Page 19 of Cupcake of the Month
Josh sat back with that pronouncement. It wasn’t what was happening. “Zach—”
“Ah, maybe we should all take a break,” Lucy said in her placating teacher voice. Her wide hazel eyes looked pained. “Deep breaths. More wine.”
Zach slumped in his chair and stuffed a forkful of noodles in his mouth. Conversation at the table came to a standstill until Lucy jumped in with a story about how one third-grade student managed to remove the classroom globe from its stand and roll it around. The ensuing laughter relaxed everyone at the table, though Zach still shot him sullen glances.
After dinner they gathered around the TV to watch the end of the game. It was a blowout, which let his mind wander. To the brunette that had haunted his thoughts for the past eight years. And to the uncomfortable tightness in his jeans.
Chapter 4
“The hopper has the munchies, Kenny. Feed the hopper.” Josh said to his coworker. This was the third time in as many days he was teaching Kenny to grind meat. The normal steps weren’t sticking in his memory, so Josh improvised. “But remember, the hopper has teeth, so you have to send the food with a stick. Otherwise, you get chopped.”
Kenny grasped the food pusher and put it in the machine. The grinder hummed as it dispensed globs of ground beef to his wide-eyed delight that belied his early-twenties age. “Hey, I did it!”
Josh gave him a clap on the shoulder. “Good job.”
The grinder turned off after parceling out the food, leaving the cutting room in relative silence, except for Kenny’s exclamations of wonder.
“That was cool, dude. Can we do it again?”
“We have to finish this one up first.” Josh showed him how to tightly wrap the raw beef before putting it in the display case.
Unfortunately, George had come up beside them in his pristine green apron and scrutinized every step, tapping his foot against the red-tiled floor. “Hey, Lukasik. You turned the plastic wrap the wrong way.”
Josh gritted his teeth and prepped the next Styrofoam container to await Kenny’s newfound skill. “Your turn. All the way.”
“You’re supposed to pull to the right. I pull to the right,” George said. “You’re pulling to the left.”
“I’m left handed.”
“Why should that make a difference?”
“Dude.” Kenny gestured with the food pusher like he was casting a spell. “He does everything backwards. You shouldwatch him write something. It’s funny.”
George frowned, but Josh continued to show Kenny what to do. As long as he used the plunger and didn’t stick his fingers inside the machine, the most dangerous thing was the serrated blade on the plastic wrap.
Kenny successfully wrapped three packages with only minimal corrections along the way. Finally, he did one perfectly.
“Great job,” Josh said. “You get a gold star.”
“Awww, dude. I had some of that when I was in California.” His fingers twitched as if he held a joint, and he lowered his voice. “But I could get fired if I had it here, right? Can you give it to me after work?”
“No, not...it’s a sticker. For doing something right.” Josh sighed.
“Why would I want to smoke a sticker?”
“Getting my employees high, Lukasik?” George stood behind them, arms folded over his chest.
“No, sir.” Josh filled the words with enthusiasm.
George glared at him, but Josh knew he’d hear thesiras a sign of respect and dismiss the sarcasm.
“It’s that time again. Grease traps and trash.” George’s grin was especially malicious. “Since pickup is tomorrow, you’ll have to get inside and stomp on the bags to make room. Hop to it.”
Not for any amount of money in the world. Okay, for some amount of money in the world, but not for what Josh got paid at Essie’s. It was probably against OSHA regulations anyway. He waited until George had disappeared again and grasped Kenny by the shoulders. “You got this.”
“Dude.” Kenny heaved out a long breath, staring at the grinder as if it could suck him in and dispense Kenny burgers. “If you’re sure.”
“Completely.” Josh gave him an encouraging nod, then headed to the grease traps.
