Page 35 of Freedom's Kiss
Chapter 16
Olivia:So…I’m adopted, huh?
Lily:So were Marilyn Monroe, Steve Jobs, and Dave Thomas. Way I see it, all the cool kids are adopted.
Olivia:Dave Thomas. The Wendy’s guy?
Lily: * GIF of a guy stuffing his face with french fries*
Olivia:You looked up those facts to try and make me feel better, didn’t you?
Lily:Is it working?
Olivia: *hugging emoji*Got to go to work. Ttyl.
* * *
The kitchen of Seaside was a cacophony of an orchestra without a conductor. The expediter and chef yelled orders back and forth between the pass-thru window, and the food on the flattop and in skillets sizzled and popped, a low hum from the line cooks underscoring the production. Across the kitchen, the spray of powerful jets, the tinkling of silverware, and the clanking of dishes resounded from the dish room. Servers passed each other in the aisle, filling drink orders and carrying food-laden trays from the kitchen, through swinging doors, and out toward hungry guests in the dining room.
Olivia glanced at the digital clock mounted on the side wall. She’d already finished her side work in the back of the house and dropped her last two checks. As long as the hostess didn’t seat anyone at her remaining table, she’d be able to dart out of work on time. For once.
She peeked out the glass panes in the swinging doors and watched as Nicole led a couple to a two-top in the corner…in her section.
“Hey, what’s with you today?” Teresa brushed back dark-blond wisps of hair that had wiggled their way free from her ponytail. She used the scoop on the ice bin to fill two glasses, then picked up the peach-tea pitcher and poured to the brim, topping them off with a wedge of lemon on the rim. “You’ve been distracted and antsy all day.”
Olivia sighed. It was true, and she hated that she hadn’t done as good a job at hiding it as she’d thought. She was used to the excess energy that pumped through her limbs, but she usually channeled that into her job, working circles around her colleagues. But that energy had an edge of anxiousness to it today, and her focus had been off. She’d knocked over and spilled a pitcher of fresh-squeezed lemonade and forgotten to put in an order, making the chef rush to get it cooked and plated before her angry guests walked out. Besides those catastrophes, she’d seemed to go through her shift on mere second nature. Her body was present, but her mind was elsewhere. And apparently everyone had noticed.
“Lost in thought, is all.” A tug of war on her mental focus had been waged for the past forty-eight hours. The rug had been pulled out from under her with the DNA results, and she’d been grappling with the news as well as going over the conversations she’d need to have with her parents. She imagined what they’d say, but no matter what words her psyche put in their mouths, she was left with an ache of betrayal and a listlessness that came with being lost.
Then her thoughts would shift as they were tugged back in another direction. Even after she’d gotten Adam alone in his car, he’d remained as silent as a rock on the subject of the alleged rape they’d seen on the news. She hadn’t pushed or prodded, but even her attempts at making him crack a smile had been an utter failure. No amount of teasing would get him to loosen up. If anything, the frown lines only deepened across his forehead.
“What time does your shift end?”
Olivia blinked. “What?”
Teresa balanced a tray of drinks on her palm. “Your shift. What time does it end?”
“Oh. Umm. Five minutes. But I just got sat, so I’ll probably still be here an hour from now unless someone coming in will let me transfer the check to them.”
“You get out of here. I’ll take the table.”
“You sure?”
Teresa used her backside to push open the door to the dining room. “Of course. I can use the extra money anyway.”
Olivia smiled as she untied the apron strings from behind her back. “Thanks, girl. I owe you.”
Teresa smiled and disappeared behind the door.
Using her key card, Olivia swiped it along the side of the POS monitor and typed in her employee number, clocking out of her shift for the day. She slipped the apron over her head and draped it across her arm.
“Leaving?” Alejandro asked as she passed him from his position of expediter.
“Yep. See y’all tomorrow.”
“Just a sec.” He waved one of the cooks off the line to take his place, then gripped her elbow and steered her to a corner of the kitchen. “What’s up?”
With Teresa the question had been asked with concern. Alejandro…well, the hardness that chiseled parentheses on the sides of his mouth spoke more to the fact he didn’t really care if something had happened to upset her but that she’d screwed up her shift. “Nothing. An off day is all. Won’t happen again.”
