Say Something by Salice Rodgers Page B
Authors: Salice Rodgers
feel like a Mac truck has run over me and left without even saying sorry. I shower, brush my teeth and get ready for the day. My long blonde hair is in a messy bun. I add just a little makeup to my eyes, and I am ready for the work flow.
When I pull into the parking lot at work, I get an icky feeling in my stomach. Like something is going to happen, and somehow I am going to be a part of it. Not really the feeling I want to have, but I shake it off and go about my night. Our town is so small nothing ever happens here. The most interesting gossip we have here is who old man Cooper is cheating on his wife with this week.
I swear that man gets more ass than I do, which is sad considering he is old enough to be my dad. His wife knows what he is doing but acts like she is clueless. He has more money than he can spend in this lifetime or any other for that matter, so I am sure that is why she stays. As long as he gives her some and leaves her alone, she doesn't seem to care what he does. She just sits at a table in the restaurant most nights and gets drunk. Leaving one of us to have to call her a cab.
“Welcome to work, Joslynn, glad you remembered your name tag today.”
Frank greets me at the door. I look at the clock on my cell and see that I'm not late. Frank has had a stick up his ass the last week, and I am getting tired of it. I have always gotten along with Frank and Tank. Tank has taken the slot of big brother in some ways. He always seems to want to make sure I am okay and know what is going on in my life. Sometimes it's nice to have a friend who you know will be there if you need a couch moved and other times it's annoying to have someone hovering over you but we seem to deal just fine. My father is a piece of shit drunk who liked to take his anger out on me, so I think Frank has kind of filled that slot in his own way.
“Something wrong, Frank?”
He lets go of a deep breath and lets his chin fall to his chest.
“Have you seen that man who comes in every night? You know the one with all the gunk on his arms?”
“Yeah,” I say laughing.
“He does sit on my side of the place every night, Frank. How could I miss him?”
Just the thought of his gruff voice and already my heart is beating out of my chest. I have daydreamed of running my hands through his hair and kissing each freckle on his face. I think I could listen to him read names from a phone book, and before he makes it to the end of it, I would need a new pair of thongs.
“Joslynn? JOSLYNN?”
I shake my head and come back to the present. Frank is still standing in front of me talking.
“Sorry, Frank, what were you saying?”
“I want you to be careful around him. There is something not right about him.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it, Joslynn, one wrong touch yell for Tank.”
I look from Frank and see Tank raise his spatula in the back while he is cooking, showing that he knows what Frank is saying. I laugh and shake my head.
“I said okay, Frank. Do you want it on paper or can I get to work?”
“By all means.”
He steps to the side and motions for me to pass. I walk to the back and grab my order book and get ready for the day. Of course Julia leaves me with my side full of waiting customers and dirty tables. She and I have never gotten along. She's a twenty year old who is only worried about what she is doing for the weekend or who.
She comes to work each night and complains that she is missing some amazing party or her boyfriend of the week comes in and half her time is spent sitting in his lap flirting. Frank never says anything because she comes in to work half dressed and pulls in more customers. It only annoys me more because I have to take her slack and watch all the men around her drool.
**
I finally get caught up when I see him walk in. He's wearing a gray t-shirt and old ripped jeans. He looks like he hasn't slept all night with
When I pull into the parking lot at work, I get an icky feeling in my stomach. Like something is going to happen, and somehow I am going to be a part of it. Not really the feeling I want to have, but I shake it off and go about my night. Our town is so small nothing ever happens here. The most interesting gossip we have here is who old man Cooper is cheating on his wife with this week.
I swear that man gets more ass than I do, which is sad considering he is old enough to be my dad. His wife knows what he is doing but acts like she is clueless. He has more money than he can spend in this lifetime or any other for that matter, so I am sure that is why she stays. As long as he gives her some and leaves her alone, she doesn't seem to care what he does. She just sits at a table in the restaurant most nights and gets drunk. Leaving one of us to have to call her a cab.
“Welcome to work, Joslynn, glad you remembered your name tag today.”
Frank greets me at the door. I look at the clock on my cell and see that I'm not late. Frank has had a stick up his ass the last week, and I am getting tired of it. I have always gotten along with Frank and Tank. Tank has taken the slot of big brother in some ways. He always seems to want to make sure I am okay and know what is going on in my life. Sometimes it's nice to have a friend who you know will be there if you need a couch moved and other times it's annoying to have someone hovering over you but we seem to deal just fine. My father is a piece of shit drunk who liked to take his anger out on me, so I think Frank has kind of filled that slot in his own way.
“Something wrong, Frank?”
He lets go of a deep breath and lets his chin fall to his chest.
“Have you seen that man who comes in every night? You know the one with all the gunk on his arms?”
“Yeah,” I say laughing.
“He does sit on my side of the place every night, Frank. How could I miss him?”
Just the thought of his gruff voice and already my heart is beating out of my chest. I have daydreamed of running my hands through his hair and kissing each freckle on his face. I think I could listen to him read names from a phone book, and before he makes it to the end of it, I would need a new pair of thongs.
“Joslynn? JOSLYNN?”
I shake my head and come back to the present. Frank is still standing in front of me talking.
“Sorry, Frank, what were you saying?”
“I want you to be careful around him. There is something not right about him.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it, Joslynn, one wrong touch yell for Tank.”
I look from Frank and see Tank raise his spatula in the back while he is cooking, showing that he knows what Frank is saying. I laugh and shake my head.
“I said okay, Frank. Do you want it on paper or can I get to work?”
“By all means.”
He steps to the side and motions for me to pass. I walk to the back and grab my order book and get ready for the day. Of course Julia leaves me with my side full of waiting customers and dirty tables. She and I have never gotten along. She's a twenty year old who is only worried about what she is doing for the weekend or who.
She comes to work each night and complains that she is missing some amazing party or her boyfriend of the week comes in and half her time is spent sitting in his lap flirting. Frank never says anything because she comes in to work half dressed and pulls in more customers. It only annoys me more because I have to take her slack and watch all the men around her drool.
**
I finally get caught up when I see him walk in. He's wearing a gray t-shirt and old ripped jeans. He looks like he hasn't slept all night with
Similar Books
Analog SFF, June 2011
Dell Magazine Authors
This Battle Lord's Quest
Linda Mooney
Starting Over
Marissa Dobson
The Stiff and the Dead
Lori Avocato
Sandra Chastain
Firebrand
Plague Of The Revenants
Edward Chilvers
Resurrecting Harry
Constance Phillips
Nocturnal
Nathan Field
Eye of the Oracle
Bryan Davis