Chapter 28

  

Penelope dreaded going into Festa that night, not a feeling she was used to at all. She loved working as a chef, spending days with her crew on different sets. The time she was spending at Festa confirmed she’d made the right career choice after graduating from culinary school. Penelope had a lot of respect for restaurant chefs, but her preference was to be on the go, not working in the same kitchen night after night. Even though it was temporary, Penelope couldn’t wait for this particular favor to be over.

She took a breath and reset her attitude, deciding her feelings were more to do with Jordan’s death, and the fact that Joey, not to mention Arlena, her best friends in the world, were in town and she couldn’t spend as much time as she’d like with them. She decided to stay positive and help Festa get through another dinner service, then have a talk with Ava about stepping aside and letting the current staff take over. She was confident they could.

Christine and Regina were in the service area adjacent to the kitchen, huddled in the corner and speaking to each other in low voices. Regina pulled the strings of her apron tightly around her waist as Christine adjusted the collar on her shirt. When Penelope got closer, they stopped talking and hurried to finish getting themselves together.

“How are you guys doing?” Penelope asked. She picked up an almost empty box of the dark green half-sized straws Jordan preferred to use at Festa and grabbed the remaining few. She handed an unopened box to Christine and motioned to her to add the ones in her hand to the full one. “Marry these up, will you?”

“Sure,” Christine said, taking the straws from her with an overly enthusiastic smile. Regina remained quiet, averting her gaze from Penelope.

“What are tonight’s specials?” Penelope asked them.

“Um,” Christine said, looking up at the ceiling to recall. “Venison stew?”

Penelope shook her head and directed her next question to Regina. “What’s your guess? We went over this week’s specials last night, remember?” Penelope wasn’t sure why, but putting them on the spot made her feel some sense of power shift back to her.

Regina looked up from the floor at Penelope, and, to her surprise, burst into tears. She sprinted from the service area through the dining-room doors. Christine’s mouth hung open as she watched her friend hurry away.

After an awkward moment, Penelope said, “I’ll go check on her.”

“Regina’s just…” Christine paused. “She’s taking everything really hard.”

“That’s understandable,” Penelope said. “I think we all are. I’m not just asking how you’re doing to make conversation. I’m concerned about you guys.”

“That’s…thank you. It’s been hard to be here, you know?”

“Yeah,” Penelope said. “I get it. I’m going to go check on Regina.”

Penelope scanned the dining room and saw no sign of her, only Jeremy behind the bar cutting lemons and limes into wedges. He waved his knife and rolled his eyes in the direction of the ladies’ room when Penelope asked if he’d seen Regina come through.

“Hello?” Penelope said, entering the room.

“I’m in here,” Regina answered testily.

“What’s going on?” Penelope asked, keeping her tone light.

“Leave me alone,” Regina said. She was leaning against the pink-tiled wall next to the sinks clutching a paper towel. She wiped her eyes and nose angrily every few seconds.

“Would you like to go home?” Penelope asked, meeting the girl’s eyes in the mirror. “If you’re too upset to work, you’re excused.”

Regina wiped her nose again. “Don’t you think it’s messed up any of us are here at all?”

Penelope didn’t want to admit to her the thought had crossed her mind. “Look, I know things aren’t easy right now, but they will be again. The family wants to keep things going, make sure you all continue to get paid regardless of their personal tragedy.”

Regina rolled her dark green eyes, swiping a smear of mascara from her cheek as she glared into the mirror. “Right. The family. Bunch of money grabbers, if you ask me. They’re probably hoping Chef Jordan gets more famous now that he’s dead so they can squeeze even more cash from his corpse.”

Penelope crossed her arms in front of her and leaned on the bathroom wall. “That’s a little harsh, Regina. You can’t know how Mrs. Foster or any of them are feeling.”

Regina scoffed. “Yeah, right. I know exactly.”

“You know, you don’t have to stay. If you don’t feel comfortable working for the family, no one can stop you from leaving.”

Regina tossed the wet ball of paper towel into the trash and pulled off a fresh sheet from the dispenser. “You can stop talking to me like you’re my boss,” she said, raising her voice. She pulled a tube of eyeliner from her pocket and began to draw thick circles around her eyes.

“Speak to me respectfully, regardless of what you think is fair,” Penelope said, maintaining her gaze in the mirror.

“Whatever,” Regina said dismissively. “You’ll be gone soon, like everyone else.”

“You know what? You should go home,” Penelope said. “You’re obviously too upset to work a shift on the floor.”

“You can’t send me home,” Regina said. “You’re just some bitch from New York.”

“Get out,” Penelope said, keeping her voice even. “I’ll let Ava know you won’t be working.”

Regina turned and stared at Penelope, a small smile playing on her painted lips. “Fine. Good luck without me tonight.”

She pulled off her apron and dropped it on the bathroom floor before taking a wide arc around Penelope and stomping through the door.

Penelope felt the sudden urge to laugh, a surge of adrenaline making her skin feel tingly. She’d never fired anyone before, and even though she hadn’t officially done it now, it felt like she had. Penelope ran her hands through her hair and retied her ponytail before heading back into the dining room. She caught a bit of conversation as she got closer.

“…thinks she can tell me what to do,” Regina was saying. A murmured response came from Jeremy, noncommittal from what Penelope could make out. “She’s a bitch,” Regina complained.

“That’s enough,” Penelope said. “You should be going, Regina.”

Jeremy busied himself by polishing a glass, looking like he wanted no part of the conversation.

The girl slapped the handle on the front door of the restaurant and went through, throwing one last dirty look at Penelope through the glass.