Page 30 of A Future To Remember

“Come on then,” she said, turning to the door. “Tomorrow we open at six a.m., so I’ll need you downstairs an hour before to set up.”

I lifted my left wrist like I expected to see a watch with an alarm there. My wrist was bare. “Could you make sure I’m up?”

“Count on it,” she said.

We made our way back to the diner, and I went to grab my sad little bags of supplies, looking forward to taking a shower, when I realized I didn’t even have soap, shampoo, or conditioner.

“Wanda?”

“Yes, hon?”

“Is there soap for the shower?”

She nodded. “I just put a new bar on the shelf. Do you have a bath towel?”

I nodded, glancing down at the ugly towel while pushing what I hoped was a grateful smile to my lips. I had to remind myself that no one in this town had to offer me any form of charity, and right now I was a beggar who didn’t have the luxury of being choosy.

“You can get one of the smaller towels in the dish room to use as a washcloth,” she offered. “I just set a stack in there for Levi.”

“That’ll work. Any chance you’ve got some shampoo handy?” I asked next, hoping for treasure within that storage closet.

She shook her head. “You can go to Wilson’s after tomorrow’s breakfast rush to get what you need.”

“Wilson’s is a store?”

“Grocery store. It’s at the end of the street,” she said, pointing to the window and over to the right. “They close at seven, so you just missed the window.”

I nodded, and we moved back to the dining room again, where I paused and pointed to the fountain like I was asking her permission to take a drink with me upstairs.

She nodded. “Help yourself, Maddy. Take a biscuit or two if you want something else to eat.”

The biscuits I’d served that night had smelled delicious. I opened the warmer where they were kept and took out a handful, putting them in a to-go container, then got a large Dr Pepper from the fountain, and headed back to where Levi was just wiping down the surface of the counter where he unloaded the bus tubs.

“Dish towels?” I asked when he looked up at me.

He pointed to his left, and I saw a stack of smaller dish towels that smelled like bleach.

I took two, shoved them into my plastic bag, then offered him a nod as I turned to go.

“Maddy?” he said, stopping me.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

I cocked my head at him. “For what?”

“For not making me eat that other burger.”

I studied Levi while his gaze was turned to the floor. His face was a mask of shame, and I couldn’t imagine what this young man had done to invoke such an expression. My every encounter with Levi showed me that he was shy, sweet, sensitive, courteous, and hardworking.

I moved over to him and set down the armload of things I was carrying. Then I put my good hand on his shoulder and asked, “Who’s beating you up, Levi?”

His eyes snapped up to mine and widened. Immediately, he wrapped one arm around his abdomen protectively. “No one. I’m good.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire…

That damn phrase again. I was already annoyed with it. But Levi looked so uncomfortable being questioned about it that I let it go.