Page 41 of Close Quarter
"Yes."
The waiter dropped his voice. "And Mr. Quint?"
Rhys chewed on his tongue. Truth? Yes. "Not nearly as well. But he's alive."
Vasil spoke under his breath. It sounded very much like a curse. "If there's anything..." A waitress passed the table and nodded at Vasil.
"You can tell me what happened last night."
Vasil took a pad from his apron. "Order something. Anything."
Rhys spied the same waitress watching them.
"Coffee." He glanced through the lunch menu.
"And a Reuben."
"Fries or coleslaw?"
"Coleslaw. Will you tell me?"
"What I know. But I cannot now. I'll be off shift in an hour and a half."
He handed the menus back to Vasil. "Thank you."
Vasil retreated to the bar under the gaze of the waitress. Probably a supervisor.
A few minutes later, Vasil returned with a large mug of coffee. "Here you are, sir."
"You're not in trouble, are you?"
He dumped five creamers onto the table.
"Reprimanded. I closed the bar too early last night."
"I'm sorry." Rhys wrapped his hands around the mug.
"Nothing to worry about. Sweetener?
Anything else?"
"No, I'm good."
Vasil gave a little bow before returning to the bar.
The Reuben arrived in the hands of the waitress--Erin, her tag read. She also cleared his table once he finished, took his key card, and brought the receipt. "And how was everything?"
"Excellent." It had been. He left a reasonable tip and pocketed his card.
Vasil still served at the bar. A check of his watch told Rhys it would be another hour before he got off shift. With the supervisor hovering around, Rhys was not about to go up and speak to him.
He chose to meander slowly into the garden, toward the inner door to the rest of the ship.
Hopefully Vasil would see and follow when he came off shift.
Rhys ducked down the first side path and sat on the nearest bench. The location gave him a reasonable view of the main path, but no one could see him from the bar.
Unfortunately the spot also reminded him of the bench he and Silas had used the previous night, and he hardened at the memories.
