Page 88 of You Found Me
Della grinned back. She couldn’t help it. The guy had a serious twinkle in his eyes. “Good so far. You?”
“I’m excellent and exceptional.” He flipped a towel over his shoulder. “You’re Lucy, right?”
“Yes!” She leaned against the bar. “How’d you guess?”
“I was here Sunday. That guitar was totally extra. Mason hasn’t shut up about it.” He held out a hand. “I’m Ken. Bartender, actor and influencer. You may have heard of me. I have a YouTube channel, and I’m in the holiday production at the Parry Opera House. It’s a big part. Plenty of stage time.”
“He’s supporting chorus,” Cherry said, her attention still on the register. “And he has five hundred followers.”
“Well, that’s a start,” Della said as she shook Ken's hand.
“Right?” Ken whipped a towel across the bar. "I keep telling her it’s one step closer to my name in lights. Now on Broadway…Ken Cassidy.”
“You have to make it Off-Broadway first,” Cherry said, but her friendly smile took the sting out of her words. She held out her hand. “Hi, Lucy. I’m Cherry. Ralph asked me to show you around. You’ve waited tables before, right?”
Della winced as she shook Cherry’s hand. “No.”
“Oh.” Cherry pulled a black half-apron out from under the register and handed it to her. “I just figured you had. We get a lot of actors here. Waiting tables seems to come with the territory.”
“Oh. Yeah. That’s true.” Della scrambled for an explanation that made sense and didn’t give away anything important. “I’ve actually been working at a bed-and-breakfast, but not as a server. I clean the rooms and scrub the toilets. They don’t let me near the dining room or kitchen. The cook there is…um…territorial.”
She tied the apron around her waist and avoided eye contact.
It was kind of true. Not that she’d actually been paid to do the job, but she’d spent several days at Lizzie’s inn doing exactly that. She’d gained new respect for cleaners in general, and people who scrubbed toilets in particular.
“Bathrooms,” Ken said with a shudder.
“Gross,” Della agreed.
“We all take turns with that duty here,” Cherry said. “It’s just like at home, but twice the mess and none of the ability to ground people.”
“You said duty.” Ken grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Child,” Cherry said, but again she flashed him an indulgent, fond smile.
“You love me.” Ken beamed back at her.
“Sadly, yes. Now finish setting up while I show Lucy the layout.” Cherry handed Della a small pad of tickets and a pen. “We’re a little old fashioned here. We have a fancy new POS machine but damned if I can get it to work right. So we're sticking to paper right now. Guard that pen with your life. Everyone tries to steal them. Now over here…”
Della followed Cherry, taking surreptitious notes on the back of her pad. Her new boss showed her how to place an order in the kitchen and how the tables were numbered and where to find the cleaning supplies.
Della did her best to take it all in. She couldn’t help but notice the skeptical glances Ward kept flashing her direction. It made her want to throw the order pad at him. She might not have ever worked in retail, but she knew how to work hard. He’d know that if he’d ever had to perform a ten-minute dance routine while singing to a sold-out crowd under lights hot enough to bake bread.
The door opened, and the first customers of the afternoon came in. Three women dressed in slacks and tops that reminded her of schoolteachers took a table near the courtyard.
““I think you’ve got the basics,” Cherry said. "Why don’t you take that section on the right. There’s two less tables over there, so it’ll give you a chance to get your feet wet. It should be pretty slow today. Just give a shout if you get overwhelmed.”
“Can I shout now?” Della eyed the new arrivals. They might as well be lions waiting to pounce.
Cherry gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll get the hang of it.”
The door opened and two men sauntered in. Cherry greeted them like old friends, and just like that Della was on her own.
She shoved the butterflies in her stomach aside, put on her best stage smile and strolled up to her first table. “Welcome to Sevens. I’m Lucy. What can I get you today?”
“You’re Storm’s girl,” one of the women said.
“I told you she was pretty,” another said.