Page 2 of Lenkov

We disconnect, and I inhale deeply. Worrying over issues I can’t control has never changed a damn thing. I won’t start now. My phone vibrates, and I grimace at the Shadyside Apartments email. I open it, scan the paragraph, and my stomach plummets.

‘Because of inflation, the rent price will increase at the end of the month. Instead of 1500, the rent for your 800 square foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment will adjust to two thousand a month.

How can I swing that? What can I cut out?We don’t have any streaming subscriptions. I clip coupons, shop carefully, and keep to my minuscule budget. Using fans instead of air conditioning and traveling on public transportation won’t be enough to cover this price hike.

If I add more hours, it’ll be more pay going to sitters, and I’ll never see my son. It’s the reason I’m hustling my ass off in the first place. Swiping at my eyes, I pull on the wire to stop up the street from Apple Brook Senior Care Center.Ding. The bus rolls to a stop as I swipe at my eyes with my sleeve before I rise. Right now, I need to get myself together. I’m the only one left to advocate for my aunt. She deserves my full attention. The problems will still be there when I leave the center.

Squaring my shoulders, I exit the blue beast, happy to leave the scent of stale air and body odor behind. Stepping down, I hook my thumbs in the straps and walk toward the enormous building, feeling like it’s a boss in a video game. I will win the level because to do otherwise is to let down one of the two people I love most. I have thick thighs to handle the load piled up on my back.I’ve got this.

***

ILOVE THE DINER. THEfifties-style diner with its teal and white booths, checkerboard patterned flooring, and bright pink walls with photos of the family, former workers, and vintage signs never fail to cheer me up. Tonight, my face feels stiff and plastic. There’s an empty space in my soul, and my heart aches. Today we transferred Aunt Maureen, and I’m truly alone. There will be no more day trips to sit with her between jobs to catch the good times when she’s lucid and nearly herself. Those moments of clarity among the clouded confusion nourished my companion starved soul. It’s amazing how fast friends scatter when you’re nineteen and pregnant. I had a distinct set of worries, and some friends seemed concerned that motherhood might be contagious.

“Hello. Service?” The cocky frat boy snaps his fingers, and his waffle twat buddies laugh.

We get them like this, a little too lit to drive home, so they come to us to sober up. I bite back my response and remember the boy snuggled up in bed who has no clue we’re close to being homeless. I need to cover the new rent price, or we’ll be out on the streets in the next thirty days. That means all tips are good tips.

“I’m sorry about that.” I force my lips upward as I walk to their table. “Are we ready for more coffee?”

“And more pancakes.” The red-faced ring leader adds.

“I’ll put the order in and bring the pot around to top you off.”

He nods. The obvious dismissal has the back of my neck heating. People seem to view servers as subhuman.I’ll never understand why you’d be rude to the people who handle your food.I spin on my heel.

“That one has an ass for days.”

I scowl, and the two regulars from the local tire factory catch my eye.

“You need us to take care of that for you, Ry?” Will leans forward over the table, and Todd nods his agreement.

I smile at the broad-shouldered men with salt and pepper hair. Sculpted by years of lifting and moving the heavy rubber cylinders.

“I’ve had worse.” I pat Will on the shoulder.

“We’re keeping an eye on them anyway,” Todd adds in a voice like gravel.

“Kings of men.” I bow to them slightly. “Your orders should be up any minute.”

Making my way into the kitchen, I cringe at the obscenities flowing from the frat boys like water from a spigot. The women seated at the front counter shift nervously on their stools. Electricity rises in the small space. Thanks to the drunk entitled assholes, the peaceful diner has become an unsettling, toxic time bomb.

“We should kick them out on their khaki-panted asses.” Charlie’s deep voice seems to rumble in his barrel chest.

I smile at the surly brown-skinned man in the white apron and hairnet. The six-foot-two former marine has been cooking here for decades.

“It crossed my mind once or twenty times. But I don’t want to be responsible for them killing someone on the road.” I grab a pot of coffee.

I need all the cash I can get right now.

“Got two more minutes on Will and Todd’s order. It’ll be up in the window by the time you get back.”

“You’re the best, Charlie.” I wink as I grab the fresh pot of coffee. “They want another round of pancakes.”

“I hope they choke on these flap jacks,” Charlie mumbles, making me laugh. Leave it to gruff Charles to be the one to provide me with sunshine on the cloudiest day I’d experienced in years.

“Your platters will be up in a few minutes,” I tell Will and Todd as I return to the rowdy table. “Coffee coming in, and I placed the pancake order. We’re a family-friendly place, so I’ll have to ask you to sensor yourself. There are ladies around.” I smile so hard that my teeth might break as I refill their cups.

“We’re not here to be lectured. Ryeeee,” the thick-necked blonde slurs.

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