Page 5 of Some Kind of Forever
“There’s tons to do here. We have Crystal Beach, Bender Botanical Gardens, Redwood Rail Bikes, hiking, bonfires on The Bluffs, so many museums, and the Herb Train that goes to this cool little outdoor bar.”
“Herb? Like,herb-herb?” Hunter asks, pinching his pointer finger and thumb together and tipping them to his mouth with hopeful eyes.
“No.” I shake my head, laughing. “The man who designed the rail system was named Herbert. HardH. Herb. That type of train wouldn’t have been legal yet. You might be able to leave a suggestion card now though.”
“A puff-puff train is right up Hunter’s alley,” Chase ribs, grinning so wide it shows off his impossibly straightteeth.
“Alright, alright, maybe it won’t be so bad here,” Hunter concedes. “So we’ll see you around this summer, then? You sound like the perfect tour guide.”
“Oh, me? Naw, not really. I’ll be working.”
“All summer?” Chase asks earnestly. His eyes bore into mine so intensely I have to look away again.
“I—”
“Patty,” my boss calls from the back office. “Come here a sec.”
“Yep, all summer. I’ll be your cashier at the counter whenever you’re ready. Enjoy!” I scurry back to Ms. Patti’s office.
Saved by the boss.
Patti’s gimmicky idea to give everyone who works in the diner the pseudonym Patti evolved out of an abundance of caution to protect us waitresses from overeager tourists. Our town is small enough that almost everyone knows everyone’s name, but to visitors, we’re all known asPatti. OrPatty. OrPattie. I’m pretty sure we’ve had aPatin the past too. Her foresight has saved me a time or three, and right now, I silently thank her for the fallback. Cute tourists equal distractions. As my mom would say,Ain’t nobody got time forthat.
“Hey, Patti, what’s up?” I slip into a chair next to her office door.
“I’m finalizing details for the internship interview at the end of the season. Seaside Catering has been hired to service a shareholders’ event for a tech company called EdTechU. You’re still going for the internship, right?”
Definitely.
Catering isn’t my final destination, but this internship, along with my degree in event management, will give me the last bit of experience I need to make my dreams of becoming an event planner come true. I love planning, organizing, and executing ideas. Taking a vision and watching it come to fruition. Even the contracts and budgets are something I enjoy. My kaleidoscope of responsibilities has helped me gain exposure to some of those other skills, butthisopportunity would be the cherry on top. I’vewanted it for as long as I can remember. Now it’s so close I can almost taste it.
“Yes. Absolutely. One thousand percent yes,” I say.
“Great!”
She’s aware of how hard I’ve worked for this. Like me, Patti grew up here in Fort Bender. She left to receive a degree in restaurant management and returned here to renovate an old hardware store into the Patti’s Place of today. A few years ago, she created the offshoot Seaside Catering, which has become a top catering service for the northern coast of California.
This diner holds a significant spot in my memory. It’s where we came to celebrate all my milestones—awards, post-game team bonding, graduations—you name it. When I reached junior high, I came after school most days for a milkshake or a piece of her most popular apple pie. I asked for a job in high school, and she said yes on the spot. She teased I was there every day anyway, so she might as well pay me for it. Ms. Patti got to watch me grow up, and it feels fitting to embark on my professional journey under her guidance.
Her expression shifts as she puts her businesswoman face on. “There are two positions this year, and three of you vying for them. We’ll need to be all-hands-on-deck with everyone’s head in the game, so to speak. It looks like we’ll be in San Francisco, so I need you to mark your calendar for August 5. When I have the final details, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay. Got it.” I slide my phone from my back pocket and enter the date into my overflowing calendar. “What can I start working on now?”
“Is it okay, Kayla?” she asks with furrowed brows. “I know how hard you’re working this summer. It’s a lot, and I don’t want the stress to get to you.”
“I can handle stress. It’s no big deal.”
“The diner, camp counselor, babysitting, and who knows what else you’ve taken on.” She leans back in her office chair, lacing her fingers over her midsection. “You’re youngand still need to live a little… So no, I’m going to wait to give you details until after you’re done with camp. You’ll still have plenty of time to get things ready after that.”
“I’m fine, Ms. Patti,” I urge, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. “Really. I’ll be fine.” I have a lot on my plate this summer, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. Where most people would crumble under the pressure of a packed schedule, I’ve found compartmentalizing to be easy. I can stick things on the shelf in the back of my mind, putting the worry on ice until I have to deal with it again. Some might call it avoidance. I call it efficiency. It works well for me and makes focusing on the task at hand a lot more manageable. Getting ready for this internship is something I’ve been looking forward to since I decided to apply. I’m itching to get my foot in the door, and her withholding the information because she thinks I’ll crumble under the pressure is annoying. I know what I can handle.
“No.” She shakes her head, setting her final words in stone as she sits up in her chair. Like someone hit a switch, her face relaxes, and her eyes glint mischievously. “Speaking offine, did you see the guys at the booth?Whew!” She fans herself. “Talk about a hot boy summer.”
I chuckle and groan. “That’s not what that means, Pat!”
“Well, it should. I may be old, but I’ve got eyes. They’re right around your age too. Maybe living a little could include one of them.” She wiggles her eyebrows, giving a shoulder shimmy.
The bell next to the cash register dings, and I’m on my feet, headed to the door before she tries out any additional out-of-pocket lingo. “I don’t have time for boys this summer.”
