We arrived at the diner with ten minutes to spare. Not wanting to keep Gerry waiting any longer, I kissed Danny and slide out of the truck, rushing inside. I came to a halt when I saw Gerry smiling at me from behind the counter, "Sorry, I'm running a bit behind today, Danny was..."
"Don't worry about it little lady, you are nowhere near late today." He came around the counter and handed me an apron meant for a waitress, "But, since you are here early, why don't you put this on and come into the back. I will explain a few things to you about how we run things around here and then when the lunch crowd starts coming in, I'll throw you into the fire and see how you do." He nodded in the direction of one of the older women, "If you need any help, Delilah over there can help you out. She's been here with me since the beginning, and if anyone knows my diner better than her, I'll eat my hat."
We headed into the back area and passed by the kitchen. The guy in the back at the grill gave me a sultry smile, and I tried my best not to grimace. I was sleeping with Danny, practically the whole town knew we were living together, and this guy was giving me his best 'Come and get me, you know you want to' look. I definitely didn't want to, he is so not my type. When we got into Gerry's office, I turned to him and asked, "What's up with the cook? He was giving me a weird look."
"Oh, that's just Seth. Don't worry about him. His parents cut him off a while back for something he doesn't want to talk about, so he's just slumming it with us normal middle class folk for a while. He's relatively harmless though." He smiled at me, "Just don't tell Danny. That boy has a little bit of a possessive mean streak in him, and I would hate to lose one of the best cooks that I have had in forever simply because he smiled at Danny's girl."
My mind stuck on only one thing he had said, "Danny has a mean streak?"
"Only when his girl is being threatened by someone. But don't you worry none, he's never hit a lady in his life, and I don't think he will start know. If he ever does anything to harm you, just let me know. I may be old and fat, but I will whoop his ass into the next millennium if he thinks that he can lay a hand on you and get away with it."
I placed a hand over his, "Thanks Gerry. I don't think that he would ever hurt me, but I will keep you in mind just in case he ever does. I think it's more likely that I will end up hurting him more so than the other way around."
"Now, why would you go and say something like that? You two are so perfect together." Chuckling he gave me a look, "I saw the way you two were looking at each other in the diner yesterday. I thought you were going to jump each other right in front of the Kane's. I was ready to call for an ambulance cause I was certain you guys were going to give them heart attacks." He saw the shocked look on my face and laughed louder, "Oh come now, Rose. I was a young man once, I remember how it feels to be young and in love with a beautiful woman who only has eyes for me. When me and my wife were young like you and Danny, we were fucking like bunnies everywhere. The park, movie theater, her parent's house, the back of my car..." He got a wistful look on his face, "Ahh, those were the good old days."
My face felt like it was on fire, so I was sure that I was beet red. I tried to play it cool though, I didn't want Gerry to know how much his words embarrassed me, "We're not in love, Gerry. We haven't known each other long enough to be in love."
"That's where you're wrong. I could tell that you two were destined for each other the second he laid eyes on you. Even when you were filthy and covered in blood, he looked at you like you were the sun." He wiped a tear from his eye, "If only everyone was lucky enough to find a love that is that strong. Me and my Mary Sue are that way, but we don't fuck like bunnies anymore." He laughed, "Well, let's stop talking about sex and love and get to the business of waitressing. Have you ever waitressed before?"
Glad for the change in topic, I thought seriously about his question, "Not that I know of." He gave me the same look people always did when I said I couldn't remember something, "Honestly Gerry, I don't remember much about my life before the crash. I don't even know my real name. If you want to change your mind about hiring me, I understand."
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you will be a faster learner." He leaned forward on his elbows, "So, here is pretty much how things work around here. I tend to spend most of my time working the counter, helping out where I am needed. I float between the kitchen and waiting on tables, wherever the biggest rush is. Working the lunch shift today will be Delilah, Jenny, and you. Jenny is pretty young, so just remember to ask Delilah if you need any help."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before continuing, "There is no fancy way to take the orders, everyone tends to develop their own shorthand. To make life a little easier for you, the menu items are numbered. So if you can memorize those, that will make it a lot easier on you, but it is not a requirement." Smiling he added, "Now, if any of the guys get grabby or try to make a pass at you, come and get me and I will take care of them. I have a baseball bat under the counter that I keep around for just those purposes."
That was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever done for or said to me in a long time and I couldn't keep the grin from my face, "Thanks Gerry, but you don't need to beat anyone bloody over me. I'm used to dealing with guys that slap my ass or make unwarranted passes at me. Basically, what I am saying is that I will try to take care of it myself before coming to you. Sometimes, it takes a gentle touch to make guys behave."
Gerry laughed again, "You're right of course, I'm just a tad bit overprotective of the girls that work here. I feel like you girls are my children, especially since I didn't have any of my own."
A loud female voice yelled for Gerry from the front. "She sounds impatient, maybe we should go out front and help," I said as I stood up and moved towards the door.
"Hold your horses, we'll be right out," he yelled. "You're right again, little Rose, let's go help Delilah out before she has a coronary."
We went out into the diner, and I noticed that the tables were already packed. It was an hour before the lunch rush should have started and I looked at Gerry questioningly, he just shrugged and went behind the counter taking care of the folks sitting on the stools.
I looked around frightened, not knowing where to start. Delilah came over to me and placed a motherly hand on my shoulder, "Hey doll, am I ever glad that Gerry hired you. We've been short staffed for a while now and the lunch rush just keeps getting worse." She gestured to some tables on one side of the diner, "These are going to be your tables. If you need anything, anything at all just holler my way."
The next several hours passed in a blur, with me making only a few minor mistakes during my shift. Most of the mistakes were small things, like the wrong drink or the wrong side, but nothing that people didn't smile off when I apologized and fixed their order. I only had to ask Delilah a couple times for help, a fact that I am really proud of. By the end of the day it was like I had worked there for years, or at least that is what Gerry told me. Maybe in my other life, I had done some waitressing because it seemed to come naturally to me. However, due to the monetary nature of my previous life, I have a feeling that I am just a naturally friendly and organized person and that is what makes it so easy for me to do.
When it came time for me to go home, Danny wasn't waiting outside like he said that he was going to be. Luckily, part of the uniform was a very comfortable pair of sneakers, so I started hiking back to his place. He was only a few miles from the diner so it wasn't that far of a walk, and a little bit of exercise never killed anyone.
About a mile down the road, I saw O'Malley's Pub. Even though it was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the parking lot was already packed. Since I saw that Daisy's car was in the lot, I decided that I was going to stop and see her, maybe have a drink. The tip money I had made that day would pay for at least a couple rounds of drinks for me and her, if not more.
When I entered, I saw Daisy sitting at a table with another woman. I walked to the bar, got myself a beer, and moved towards her table. She smiled when she saw me and motioned for me to sit. I slid onto the seat next to her, "Hey Daisy, how's things?"
She looked at me, then down at my beer and back to my face again, "Things are going well. This is my friend Valerie, she was just having a drink after work to celebrate her promotion at work."
"Congrats, Valerie," I said to her. She was pretty in an exotic way. Dark eyes, olive skin, and pitch black hair that fell in a straight line down her back like silk. Those dark eyes were looking at me like I was the devil. I tried not to squirm from the glare that she was giving me.
"Thanks," Valerie said back, trying to hide her irritation at being interrupted by me sitting down at her table. She wasn't very good at hiding it, but I decided to ignore it and pretend that she was happy to meet me. Since she was Daisy's friend, I didn't want to force her to leave on my account, "I'm actually about ready to leave. Daisy, thanks for coming out with me."
Confusion was evident on Daisy's face. Apparently, she didn't catch on to the fact that Valerie didn't want to be anywhere near me, "But I thought..." One look from Valerie and Daisy stopped, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."
After Valerie left, I turned to Daisy, "Why does she hate me so much?"
"She doesn't hate you, it's just this whole situation that is bothering her."
"Situation?" I was confused, I couldn't see any reason why a woman I had never met would have such anger towards me.
She rolled her eyes, "Valerie has been in love with Danny since she was in middle school. They dated for a while, but Danny couldn't get past the fact that we were best friends. That, and the fact that she is kind of a miserable bitch to be around most of the time." She laughed, "Valerie may be one of my closest friends, but even I can admit that she is a grade A bitch most of the time."
Taking a swig of beer, I tried not to laugh, "I just don't want to get my first enemy here in town. It's hard enough being the town amnesiac along with being the girl who got Danny to settle down. My life is so complicated right now, adding in one more thing might send me straight to the loony bin."
The look in Daisy's eyes said more than her next words ever could have, "Danny loves you, and because he loves you, I am here for whatever you need whenever you need it."
My eyes widened with shock, "Danny loves me? Has he said anything to you?"
"Yes and no. I can just tell by the look he gets in his eyes when he talks about you to me. He didn't even get that look with Claire, so you must be something special."
My beer was almost empty, a couple more and I would be well on my way to adding town drunk to my list. I flagged down the bartender and got another, "I'm scared Daisy. He's so good to me, with everything that he's done. But I'm not a good person. He doesn't see that because he doesn't know who I really am. For that matter, neither do I, but I have an inkling of what I was before the crash. It's not pretty. I've had flashbacks to all the horrible things that I have done, and all the horrible things that I have said to people."
A single tear rolled down my cheek and I quickly downed my second beer, "The thing that worries me the most is I think I love him too. That scares me more than anything. I don't even know who I am."
As I ordered another beer I dried the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath, "Please don't tell him I said that. I want to be the one to tell him that I love him." She nodded, "Alright, no more serious talk." I took another long draw of my beer, "Do you know why Danny didn't show up to pick me up at work today?"
"He forgot to pick you up?"
"I got off at four, and he promised me that he would be there to pick me up when he dropped me off this morning. But when I went outside he wasn't there. I waited around for a little while, but he never showed up. Maybe I need to invest some of my tip money in a cell phone."
"Let me go outside and give him a call, it's too loud in here."
I finished my beer as I waited for Daisy to call her brother. Seth walked up to the table, plopping himself down in the chair next to me. I had to clench my hands to not hit him, "What do you want, Seth?"
"Hey, didn't Gerry tell you to be nice to me?" he said evilly. "Wouldn't want me to up and quit because the new sexy waitress is being a bitch to me." I tried to stand, but he grabbed my arm hard enough that I would have a bruise in the morning. "Sit down," he said quietly, his voice full of barely suppressed fury.
The sound of his voice was like nothing I had ever heard before. He managed to fill those two words with command, while at the same time I could tell from his tone that if I didn't listen to him there would be severe consequences. It took all of my energy to not shiver with fear, "What do you want?"
"Want?" he laughed. "What do I want? Why you, my dear. With your pert little breasts, awesome ass, and rose tattoo, you would make the perfect whore in my bed. And, I hear that you like it rough which works for me too."
The blood drained from my face as I realized what he was saying, "How do you know about the tattoo?"
"I think the question is, what don't I know about you." He let go of my arm and stood up, leaning over and putting his mouth next to my ear whispering, "Don't stay in this town too long, or I'll make sure that Danny finds out who you really are and what you are willing to do with the right kind of motivation."
When Daisy came back inside, I was rubbing the spot on my arm he had grabbed, thankful that I had worn long sleeves, "So, did you manage to get a hold of Danny?" She nodded, "Well, what did he have to say for himself?"
"He said that he was busy at the house doing... something, and he lost track of time. He called Gerry, but you were already gone by that point." She sat down and took another sip of her drink, "He was actually starting to get worried that something had happened to you. So it was a good thing that I called him when I did, he was about ready to call in the cops and send out a search party looking for you." My eyes asked the question, "He loves you. He would be willing to take a bullet for you, and that is saying something."
"Alright," I stood unsteadily. The three beers had done their job, I was well on my way to a good drunken stupor if I kept drinking the way I was. The fear from my encounter with Seth wasn't helping matters, "Before I leave, do you know the cook at Gerry's, Seth?" She nodded, "What's his story?"
"Oh him," she waved her hand dismissively. "He's a douchebag isn't he? The rumor is that he did something so horrible that his family disowned him. Now, instead of partying with all his rich friends, he is here in Hope, slumming it with us regular folk. I guess he thinks that by being a Montgomery, his life should be easy and one big party."
"Did you say Montgomery?" I asked, my mouth going dry.
"Yeah, Seth Montgomery," I sank down into my seat, shaking, "Are you okay?"
A large hand appeared on my shoulder and I tried to pull away until I heard Danny's voice, "She's fine Dais, leave her alone." Danny was coming to my rescue again. I wondered how often he would be doing that as long as we were together. It seemed like I was always running into some type of trouble that he was pulling me out of.
"Are you sure Danny? She's had a bit to drink and I'm just worried about her."
He helped me out of my seat and slipped a warm arm around my waist, "Seriously sis, she'll be fine. I just need to get here home and then I can get some coffee or something into her. Try not to be such a worrywart all the time."
Danny half carried and half drug me out of the bar. My legs wouldn't hold me up, the name Montgomery had triggered something in me. Something dark was bubbling to the surface that I didn't want to remember. I was falling apart again, this was not good for my sanity. I had sworn to myself that I wasn't going to fall apart, that I was going to suck it up and deal with things as they came, not letting them eat away at me like a festering wound. Unfortunately, it looked like the alcohol I had was only making it easier to remember the terrible things from that night.