“Come by next Friday at two thirty for training. I’ll have your polo and apron for you. The dress code is black pants, and any type of black sneakers. We’re not picky; we just want you to be comfortable. You’ll be a busser, so you’ll be cleaning tables and helping the wait staff. It’s a great first job.”
“Thank you, thank you so much!” I jumped up from the booth, trying to contain how excited I was that this actually worked out.
She laughed as she folded the paper in half. “I’m Marie Delvecchio, by the way. It was a pleasure to meet you, Addison. I’ll see you next week, okay?”
“Thank you, Marie! Seriously, thank you so much.”
She placed a hand on my arm again, and walked me out of the restaurant. I rode my bike home, and not even the heat could melt my smile off my face.
***
I rushed out the door on Friday wearing black jeans and my high-top black Converse, ready to go for my first shift at Delvecchios’. My stomach was rolling with nerves, and I was so anxious about being late that I arrived at two fifteen. I stood outside in the sun for the next fifteen minutes until my watch read two thirty on the dot. I could feel my arms beginning to burn by the time I opened the front door,and that sudden cool rush of air conditioning caused me to let out a relieved exhale. I stood in the front entrance, watching as two women and one man set white tablecloths across the tables until a door on the right opened and Marie stepped out.
“Hi honey, come on into my office.” I followed Marie in, and we quickly went through paperwork. She handed me a black polo that had “Delvecchios’ Restaurant” written on the left side of the chest in cursive, and a black apron with white stripes.
“Go ahead and get changed in the bathroom. I’ll meet you in the kitchen when you’re done. Enter either side.”
The bathroom had cherry-scented soap, and I put some on a crumble of paper towels, quickly rubbing behind my neck to hopefully mask the smell of my sweat from my bike ride. I switched my T-shirt for the polo, then redid my ponytail so that it was situated at the nape of my neck, and pulled out some pieces to cover my ears. I wasn’t wearing any makeup, and decided that was a good decision since I probably would have sweat off the mascara anyways.
I shoved my T-shirt into my backpack, then left the bathroom to push my way through the doors of the kitchen.
When I entered, there was a girl with long, wavy brown hair sitting on one of the kitchen counters with her legs criss-crossed, eating a cannoli. The powdered sugar was leaving flecks of white all over her black apron. Next to her, a boy with shaggy hair that was so dark it was almost black was leaning against the dishwasher, his legs crossed at his ankles while he stared at his phone.
“Um, hi,” I said as I walked up to them. Both of them flicked their eyes toward me, and the boy put his phone into his back pocket. The three buttons of his polo were undone, and I could see a freckle on his collarbone. I looked back and forth between them, their brown eyes examining me as I did the same to them.
The girl shoved the rest of the cannoli into her mouth and wiped the powdered sugar off her apron as best she could before jumping off the counter.
“New employee, right?” she asked with her mouth full.
I nodded. “I’m Addie. I’m gonna be a busser.”
The boy looked me up and down before crossing his arms and looking over at the girl. “Does Marie think I’m slow or something?”
I could feel my cheeks turn pink.
“She mentioned her kids work hard during the week and the restaurant needed more help on the weekends,” I said as I placed my hands in the apron’s pockets. It was a half-truth. She probably wanted her kids to have the weekends off since it seemed like they worked a lot throughout the week.
The girl opened her mouth to say something, but the boy cut her off. “Oh yeah, I heard the daughter is a real bitch,” the boy said, deadpan.
The girl scoffed and turned toward the boy with an eye roll. “I heard the son is a real prick; he’s a cocky little piece of shit.”
My eyes widened. “Oh?” I said as I looked back and forth between them. Marie seemed like a saint. I couldn’t imagine her kids being horrible people.
“I actually heard the son is really cool, and super handsome,” the boy said as he leaned back against the dishwasher again, fixing a lock of dark hair in the process.
“That’s funny. I heard he failed kindergarten.” The girl turned toward me again. “I actually heard the daughter is beautiful. Like, some would even say stunning.” She twisted her hair up before grabbing a claw clip out of her apron and clipping it into her hair.
“Fuck off,” the boy said, ears turning red.
The kitchen door flung open, and Mrs. Delvecchio walked through, cutting off the conversation.
“Oh Addison, I see you’ve met my lovely children, Julie and Jackson.”
I cocked my head to the side in surprise as Julie and Jackson smirked at each other. Julie placed an arm around her brother. “I meant every word I said.”
“Shut up,” Jackson said as he pushed his sister away, but he was still smiling. I couldn’t stop looking back and forth between them. They were just joking around with each other? I hadn’t seen a sibling relationship like this before. If Peter said the same things they did, it would’ve been ten times louder, and with one hundred percent truth. Anddefinitelywithout a smile.
“I swear they love each other,” Marie said as she gave them a look that seemed to sayI’m watching you two.“Julie is one of our waitresses, but she’ll be bussing with you and Jackson tonight to help you get trained. It’s a little after three right now, and we open in an hour. They’ll show you as much as they can beforehand, and everything else you’ll just learn along the way. You’re in good hands.” She smiled at me before walking back out through the kitchen doors.
