After Midnight

by Lacy Hart

  “You aren’t done with those dishes yet?” Denise asked.

  “Just finishing up,” I said to her without looking over at her.

  “Lizzie, don’t you have homework?” Denise said, turning to her daughter, hoping to get her away from me.

  “There’s no school tomorrow,” Lizzie said respectfully.

  “Well, I’m sure you could be cleaning your room or something instead of keeping Sarah from finishing the dishes.” Denise’s cell phone buzzed, and she looked down at it, and then quickly moved away from us and back towards her room.

  I turned the faucet off and looked at Lizzie.

  “I need to go get ready for work,” I said to her. We both walked quietly towards the stairs.

  “I’ll send you a message to let you know if I’m coming,” Lizzie said to me as we reached the steps.

  “No, don’t,” I said in a hushed tone. “I… I don’t have my phone. Just come if you can. I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

  “Sarah, I’m scared for you. Maybe I should talk to Dad.”

  “Please don’t Lizzie. That might make things worse right now. This has to be just between you and me. I’m really counting on you for help.”

  “Okay,” Lizzie said. “Let me get in touch with my friends to see who is going to the game. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Thank you, Lizzie,” I said to her and gave her a hug. I then raced up the stairs to get ready for work.

  I put my work clothing on as fast as I could, gathered up my purse, and went down the stairs to get out of the house as fast as I could. Just as I got to the front door, Denise, stopped me.

  “Leaving kind of early tonight, aren’t you?” Denise questioned as she stood by the front door.

  “We’re going to be busy tonight, “I told her. “There’s a basketball game at the school, and no school tomorrow. The place will be flooded with kids, so they need me early tonight.”

  Denise was looking me over to see if she could spot anything that might be out of the ordinary with me, making sure I wasn’t going to try anything.

  “Denise, I really need to go,” I said to her, wanting to get passed her.

  Denise stepped off to the side of the door, and I reached for the doorknob. Just as I was starting to turn it, she grabbed onto my hand, holding it tightly.

  “Just remember our deal,” Denise said with authority, making sure Lizzie was not within earshot. Denise’s phone buzzed with another message, and then another before she let go of my hand and picked up her phone, walking away so she could answer her text messages.

  I bolted out the front door and away from the house, wanting to get away from her quickly. The entire walk to the diner I kept thinking about what Lizzie could do to help me. If she could get to the diner, I could explain to her what was going on. I would have to tell her about her mother’s affair, but that would have to be one of the consequences. Perhaps Lizzie could figure out a way to get my phone or let me use hers or her computer, so I could figure things out, or get a message to Caleb. Maybe Lizzie could message Caleb for me. At least it might let him know what the trouble is, and then we could figure something out together.

  The big problem was going to be finding a way to prevent Denise or Jared from sending out those pictures. Caleb might not care that much if he got the pictures. I know he would understand about them, even if they were the profane ones Denise and Jared had doctored. The real problem would be if the pictures got to people at work, professors at school, or my family… again. I could protest as much as I wanted, saying they were fake, but there would still be talk or people that wouldn’t believe me, and I don’t know if I could live through that again. There had to be a way to get those pictures, find where they were kept, and get rid of them, or at least expose who made them.

  I got the diner early once again, and Doug could see I was preoccupied once again. He was just getting ready to leave for the day when I walked in.

  “Sarah, you’re early again,” he said with surprise.

  “Yeah, I needed to get out of the house, and then Lizzie told me there was a game at the school tonight and no school tomorrow, so I thought we might be busy.”

  “Damn, I forgot about that,” Doug said. “I could cancel my plans and stay to help out.”

  “Doug, it’s fine, we can handle it. Maybe I can ask a couple of the girls if they want to stay and get some extra hours to help out? Even if we just had one on the register as hostess and an extra person to help serve, we would be fine. Fran and I can take care of the rest.”

  “Good idea,” Doug said to me, seeming relieved he wouldn’t have to cancel his plans. “I’ll ask Victoria and Trina if they can stay and work. They are always looking for extra hours anyway. Thanks, Sarah.”

  “No problem,” I said to Doug as I walked back to the break room. With extra help at the diner tonight, it would be easier for me to work and find time to talk to Lizzie if she could get here. I put my things away and said a quick hello to Justin in the kitchen.

  “You seem a little better today,” he said to me as I tied my apron on.

  “More determined, I think,” I said to him with a smile.

  “That’s a good thing, I think,” he said with a laugh. I went out into the diner and saw that it was still the end of the dinner crowd, so we were not quite busy just yet. Victoria and Trina had both agreed to stay, ecstatic that they would get to work with a good crowd to make some extra tip money. I talked with them, formulating a plan for now and later in the night, and let them know that once things died down at around one or so if they wanted to leave it would be okay. Victoria agreed to take the hostess duty while Trina would work the dining room with Fran, and I would take the counter and smaller dining area myself.

  I found ways to busy myself until it got to be about ten, and then we started to see a stream of teenagers flow into the diner. By their reactions coming in, I could tell that Swanson High had won the game, and all the kids seem to be full of energy. It wasn’t long before the two main dining areas were full. It was shortly after that I saw Lizzie come in with her group of friends, including Aaron, the boy she had a crush on. She looked over at me quickly and smiled, and I moved from behind the counter over near the front where Trina was standing, trying to figure out where to seat them.

  “I have two big booths open in my area, Trina if you want to put them over there,” I said to her as she gathered the menus.

  “Oh, great, thanks, Sarah,” Trina said to me. “I didn’t think I would have room for them.”

  Trina led them over to my section and seated them, and Lizzie made sure to sit next to Aaron but grab a seat on the outside, so she could get out easily.

  “Hey guys,” I said to the group with a smile. I knew Lizzie’s girlfriends already, but I was not familiar with the boys. “What can I get you to drink?”

  Not surprisingly, the girls all ordered diet soda and the boys regular soda.

  As I was walking away to go get the sodas, I saw Trina seat another group in the booth right next to Lizzie’s. In that group, I saw Adam, Caleb’s son, with his friends. They were all smiling and laughing, enjoying the fact that their school and team had won once again.

  I delivered the sodas to Lizzie’s table and took their orders for food, and then moved to my right over to Adam’s booth.

  “Hi guys,” I said with a smile. “Nice to see you all tonight.”

  “Hi, Sarah,” Adam offered, his arm around a girl still in her cheerleader uniform.

  “Hi, Adam,” I said, trying not to show any signs of nervousness or being upset. I didn’t know what, if anything, Caleb had said to Adam, so playing it cool was my best bet.

  “I take it you guys won tonight,” I said to him.

  “We slaughtered them,” one of the other boys said. “Our boy Adam here scored thirty-two points.”

  “Excellent,” I said, giving Adam a high-five. “What can I get you guys to drink?”

  Each person placed their orders, getting mainly iced teas, and I
went off to get drinks and put Lizzie’s table’s order in as well. I tried to concentrate on the work I was doing, moving from place to place and customer to customer, and didn’t know how I would find time to talk to Lizzie at all. The counter was just as busy as the booths and juggling everything was going to be tricky tonight. On top of that, I had no idea what time James would show up to get Lizzie. I carried the drinks over to Adam’s table and took their order for food. I walked behind the counter and started entering their order into the computer when I heard Lizzie say loudly that she was going to the bathroom. I turned, and my eyes followed her to the restroom, and she was nodding to me to follow her if I could.

  Good girl, Lizzie, I thought to myself.

  After my order was entered, I took a quick scan of the counter and saw everyone was okay, and that Fran had come behind the counter to get a pot of coffee.

  “Fran,” Can you cover the counter for a minute? I have to run to the ladies’ room,” I whispered to her.

  “You got it,” she said to me.

  I went to the end of the counter and made the left to the short hallway that led to the restrooms. I darted into the ladies’ room and found Lizzie standing by the sink waiting for me.

  “We have to hurry,” Lizzie said to me. “Dad said he would be here by around eleven. I asked him privately if I could come after the game, but I am sure Mom will find out. What’s going on?”

  I went on to explain the situation to Lizzie, including the unfortunate details about seeing her mother with another man at the restaurant, how she took my phone and computer and was blackmailing me.

  “I can’t believe she would do all this,” Lizzie said to me. “I mean, I know you two don’t get along, but I didn’t think she would stoop to something like that. And what about Dad and me?”

  “I know it’s hard to understand Lizzie, and I wish it weren’t the case, but it is. Now I need your help. We need to find a way to get a message to Caleb so that he knows the truth, and maybe he can help me.”

  “I can try calling him, or sending him a message, but Mom checks my phone all the time to see who I am chatting with. If she sees it, she’ll know right away.”

  It was then that the idea dawned on me.

  “Do you know Adam Wilson?” I asked Lizzie.

  “The basketball player at my school? I know who he is, but we’re not really friends or anything. He’s a senior.”

  “Well he’s Caleb’s son, and he’s sitting in the booth right next to yours. Maybe you could get him a message to give to his father.”

  “Sure, I can do that,” Lizzie said.

  “Just let him know that I have no way to get in touch with him, but that I need his help. Maybe he can meet me someplace.”

  “Okay,” Lizzie said. “I’ll let him know.”

  “Thanks, Lizzie,” I said to her, giving her a hug again. Lizzie then walked out of the bathroom ahead of me, and I waited a few seconds before walking out myself. When I walked out of the restroom and back to the counter, I saw Lizzie standing there outside her booth with James standing next to her.

  I walked over, ignoring my customers for the moment, to see what was going on.

  “James, what’s going on?” I asked him. I looked at Lizzie and could see she was crestfallen.

  “I’m here to pick Lizzie up,” James said to me.

  “I can watch her for a while if you want to give her more time. It’s not a problem,” I said to James, hoping to buy her some time.

  “I can’t Sarah,” James said to me. He took a step closer to me and whispered. “Denise is having a cow because she is here in the first place and only asked me if she could come. I have to get her home before she explodes.”

  “Come on, Lizzie,” James said to her as she gathered her purse.

  “This is ridiculous, Dad, and completely embarrassing!” Lizzie yelled.

  James put his arm around her and started to lead her out of the diner. Lizzie turned back to me and mouthed “I’m sorry,” before she walked out.

  I knew now that things would likely get worse at home, not just for Lizzie but for me. Denise would automatically think something was up between the two of us and have those pictures sent out. I had to do something, and only had one last chance to do something fast.

  I took out my order pad and pen and scribbled a note down on the pad. I then walked over to the booth where Adam and his friends were sitting. All eyes turned to me when I came over to the table.

  “Your food should be done in a little bit,” I said to the table. “Does anyone need any refills on their drinks?”

  A couple of the guys asked for refills, and I took their glasses. I then proceeded to rip the note off my order pad and handed it to Adam. He seemed puzzled at first before he looked at it.

  “I don’t think we’re done yet,” one of the girls remarked to me, but I walked away from the table to get the refills, leaving the note with Adam.

  I got behind the counter and filled the glasses with refills of iced tea and turned back towards the counter before bringing the drinks over. It was then I noticed that Jared was now sitting right in front of me at the diner counter.

  I had to do all I could to keep from dropping the glasses on the floor.

  “Hello Sarah,” he said with a grin.

  “I’ll… I’ll be with you in a moment,” I said to him, hurrying over to bring the iced tea to Adam’s table. I put the glasses down on the table and looked at Adam.

  “Sarah…” He started to say something when I put my finger up to my lips to quiet him. Adam took the hint, nodded, and slipped the note into the inside pocket of his varsity jacket.

  I went back behind the counter to try to deal with Jared.

  “What can I get you?” I asked him, trying to stay professional. His body and his breath reeked of alcohol.

  “Not much in the way of booze here, huh?” he said, looking at the back of the menu where the drinks were listed.

  “It’s a diner, Jared, not a bar,” I said to him, hoping to rush him along.

  “Don’t get sassy with me,” he said rather loudly, loud enough so that other customers at the counter a few seats away noticed.

  “Just give me a beer,” he said curtly. I walked over to where the cold beer was and grabbed a pilsner glass from the shelf and brought it back. I went to pour the beer into the glass when Jared just grabbed the bottle from my hand and took a swig.

  “I don’t need a glass,” he said to me as he drank from the bottle again, draining almost half of it quickly.

  “Can I get you anything to eat,” I said, trying to get better control of the situation and keep things normal.

  I saw Jared’s eyes peer over my body up and down and his tongue gave a long lick on his top lip.

  “Oh, you mean off the menu,” he said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t eat any swill from here,” he said crudely. “I just stopped by to give you a message. I heard from Denise tonight, and she thought you might be up to something, so I told her I would come over and talk to you. I’ll be glad to send those pictures out tonight.”

  “Jared, please, you don’t have to do that,” I said to him, trying to stay calm.

  “Well, maybe you can convince me to not do it,” he said ogling me again. “Maybe you can start by unbuttoning one of those buttons on your blouse. You're buttoned up like a nun.”

  “I don’t think so,” I said to him quietly.

  “Oh, come on,” he said to me. “You have never let me have a peek, even back in college.” Jared leaned over the counter, reaching with his hands towards me. Within seconds, I saw him go flying back off his seat onto the floor.

  “I don’t think you should be doing that,” Adam yelled to him as he stood over Jared.

  Jared laughed from his position on the floor.

  “Go take a seat, junior. This doesn’t concern you.”

  Jared went to stand back up, and Adam pushed him down again. All eyes were now on what was going on, and I could see already that Trina had picked up the
phone and was dialing 911 from the front register station.

  “Adam, don’t,” I said to him. Adam had turned to look at me as I spoke, and two seconds later Jared was up, throwing a punch that landed hard on Adam’s midsection, doubling him over. Jared laughed, but Adam rebounded quickly and jumped on Jared, locking his head in a headlock and wrestling him to the floor.

  Within seconds, the police were bursting through the front door and grabbed Jared and Adam, separating them. One officer had turned Adam around, cuffing him quickly, while the other did the same to Jared. They whisked both out the door and into their respective police cars while another officer came in to get details about what happened. Half the diner was looking out the windows at the police cars while the other officer was speaking with Trina about what happened.