We moved all over the world. My mom loved to cook and always wanted to learn from the locals. This one has taken me years to get right. The ingredients just aren't the same over here."
"Oh totally," Brandon said, catching himself before he said too much. "It makes sense that we wouldn't carry the same stuff in grocery stores here."
"I've found an Asian market just north of town that has an incredible selection," Ellen replied. "I made friends with the woman who runs the produce section. She's going to teach me to make tempura properly for next Saturday."
"The other days all have themed menus," Brandon said. "What's Saturday's theme?"
"It's always a surprise," Ellen said with a twinkle in her eye. "It even works with the alliteration, Saturday Surprise."
"Oh cool," Brandon replied. "Do Sunday and Monday have alliterative themes, too?"
"Sunday, we're only open for brunch," Ellen explained. "But Monday is Meatless Monday. I've gotten pretty good with vegan cooking lately. There isn't a huge vegetarian and vegan population in this area, but word is slowly getting out. I have a few regulars who are big fans."
"Nice," Brandon said, scooping up the last bite out of his bowl. "Ellen, that was amazing. I can't wait for the tempura next week."
"Don't go blabbing that," Ellen waved her spatula at him. "Surprises are the most fun when they're actually surprises. Plus, I don't want word to get out and then have it not happen because I fail my tempura lesson."
"Scouts' honor," Brandon replied, holding up three fingers.
Ellen nodded, then turned back to the stove. She had a wok on the stove sizzling away. Brandon rinsed his bowl and fork and tucked them into the rack that was waiting to go into the dishwasher next. He still had 20 minutes left of his shift, so he went up to his apartment to use the bathroom.
Brandon had forgotten about leaving his windows open and was surprised when he walked into a cold apartment. He felt the jeans on the coat rack, then walked to the pair on the kitchen chair and found them both dry, so he closed the windows. When he went to the bathroom, he checked those jeans, too. They were also dry, so he turned off the bathroom fan.
Without the white noise from the fan, Brandon could hear the music and a general buzz of conversation from downstairs. I guess that's to be expected, he thought as he washed his hands. At least Sundays we aren't open late, and I don't expect the meatless crowd to be too wild.
Brandon hung up the shirt that had been drying on the table, then went to throw away the bag from Goodwill, but found that it was still heavy. Oh god, I stole Carol's alien romance novel. He stared at the figures on the cover. There's no way this is Zoe's work, but just in case, I should finish it.
He left the book on the table and walked the paper bag over to the trash can. He was going to just toss it, but decided to use it to hold recycling instead. He saw the ticket stub and wadded up paper in the bottom, among the tags. Curiosity got the best of him, especially after having found his own jacket. He pulled the two things out to see what they were.
The ticket stub was from a movie he'd never heard of before. He tossed it back in the bag. He carefully flattened out the piece of paper and found a child's drawing and note. It looked like it was probably supposed to be a flower. The note said, "I loev you dadada."
The fact that it was all crumpled up in the pocket made Brandon sad. He knew the feeling of having his work dismissed like that by his own father. On a whim, he decided to save it. He used the magnet from a local pizza place that was there when he moved in to display the drawing on the fridge. Though it wasn't the right fridge, this felt like the reception that the drawing deserved in the first place.
Brandon glanced at the microwave and realized he was a minute late getting back on the floor. He shoved his keys into his pocket, then flew down the stairs.
"Sorry, Stephanie," he panted, using her computer to clock back in. "Lost track of time up there. I was in a food coma after Ellen's pad Thai."
"If only you had a fancy new watch to be able to check the time," Stephanie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Oh wait, you do!"
"Don't look too close," Brandon smiled as he tied his apron back on. "It's pretty banged up, hence why it was dirt cheap at Goodwill."
"Oh dang," she replied, having grabbed his wrist to get a better look. "It's super cracked. Well, from a distance it looks cool."
"Gee thanks," Brandon smirked.
Stephanie updated him on the tables, then he went to take over for Miguel's break. He didn't slow down the rest of the night. Finally, Stephanie locked the front door behind the last guests and slumped against it.
"Good grief, that was wild," she sighed. "You must be good luck, Brandon. We haven't had a Saturday like that in months."
"I still think it was Ellen's pad thai," Brandon replied. "She nearly ran out a few times and she had two big woks going all the time."
"I'm gonna go get some more before it all gets claimed," Miguel ran towards the kitchen.
Brandon walked around with a bus bin to gather the last few dishes. He wiped down each table, too, and pulled up the chairs. He walked the bus bin into the kitchen.
"There he is," Miguel called out, his mouth full of noodles. "You want any of this, Brandon? It's going fast."
Ellen was scooping noodles into a Tupperware container for Alan. She looked at Brandon with raised eyebrows.
"I mean, sure," he replied. "But I don't have anything to put it in."
"You can just take one of the bowls," Ellen said. "I know where you live and I'll bust the door down to rescue it, if you don't bring it back in a few days."
"Yes, ma'am," Brandon smiled.
Ellen gave him another massive serving, then wrapped the bowl in cling film and handed it to him. Brandon pulled the sharpie out of his pocked and scribbled his name on the wrap, then put it on the counter closest to the stairs.
"I'm gonna go sweep and vacuum," Brandon said. "Unless you don't want dish duty again tonight?"
"I like dishes," Miguel replied, hopping up from his stool. "I'm super fast and I don't have to deal with all the chairs."
"Sounds good to me," Brandon gave a thumbs up. "See you later, Ellen."
"Good night, hun," Ellen called. "Come down for brunch in the morning. My French toast is legendary."
Miguel nodded at him with solemn eyes. Brandon smiled and waved, then walked back out to the bar.
Alan was wiping down the counter. Stephanie was counting out the till. Brandon went into the closet and pulled out the broom. He walked to the opposite corner and started sweeping.
"Bruce said you wanted bar training," Alan said when Brandon got close to the bar. "If you want to come down sometime tomorrow or Monday, I'll show you the ropes."
"Sounds good man," Brandon held out his hand to shake Alan's. "Thanks."
"Sure thing," Alan replied. "You seem like a quick study. And Bruce may have hinted that you had some unofficial experience pouring draughts."
"I may have snuck behind the bar a few times in college," Brandon smiled. "But that was a long time ago, so I'm probably rusty."
Alan laughed. Brandon went back to sweeping. When he made it back to the closet, he pulled out the dustpan and swept up his pile. After emptying it into the trash, he pulled out the vacuum.
Brandon vacuumed the two mats, then took the vacuum and did a quick sweep of the stairs, which he'd noticed were a little dirty. Alan finished his tasks and walked over to clock out. He chatted with Stephanie for a moment, then let himself out the front door. Stephanie locked it again behind him. Ellen and Miguel did the same a few minutes later.
As Brandon was putting the vacuum away, Stephanie walked by with the till. Brandon walked into the kitchen to grab his leftovers, then came back to the till to clock out. He waited for Stephanie to close the safe and turn off the lights. A few moments later, she walked out with her coat and bag. Brandon clocked out, then Stephanie followed. She handed him another envelope of tips.
"Another good night of tips," Stephanie said as she shrugged into her coat. "Don't forget to lock up behind me. Have a good weekend, Brandon."
"Thanks Stephanie," Brandon replied. "See you later."
Stephanie walked out and Brandon locked the deadbolt behind her, then added the top and bottom locks, too. He walked to the back door and made sure it was still locked, then went upstairs. He counted the tips and was shocked when he found another $150 in there. There wasn't a personal note from Stephanie, so he was assuming that the tips were split evenly. That's insane. Ellen should make that pad thai every week.
After putting the money into his wallet, he sank into the couch. Brandon marveled at the soreness in his body. He was tired from the constant running around of the job, but he seemed to be more sore than he felt he should be. He decided to shower before bed and remembered that he had real pajamas for tonight, too.
Brandon sat down on the bed in his pajamas and looked around at the life he was building. It wasn't much, especially compared to the life he came from, but it was all his. He laid down in bed and struggled to get comfortable. He tossed and turned for a while until an idea popped into his head.
Brandon picked up the comforter, folded it in half longways, and laid it out on the floor next to the bed. Then grabbed his pillow and the blanket that was at the foot of the bed. Brandon laid down on the floor and was immediately comfortable. I guess the last two years ruined beds for me, he thought as he fell asleep.