Page 19 of The Broposal

“You need to stop hanging out with him. It’s him or me! What’s it GONNA BE, KENNY? You little BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”

She continued beep-screaming at me, then slapped me in the face, but since her hand was suddenly a pillow, it didn’t hurt. This only enraged her more. “Wake UP, bro!” she shoutedthrough the beeping as she slapped me again and again with her hand-pillow.

I woke up with a start, falling off my bed. Han stood over me holding a pillow, cracking up.

“You are one heavy-ass sleeper.” He laughed and offered me his hand. I took it, letting him pull me up. “You missed your alarm. It’s ten thirty. You have work at eleven, right?” Han playfully shoved my work clothes into my chest.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, rubbing my head to soothe my killer headache. What the hell had happened last night? My memory was completely blank.

“You’re popular today,” Han said. “Your phone’s been blowing up all morning.”

“Huh?” I reached for my phone to see alotof notifications. “Oh shit, I think I drunk-downloaded Grindr last night.” I laughed. I didn’t even remember doing that. What else didn’t I remember from last night?

“Oh, uh… congrats on the interest, I guess?” Han said, but he didn’t sound particularly thrilled. I was about to ask him what was wrong, but he was already leaving.

After flying through the motions to get ready, I knew I’d still make it to work on time, thanks to Han. And, bless his soul, he had Advil and my water bottle filled up and ready for me when I left my room, plus a bowl of menudo to cure my hangover. By the time I got to work, my headache was already dwindling.

“Kenny! My man!” Daniel waved from across the kitchen, and I waved back. Daniel made his way over to me and slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Got a minute?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

He led me into his office, where he gestured to the chair in front of his desk, and we both took a seat.

“There’s no easy way to say this…” Daniel ran a hand through his hair, and I shifted in my seat. That didn’t exactly sound like the precursor to great news, and even though my headache was gone, I still wasn’t on my game. Was I about to be fired? Daniel leaned forward. “Someone’s been stealing money from the restaurant.”

My stomach dropped. I was definitely about to be fired and for something I didn’t even do. Han had mentioned this was why Juan had been fired. But if Daniel thought Juan did it, why was he bringing it up now? Was he about to accuse me? As assistant manager, Ididhandle the money more than the rest of the staff. If any went missing, I was the obvious culprit. I swallowed. This really didn’t look great.

“I swear I didn’t take any money,” I pleaded before Daniel got the chance to say anything.

“’Course you didn’t.” He laughed without hesitation. I let out a breath of relief. “Just wanted to let you know. You and I need to keep an eye on the staff. There are some shady people working here, but I can’t fire anyone for no reason.” He winks. “So if you see any funny business, don’t hesitate to bring it right to my attention, all right?”

“Yes, sir.” I nodded. I knew Daniel was an overly suspicious person, especially with the cooks. I wasn’t a snitch, though, at least not when it was punching down, and I wouldn’t be the reason any of my co-workers lost their jobs. It was best to just smile and nod when Daniel was in one of these moods. I felt both lucky and unlucky to be his “favorite.” Sure, it meant I could get away with the occasional tardiness, but it also meant I was supposed to be Daniel’s watchdog. I felt almost dirty being so liked by that kind of person. But I let Daniel think we were “buds,” if only to keep my job safe.

After Daniel excused me, I spent the rest of my shift workingon overdrive. I needed a pick-me-up, and work was the perfect outlet. Anytime I was serving, my shift usually passed by faster. I loved face-to-face time with customers, especially the regulars. I had most of their orders memorized, and it always delighted them when I guessed what they wanted.

As much as I loved serving, I loved being assistant manager more. Really, it’d be amazing if I could land Daniel’s job. I pretty much already did his job anyway, so it would have been nice to actually get paid for the amount of work I did. I knew the manager had to take care of all the angry customers, but something about making someone happy who’d been ready to raise hell gave me a sense of accomplishment I didn’t get many other places. Daniel seemed to hate working here, so I’d happily wait it out until he quit.

With Jackie out of my life, I needed to find something to replace that sense of purpose that came from being needed by someone. To make myself feel useful, I spent any free moment of my shift helping the hosts. Silverware prep, cleaning menus, bussing tables, all that good stuff. Better to do silverware prep than let my mind wander after a breakup.

Being needed at work temporarily filled the hole in my chest, but it quickly swirled down the drain the second I clocked out. I drove myself home on autopilot, and as soon as I got there, I went straight to Han’s room.

He was playing a game on his computer and sipping on a forty-four-ounce strawberry Fanta (the only fountain drink he tolerated). He paused his game when I walked in.

“What’s up?” he asked, looking up from his screen.

“Can I vent really quick?” I knew he’d say yes, but I didn’t want to take it for granted, since I knew Han didn’t love talking about feelings.

“Go for it.”

“I feel so useless now!” I blurted out as I began pacing Han’s room. “Who am I supposed to take care of now that I’m alone?”

Han sighed and looked at me like the answer was obvious.

“What? It’s not like anyone else needs me.” If it were Jackie, she’d have reassured me that she did need me. But Han didn’t need me. Sure, he appreciated me and cared about me and he never made me feel otherwise. But he didn’tneedme. And he wasn’t one to lie to make me feel better, so he didn’t say as much, either.

“You can take care of yourself for once, instead of someone else,” Han said thoughtfully, then took another sip of Fanta.

“But Iliketaking care of people. I don’t like feeling useless like this.”

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