All Legit Work
A bell above the door clanged into life as Jenna pushed her way into the diner, the warm cloud of inviting odors and the noisy hubbub forcing her to pause for a long moment until she, at last, spied the familiar figure of her cousin Linda.
“There you are! You made it,” said Linda with a grin as she rose from the booth to give her cousin a brief but powerful hug.
“Wow, this place is something out of a time machine, isn’t it?” said Jenna with a smile as she slid into the booth opposite her cousin.
“Yeah, and the grilled cheese sandwiches are to die for,” said Linda with a chuckle as she sat down opposite Jenna.
“I don’t know. I’m really trying to watch my weight,” said Jenna as she picked up the laminated menu and began studying its contents.
“Nonsense! You’ve got a perfect body, as usual. I’d give anything to look like you,” said Linda with a brittle laugh.
“I think maybe I’ll just have a salad,” said Jenna, her eyes continuing to carefully scan the menu.
“Salad?” said Linda. “Jenna, no one comes to a diner for a salad, come on! Order something fun like chili fries.”
“Sure, sure,” said Jenna with a smile as she set down the menu.
“Look, if you’re worried about the prices, lunch is on me,” said Linda, reaching out one hand to rest on top of Jenna’s opposite hand.
“No, no, come on!” said Jenna, involuntarily pulling back from her cousin’s touch. “Is it because of this top? Yes, I got it at a thrift store, but it’s brand-name, I swear.”
“Relax, Jenna,” said Linda, leaning back in the booth with a friendly grin on her face. “It’s okay to be young and poor. Everyone goes through a phase like that. I’m just glad you showed up, today. It feels like forever since I’ve seen you.”
“Yeah,” said Jenna, her shoulders slumped. “It’s just Paul started doing his rotations, so he’s barely ever home, and I just feel like I’ve got to keep up.”
“Oof, that sounds tough,” said Linda before taking a long sip of her drink.
“I know this sounds whiny, but working from home is hhard,” said Jenna. “It’s lonely and it’s boring. And on top of that, you’ve got to constantly chase after work and then get them to pay you the peanuts they owe you. I hate it!”
“Sounds awful,” said Linda.
“And now that Paul’s working such long hours, I just feel like I’m going crazy, sometimes,” said Jenna.
“I hate to pry, but how are things going between you and Paul?” said Linda before studiously taking another sip of her drink.
“It’s fine, I guess,” said Jenna. “He’s basically a zombie when he’s awake. And since he gets a discount at the hospital cafeteria, he almost never eats at home anymore. All he does is sleep or shuffle around in his pajamas, grumpy as hell.”
“Gosh, that’s terrible,” said Linda.
“Hi there, and welcome to the Epic Retro Diner,” said the waiter, suddenly appearing as if out of nowhere, interrupting Jenna before she could get a word out.
“Come on, Jenna, order something good! It’s on me, cousin,” said Linda, her eyes wide with delight.
“Fine,” said Jenna, her cheeks tinged with pink. “I’ll have a small chocolate milkshake.”
“Large!” said Linda.
“Fine, a large,” said Jenna with a little grin.
“One chocolate milkshake,” said the waiter, studiously writing down the order with an old-fashioned pen on his paper notepad.
“And a large order of fries,” said Linda.
“What?” said Jenna, but Linda silenced her with the universal finger gesture to remain quiet.
“Come on. We’ll share them,” said Linda, throwing Jenna an obvious wink.
“One jumbo fries,” said the waiter, his pen noisily scratching as it traced the words across the paper of his notepad.
“And a triple cheeseburger, rare, with the house sauce,” said Linda, her eyes wide with anticipation. “And onion rings on the side.”
“One hot rod with house and rings,” said the waiter, the corner of his tongue peeking out as he concentrated on writing down the order. “Anything else?”
“Drink?” said Linda.
“Water is good for me,” said Jenna, gesturing at the glass of water sitting on the table.
“Another cola for me. Thanks, Billy,” said Linda.
“Very good,” said the waiter with a small bow before turning and disappearing off in the direction of the kitchen.
“So, what were we talking about?” said Linda before noisily draining the last of her drink.
“Nothing,” said Jenna. “It’ll be fine. Paul’s rotations will end in a couple of months, and then we can get our schedules back to normal.”
“Mm-hmm, if you say so,” said Linda, slowly rotating her empty cup so that the straw tumbled in circles around the rim.
“It’s just part of being in a long-term relationship, Linda. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices,” said Jenna.
“Right,” said Linda. “Now, it’s Paul doing rotations. Before, it was him staying up all night and cramming for his exams. Look, I wish him all the best in his quest to get his nursing degree or whatever.”
“Nurse practitioner,” said Jenna in a sharp tone of voice.
“Right, nurse practitioner,” said Linda. “Wow, that is a mouthful. Anyway, I wish Paul all the success in the world. The person I’m worried about is you, girl.”
“Me? Why?” said Jenna.
“Jenna, I’m saying this as your cousin whose known you since you were a little savage chasing me on my bicycle,” said Linda with a little laugh before continuing. “You look like hell, girl.”
“Thanks,” said Jenna with a sour frown.
“Hear me out,” said Linda. “I think I’ve got a solution to this. Come and work down at the Oyster with me.”
“What?” said Jenna, her jaw hanging open. “You want me to go work at that shady ass roadhouse? Come on!”
“What?” said Linda. “I think you’ll like it. And it’ll definitely get you out of the house.”
“Linda, no offense, but I am just not cut out to be a waitress at a place like that. I wouldn’t last a day,” said Jenna.
“No, a waitress? For a girl with a figure like yours? No way,” said Linda with a laugh. “No way. Jenna, I’m talking about you being a dancer.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” said Jenna, leaning forward to speak in a conspiratorial hush. “Linda, are you nuts? I’m not getting naked in front of strangers!”
“Relax,” said Linda with a chuckle as she patted the top of Jenna’s hand. “It’s all legit work, and there isn’t any nudity. County law forbids it.”
“Oh?” said Jenna, her eyes wide.
“Yeah, it’s just dancing around in skimpy tops and shorts and things like that,” said Linda. “And the customers aren’t allowed to touch you. But it pays really well, and I think it’d really cheer you up.”
“You want me to dance around in some Daisy Dukes on stage at the Pink Oyster?” said Jenna.
“Sure, why not? I think you’ll have a blast,” said Linda with a grin.
But before Jenna could open her mouth to reply, the waiter arrived with the food.
