Taking Chances (9 page)

“Excuse me, miss,” Clair said. Her voice startled the woman and she spun, flinging her arms around her and knocking the balanced cups from the top of the plates. They fell over, spilling their contents on Clair’s shirt before tumbling to the floor, ice cubes flying. Clair gasped at the coldness seeping through her shirt, but gripped the plates tighter.

“Oh, you are so lucky that did not get on my new blouse.” the woman said sharply as she looked down at Clair in disgust.

“Well, if you were watching where you were going, this never would have happened.”

The woman rolled her eyes as she lifted up her pant legs like she was wading through a flooded street. Janis came from the back when she heard the racket and
   
bent down to retrieve the cups from the floor, stacking them inside each other. 

“Look at
     
you! Here
,   
give me those
plates. You know, you don't have to try and carry everything at once. Even if you have to make several trips; just take it easy." Janice laughed, "Now go get cleaned
up. You're a mess.”
                                                                                    

Clair
     
nodded, “I know, I need to slow down. Thanks for picking up my slack today. If it weren't for you, I'm sure a lot of customers would have walked out on me."

"Don't worry about it. You'll get the hang of it."

Clair shrugged her shoulders, doubtful she would improve anytime soon.
"All right, I'll be back in a few."

Clair opted for the tiny bathroom in the back of the kitchen instead of the customer’s bathroom. She didn’t want to risk what she might say or
do
if she ran into that woman again.
Perfect,
she thought as she eyed the hand dryer hanging on the wall and knelt down under it. It took a few cycles before her shirt was finally dry. Checking herself in the mirror, her shirt had darkly stained watermarks where it had been wet. Looking at her watch, she was thankful she only had thirty minutes left on her shift before she could go home, take a shower, and put her feet up. Smoothing her hair back down, she wondered if Alex ever came over to her house or if Roz gave him the message, like she promised.

Clair turned when she heard a knock at the door and saw Roz standing in the doorway. “Hey, you’re early. I’ve still got thirty minutes, unless you’re ready to let me leave now?”

Roz approached her, pointing at her shirt. “Well look at you. I see you've been officially sworn into the waitressing club. Congratulations!”                           

Clair laughed. Washing her hands in the sink, she looked at Roz in the mirror. "I don't agree with the initiation process. I’ve spilled more drinks than I’ve actually served today. I’m not cut out for this kind of work.”

“Nah, you’re doing fine. Everyone has a hard time to start with.” She hesitated. “I’ve got another favor to ask. That’s why I’m here early.”

Clair rinsed the soap from her hands. “I’m scared to even ask what it is this time.”

Roz grimaced, “I need you to stay and work another shift.”

Clair didn’t say anything; she just looked at Roz in the mirror. She could have told her no. Or asked her why she didn’t work the shift herself; it was her diner after all. But that would be rude, and after everything Roz had done for her, she felt obligated. She would just have to suck it up and deal. It wasn’t like she couldn’t use the money anyway. She bent over and stuck her face in the sink, turning on the water to wet her face.

“Is it that bad? That you’d drown yourself?”

“Well I wasn’t thinking about it, but now that you mention it…” Clair laughed. She hoped the cold water would help revive her for the next round of rude customers and spills. “Are you sure I have to?” Clair whined.

“Well, I can't make you work, of course.  But Janice came in at six o'clock last night and I can’t make her stay. She’s already worked a double shift and…”

“What, are you serious? I had no idea; she never even mentioned it to me.”

“Yeah, she’s awesome. I’d probably have to close if she quit on me. I was going to let       you and Janice leave at two and handle the waitressing by myself but Janice told me how crazy it’s been today and I don't think I can handle it on my own. So, if you can't stay, I'll just have to manage by myself.”

Clair shook her head, “No, no, of course I’ll stay. After everything you’ve done for me, I’d be crazy to say no.”

“You don’t owe me, Clair, but I appreciate your help. But look on the bright side; you get to work with me tonight.” Roz winked before walking out the door.

“Hey Roz…”

“Yeah?”

“Did you ever call Alex for me? I just wanted to make sure he didn’t come over expecting me there.”

Roz smiled, “Yep, I called him. I let him know what time you were getting off if he still wanted to come over.”

“Oh, can you call him back? Tell him about me working a double shift?”

“Nope,
you
have a phone now, use it.” With a smile she walked out the door, leaving Clair to call Alex on her own.

CHAPTER TEN

Alex

After spending several minutes knocking at Clair’s door, Alex got back in his car, wondering where everyone was. Roz told him earlier that Clair got off at two so he waited a couple hours before coming over. It was a little after four and she wasn’t answering the door. Alex hoped she wasn’t mad at him for what happened last night. He could still imagine the feel of her soft skin prickled with goose bumps when he brushed his hands down her neck. It made it impossible for him to sleep last night. He kept replaying everything that happened over and over again in his mind. Alex wanted to talk to her. What if she wanted to forget it altogether? He had to know what she was feeling.

After talking to Roz on her cell phone, he found out she’d
needed Clair longer at the diner. Since he needed to eat dinner anyway, Alex decided to go over and see how Clair was doing. If nothing else, he could sit in the back and talk to her while she worked.

Alex drove around the block three times before a parking space in front of the diner opened up. Looking through the diner’s window confirmed they were swamped. He didn’t want to add his order to the mix, so he planned to run in for a minute, say hi, and find out if Clair would be up for a visit later. As he walked down the sidewalk towards the door, Alex noticed Roz walking across the street to her car.

“Hey. What are you up to?” Roz asked, giving him a hug.

“Not much. I just wanted to speak to Clair for a minute, if she has time.” Alex looked through the window but couldn’t see her. “Is she still here?”

Roz grinned, throwing her arm around his shoulders. “Come on in. We’ve been slammed today but I’ll make sure she gets a few minutes with you,” she winked.

He scanned the diner for an empty seat. The bar and all of the window tables were fully occupied. He resorted to sitting at
one of the few available tables in the back, next to the kitchen door. With his back to the wall, Alex had full view of the room and its customers. He was surprised to see her waiting tables, but guessed she had no other choice.  She nodded and smiled brightly as she wrote down an order on a notepad. He smiled to himself to see how well she was interacting with the customers until he saw whom she was talking to. His hands immediately balled up into fists.

Alex thought Gavin had some nerve to show his face around here. Especially since he knew Roz was his friend. Alex despised him and it turned his stomach when he heard Clair giggling at something he said. He knew exactly what Gavin was up to. He’d seen him flirt with tons of girls, when they used to hang out, back in the day. They were always putty in his hands. He would use them to his liking and throw them out when he was ready for the next girl. When Alex caught on to the game he was playing, he didn’t want any part of it and confronted him. They never saw eye to eye after that.

Alex wanted to race over and pull Clair away from him. Instead, he forced himself to breathe slowly to regain his composure. The last thing he wanted was to start a fight, especially in front of Clair.

“Mind if I sit?” Roz asked as she looked down at Alex.

“Nope.” He continued to glare at Gavin without even looking at her.

“What’s got your face all twisted up?” She turned in the direction he was looking.

“You know, you’d think he’d stay away, especially after all this time. Why now? Does he think enough time has passed that we’d both just forget about him setting me up, having the police come and search me and my car, like I was some kind of criminal?” He looked at Roz as if she magically held the answers.

Roz sighed, patting him on the arm. “I don’t know, hon.
It was pretty rotten what he did. Stu and I both knew not to believe his accusations. And as much as I want to, as long as he’s not causing trouble, I can’t make him leave.”

Alex watched Gavin’s eyes follow Clair as she walked away from his table. Alex glared, and as if on cue, Gavin met his eyes. Alex watched his flirtatious smile melt away into a smirk.
They stared each other down, both daring the other to do something.

Alex huffed, “If he doesn’t stop flirting and looking at Clair, you may have to kick us both out.”

“Oh? Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice?” Roz teased.

“No.” He crossed his arms, pouting. “She doesn’t know him like I do, and I don’t want him taking advantage of her.”

“Uh huh… sure.”

Alex could hear the skepticism in her voice, but didn’t react to it. He saw Gavin’s face change when Clair walked through the kitchen door towards his table again. As she placed two cups down, they caught on the edge and spilled the length of it.
Gavin, and the guy he was seated with leapt out of their chairs, trying to escape the liquid that trickled from the sides of the table.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” Clair shrieked.

She scrambled across the table, trying to scoop the ice and water back into the cups. “Let me get something to wipe this up.”

“Oh shit,” Roz mumbled. “Let me go help her. It was only a matter of time before this happened.”

When Clair turned around, she was frowning as she headed toward the kitchen. Roz followed her, and Alex could see the frustration on Clair’s face. The double shift was starting to get to her. Alex looked back at Gavin and watched as he tried to soak up the water from his pants with a paper towel. Pushing his chair back up to the table, he looked over at Alex. Alex smiled, satisfied at Gavin’s new appearance, and gave him thumbs up just to piss him off. It worked; Alex saw Gavin’s jaw tense, as if he were restraining himself from saying anything.

Roz came out from the kitchen, followed by Clair, who carried a mop and towels. Clair busied herself with cleaning up, while Roz addressed Gavin and his friend.

“Boys! I’m so sorry about this. This has been quite a day for Clair. Not only is it her first time waitressing but I have also made her work a double shift and her night isn’t even over yet. I’m sure you can understand.” Roz patted Clair on the back.

“Oh no biggie.
It’s just water anyway. We’ll survive, won’t we, Steve?” Gavin said to the guy standing next to him.

Steve nodded in agreement, but didn’t look as happy.

“Well, I hope we haven’t ruined your dinner and if you still want to eat with us, it’s on the house. Order whatever you want.”

Gavin smiled, “Oh you don’t have to do that, but thank you.” Then he looked at Clair and added, “We’re definitely staying.”

Alex saw him wink at Clair and she gave a faint smile, seemingly embarrassed by the mess she made.

Pointing to the mop and towels, Roz said, “Clair, go ahead and put that back and take a break. I’ll handle this order.”

Clair looked relieved, “Thanks. I really am sorry. I hope you won’t hold it against me the next time you come in.”

“Not a chance,” Gavin said.

Alex rolled his eyes at Gavin’s comment. He made a mental note to keep an eye on Clair when she worked. There was no way he was going to let Gavin get his grubby paws on her.

Clair turned and walked toward the kitchen when she looked in Alex’s direction and stopped. He smiled at her and watched as her hand went to her neck, fingering the charm that
hung from its chain. She smiled back faintly and held her finger up, signaling she’d be back in a minute.

When Clair reappeared from the kitchen, she approached Alex’s table. She looked exhausted and had food stains all over her shirt. “Hey, Clair, can you take a break and sit with me for a few minutes?”

Clair nodded and sat down. Her back was towards the others in the diner; including Gavin, who had his eyes trained on them both.

“I can for a second,” she said, sounding defeated. “Roz offered to take their order, which is good because I’m embarrassed enough as it is.” 

He pointed at her shirt. “Having a rough day, huh?”

Clair crossed her arms on the table and laid her head between them. In a muffled voice she said, “I suck at this. I’ll be lucky if Roz doesn’t fire me before the night is out. I can’t seem to serve a single item without spilling something on the floor, or on me.”

“Hush your mouth,” Roz interjected, standing beside their table. “I’m not firing you. Now move over.”

When Clair looked up at her, Alex could see her eyes were watery. She let out a heavy sigh.  “Maybe you won’t today,” Clair added, her voice shaking, “but
it’s coming.”

Alex looked to see Gavin was still watching them. He smiled, shaking his head slightly at him.
You already tried taking my job and getting me locked up; you’re not taking her too
, he thought.

Roz patted Clair on the arm. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. Anyone who’s ever waited tables has had the same problems as you. Everyone makes mistakes and you’ll get better the more you do it.”

“Yeah, can you just imagine how bad Roz was when she started here, working for her dad?” Alex laughed as he tried his best to cheer Clair up.

“Oh God, you don’t even
want
to know. I almost burned the place down trying to cook on that grill back there.”

“Was that before or after you met me?” he asked with a smug grin.

“Both actually, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.” she stood, her body shielding Gavin’s eyes from Alex’s line of sight.

“Thanks, you two, for trying to cheer me up. For everyone’s sake, I hope you’re right.” Clair closed her eyes, “I’m just ready to go home. My feet are killing me.”

“What time are you getting off?” Alex asked.

Clair’s head snapped up as her hand went to her mouth. “Crap! I was supposed to call you after Roz asked me to work another shift. I completely forgot.”

“It’s okay. Since you don’t have a phone, I thought I would just come down here and ask you myself.”

“Oh yeah about that…” Clair looked at Roz and rolled her eyes. She pulled her new cell phone out of her pocket and placed it on the table in front of him. “Roz felt the need to buy me this and gave it to me this morning. I haven’t even used it yet. She put your number and a few others into my contact list already. You can put my number in your phone if you want to, but you’ll have to look and see what it is.”

He picked it up and flipped it open. “Are you sure you want me to have your number?”

Roz crossed her arms, “Alex, really? Why would you
even ask that?”

“Well she might not want me calling her. I don’t know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind if you call me.”

“Oh for God’s sake, of course she wants you to call her. What girl doesn’t?” Roz stated.

Embarrassed, Alex shielded is eyes with his hand. “Roz, I don’t need your help talking to women, but thanks.”

He started punching buttons on her phone, trying to locate her number. When he found it, he pulled out his phone and entered it into his contact list. “Okay, got it. You may never get rid of me now,” he said, handing Clair her phone.

“Well, we better get back to work,” Clair said, pushing the phone down in her pocket.

Roz shook her head in agreement. “Yeah, if it slows down, I’ll let you leave early. No promises though.”

Alex watched Roz walk away, grabbing an empty cup from a nearby table. “If it’s dark out, call me and I’ll drive you home. I don’t want you walking by yourself, okay?” he said as he looked back at Clair.

“Thanks, I will. Oh, and Alex…” she said, leaning in to whisper.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think I want to get rid of you. I don’t think, not yet.”

He leaned in toward her across the table, and the world around him drifted away. “Really?” His eyes moved to her lips when she licked them and he remembered feeling like he would melt into her when she pulled on his bottom lip teasingly. Replaying her kiss last night made him want to kiss her again. “I was hoping you’d think that, because I don’t think I can stay away from you.” He swept his finger across her forehead, brushing the wisps of hair from her eyes.

Clair leaned back, “Umm… I… got to go… back to work. I’ll call you when I get off?”

“Yes. Doesn’t matter how late, I’ll be up.” Alex smiled, looking around the room. Roz was up against the bar, a broad grin on her face. Gavin, on the other hand, looked pissed. Alex smiled at him. Maybe now he would leave Clair alone.

Clair stood, “I’ll talk to you later, Alex.”

After she walked back into the kitchen, he got up and walked by Gavin’s table, giving him a wink as he went past, in hopes of pissing him off one more time before he left.