Page 72 of Stronger Than Blood
Again, he nodded, then said, “I’m Arden Hernandez,” and he pushed the form over to me. He lifted a coffee cup to his lips, and I noticed he was shaking slightly.Strange, I thought.
I reviewed his past employment experience and saw that he’d worked in a couple of chain restaurants. He’d done some baking but nothing that would’ve caused me to overlook his raggedy clothes. I was like Granny Ida and Brenda in thinking if you’re coming in for a job interview you should dress your best; however, how was I to know if this was his best or not?
“I’ll be right back,” I said when I spotted Essie walking into the kitchen. I took his application with me and walked over to where Essie was about to throw the fried chicken into the basket to take it out to the buffet.
“Essie, you got a minute?” I asked.
She paused and smiled at me. “Hey, I thought you were off today?”
“Yeah, well, surprise, surprise, I’m not.”
She laughed.
“Okay, I saw this guy was filling out an application. Were you thinking of hiring him?” I asked, handing the application to her.
“No, he just came in and asked for one. I usually ask people to do it online, but Kendra found one of Brenda’s old forms under the cash register and gave it to him. Why? Do you think I should?”
I shook my head. “No, I think maybeIshould.”
“Wait, what? Mr. Control Everything is going to consider taking on an employee?”
“Don’t be that way. You know I didn’t think we needed another person baking.”
“And you do now?”
“Well, look, I tried to take two days off, and the coolers are almost empty. I am at full capacity, and I still can’t keep up, so yeah, I think maybe it’s time.”
Essie walked back to the doors and peeked through the window at the man who sat nervously twiddling his thumbs, waiting for me to return.
“Not much to look at, but even though his clothes are worn, they appear clean.”
“So, you did check him out.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I saw him get out of his car when I got to work this morning.”
“What? Like at five in the morning?”
She nodded. “Took him until a half hour ago before he came in, but Mick, I’m almost sure he lives in that car.”
“Oh,” I said glancing back at him. “Regardless, my instincts tell me I should give him a try. What do you think?”
“I think it’s about time you found an assistant.”
I grinned, then we had to step out of the way as one of the workers grabbed the chicken Essie had been readying andcarried it out to the buffet. I loved how Essie’s team worked together—never letting the balls drop and keeping the food fresh and flowing.
“Okay, here goes,” I said, taking the application back and asking her what I needed him to do.
“No worries, I’ll come with you and get all the things I need to get him started.”
I went back to the kitchen and preheated the ovens, knowing I didn’t want to waste time today. I just needed to bake some cookies and make a couple of extra pies, and then I could return home to my guests and family.
Essie brought Arden back to the kitchen, and now, instead of the lost, nervous look, he was smiling like he’d just won the lottery. “Arden, I’m only here for a couple of hours, but I’d like to see you in action. Have you done much baking?”
“Um, yes, sir. I… well, I used to help my grandpa when I was young.”
I couldn’t quite place the accent; maybe Spanish, but I wasn’t certain. “Your grandpa was a baker?”
He nodded. “He owned a panaderia in Kennewick, Washington.”
