stepped out, carrying a pan full of bacon with two dish towels. He had a white apron wrapped around his waist, and somewhere heâd scared up a white chefâs beanie. He managed to look almost professional. Clark wondered how much Lizzy Apodaca had to do with that.
Thinking of Lizzy Apodaca, he scanned the room, looking for her. She stood on the far side at the omelet station, shuffling three pans on the burners. He watched her pour eggs into one of the pans, turning it to coat the bottom, then rake through all three with her spatula for a few seconds. She turned to one pan and dropped a handful of something that looked like bacon, then to another pan where she pushed the edge of the omelet slightly, letting the uncooked egg slide underneath. She added two more handfuls of ingredients to the other two pans, then began flipping the omelets in half. Another few seconds and she pushed them onto plates, handing them to guests who were standing in line to pick up their food.
A considerable line, now that he noticed it. He wasnât sure heâd ever seen a line that long with Clarice. And most of the line was male. He looked back at Lizzy again. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail beneath her beanie and she wore a white chefâs coat. There was something mesmerizing about watching her move from burner to burner with quiet grace.
He shook his head. Snap out of it.
It had taken all of maybe four minutes and sheâd served three people. Clark was suitably impressed. On the other hand, it was pretty labor intensive. And if she was spending all her time making omelets to order, she couldnât be back in the kitchen keeping Desi from coming to grief. Clark sidled to the kitchen door, trying not to distract her.
As he stepped inside, he saw Desi at the stove, cooking a huge frying pan full of scrambled eggs. A timer dinged somewhere and Desi opened the oven door, yanking out a pan of bacon. He closed the door with his knee and turned back to his eggs, giving them a vigorous shake while he poured in what was probably the right amount of salt, although it looked like a lot to Clark.
He started across the kitchen in Desiâs direction but stopped partway. Another guy who was maybe Desiâs age was scrubbing a pot in the sink. Clark frowned. He didnât think heâd hired anybody else, but maybe he had. He turned back toward Desi. âHowâs it going?â
Desi glanced up, then back at the eggs he was transferring to a pan for the steam table. âHey, boss. So far, so good. Lizzy got most of the stuff ready and she showed me how to do this. Weâre keeping up.â
Clark nodded toward the dishwasher, who was regarding him a little nervously. âWhoâs that?â
Desi shrugged. âMy cousin Marco. Lizzy said you needed somebody and heâs looking for something part-time. I told him to come in this morning and get started.â
Marco gave Clark a guardedly hopeful look.
Clark sighed. âYou know how to load a dishwasher?â
Marco nodded. âDesi showed me.â
âAnd mop up?â
âSure.â Marcoâs smile became more definite.
âGreat. Youâre hired. Fill out the paperwork when youâre done here, and Iâll even pay you.â
âYes, sir.â Marco nodded enthusiastically.
Clark wondered just how old the kid was, but he wasnât inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth. He turned back to Desi, who was picking up one of the pans to transport it to the steam table. âThis is what you want to do, right?â
âCooking?â Desiâs grin was almost as bright as Marcoâs. âAbsolutely. This is great. Lizzy knows her stuff.â
âReassuring since sheâs supposed to,â Clark muttered, but then he shrugged. âOkay, Iâll get out of your way.â
Back in the dining room, he watched Lizzy cook up a few more omelets. She seemed to do it with a little more pizzazz than Clarice
Pierre V. Comtois, Charlie Krank, Nick Nacario