Page 25 of Captain Santiago and the Sky Dome Waitress
“About a dozen! Say ‘a dozen times.’ Not thirteen, like you’re a computer!”
Silence.
Lucie picked up her bowl. “I’m sorry, that was mean.”
“It was the truth.” Barney’s voice was soft. Then, “You’ve watched it over a dozen times. What are you looking for, Luce?”
“Nothing! I just like watching it!”
Again, Barney’s silence, which always felt…heavy.
“I don’t know why,” Lucie admitted. “I just do, okay?”
“You didn’t go in to work today.”
Lucie’s conscience twitched. No, she had not gone into work this morning. And she still wasn’t sure why.
The morning after Sona Shearer had stomped all over the Sky Dome, Lucie had reported for the breakfast shift as usual, even though she had helped Olivette shut down the restaurant very late the night before.
Lucie had been less than an hour into her shift and had been delivering another of Olivette’s popular breakfast platters when she saw Elijah Santiago settling at the table two up from where she was standing. It was a table for two against the mid-wall.
And it was in her section.
Lucie hurried to the table. “I can clear your usual table for you, if you prefer.”
“Whole section’s full back there,” Elijah said, and held the menu out to her. “My usual, please.”
Lucie pressed her lips together. “You’ll have to tell me what that is.” She had never served him before.
He told her and she punched it in quickly. “Ten minutes,” she assured him.
When she delivered the platter eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, he just nodded his thanks.
She turned away silently. She’d heard enough from Edme to know Elijah hated chit chat.
“Did you sleep well, yesterday?”
Lucie spun back to face him. “I… Ah…”
“Afterwards. Did you sleep well?” His gaze was steady upon her face, as if he really was interested in the answer.
“Yes,” Lucie admitted. “I felt like a new person all over again, when I woke up. I didn’t have any trouble working out the late shift, and I thought I would.” She swallowed. “Your prescription worked.”
He nodded and she thought he looked pleased, but she wasn’t sure.
“I’ll have a carafe of the house blend, too,” he said.
“Oh, yes, of course. Coming.” She hurried away.
He didn’t say anything else to her that morning, but the next morning when he strolled through the glass doors, he went straight over to the same table.
Edme peered through the serving slot and wrinkled her nose. “You’re welcome to him, honey. If sociopathy was still a thing, he’d be a good example of it.”
“He’s not that bad,” Lucie said defensively and went to check that he did, indeed, want his usual order.
She didn’t have a chance to ask. Elijah held the menu out to her, and said, “You look tired.”
Lucie took the menu. “I…uh…stayed up last night watching the game.”
