Page 5 of Edge

I nodded. “It was delicious. Thank you.”

“Good. Let’s go take a look at your new place. Drive around back, and you can follow me there.”

“How much do I owe you for the meal?” I asked.

She shook her head. “It’s on the house.”

“But—” I started to protest.

She held up her hands to stop me. “You can’t tell your customers how good the food is if you haven’t tried it.”

“Okay,” I conceded. But I made a mental note to find some way to pay her back.

I climbed into my car and prayed Irene didn’t live far from the diner. I had less than a quarter of a tank of gas, and I needed it to last until after my first shift.

Thankfully, it was only a short drive to our destination. Irene pulled into a long driveway that led to a moderately sized one-story house. She continued past the house and came to a stop in front of a cute single-wide trailer at the back of the property.

“Here we are,” she said when she got out of her car. “It’s not completely furnished, but there’s a bed, a small couch, and a kitchen table.”

She unlocked the front door, and I followed her inside. As she said, it was minimally furnished, but I didn’t need much. Just a safe place to rest when I wasn’t working.

“What do you think?”

“It’s perfect,” I breathed.

“Great,” she said and extended her hand. “Here are the keys. Since I’m assuming you need to be paid under the table, how about this? Instead of paying you an hourly rate, you can work for tips only and live here rent free.”

“Deal,” I said and held out my hand.

She took my hand, shook it, and pulled me in for a hug. “Your shift starts at seven tomorrow morning. I’ll see you then.”

“What about this?” I asked and gestured to my eyes.

“You had sinus surgery. It went well,” she said and nodded once. “See you in the morning.” With that, she was gone.

I stood there for several minutes and took in the silence, the peacefulness. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe. I could only hope it would last.

I triedto cover the bruises with what little makeup I had, but there was no point. I looked like hell, and there wasn’t much I could do about it. Hopefully, people would believe the sinus surgery story.

I arrived at the diner fifteen minutes before seven. There were already a few customers at tables and two at the counter. Irene smiled when she saw me. “You’re early. Ready to start?”

“Yes, but I don’t really know what I’m doing,” I admitted.

“That’s okay. You can spend a few hours with me until you get the hang of it. It’s pretty simple,” she said and gestured for me to follow her. She went to her office, where she rummaged around in a cabinet before she tossed something to me. “I forgot to give that to you yesterday. Remind me to give you a few more before you leave for the day.”

I unfolded the T-shirt and held it up to look at it. Irene’s Diner was printed across the front with a retro-style design.

“You can change in the employee bathroom across the hall. There are lockers in the break room for your stuff. A couple of them are empty. You can have whichever one you want,” she said.

I hurried across the hall and changed into my new shirt. It was the first new piece of clothing I’d had in a long time. Even though it was a work shirt, I was still excited. I hurried to the break room and tossed my old shirt into an empty locker before returning to the kitchen.

Irene nodded in approval when she saw me and handed me an apron to tie around my waist. Next, she gave me a pen and a small notepad. “Ready?”

“Yes,” I nodded eagerly.

“Let’s go,” she said and glanced at her watch. “It’s time for the morning rush.”

She wasn’t kidding. Within minutes, it seemed, the place was packed with people waiting at the front for a table to become available. I followed along dutifully and paid close attention to everything she did. She greeted many of the customers by name and even knew what most of them were going to order.

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