Queenie's Cafe

by SUE FINEMAN

  They talked for several minutes about the night Laura was attacked, about Earl’s visit that morning, and about the evidence and witnesses. Luke had taken pictures of the blood splatters in the apartment and on her clothes, and Billy would get copies of her doctors’ records.

  Luke was still buying up Earl’s loans, and when the time was right, he’d call them in. That was fine, but Laura wanted more. She wanted that monster arrested for the attack and the ongoing threats against her.

  Billy stood to leave, and Laura said, “Billy, can I talk to you about something personal?” She glanced at Luke. “Do you mind?”

  “No, I’ll go check on the work at the motel. Take your time.”

  Laura leaned on the table and spoke quietly. She told Billy about the conversation with her father and Florence when they told her Florence was her mother. “I want to know what Queenie held over them, why Florence left me with Dad and Queenie. They won’t tell me anything.”

  “Do you know Florence’s husband’s name?”

  “No.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “There’s another thing that bothers me. Earl knows Florence is my mother. How did he know?”

  “Good question. I’ll start with Florence’s husband. Anything else you can tell me?”

  “I found this in Queenie’s photo album.” Laura pulled the scrap of paper out of her apron pocket and handed it to him.

  “That’s an out-of-state phone number.”

  “It may not mean anything, but I want to know who it is and what went on around the time I was born.” Whatever happened, however Queenie manipulated Dad into staying here, it changed all their lives. Dad turned bitter, Queenie grew fat and surly, Florence lost her only child, and Laura had a miserable childhood.

  <>

  Judy came in at four. “Could you use some help with the dinner shift?”

  Laura was chopping lettuce for salad. “Sure. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Judy put her purse in the storeroom and pulled on an apron. “Queenie’s is a nice place to work.”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  “I have some ideas I’d like to run past you, a couple things to consider.”

  “Okay, lay it on me.” Laura finished the salad, covered the bowl, and put it in the refrigerator.

  Judy leaned back on the counter. “Most of the people who come in here are regulars, so you already know what they’re gonna order.”

  Laura nodded. “Usually.”

  “Why don’t you cut your selection down to two entrees at night, different every day of the week, somethin’ they can count on, somethin’ to look forward to, like pot roast and fish or meatloaf and fried chicken? Shoot, most of them order the special anyway,” said Judy. “At least they have since I been here.”

  “That would make cooking easier.”

  “Sure would. The Sunday brunch brings in a lot of people. What would you think about doin’ that ever’ day? It’s easier than cookin’ everything to order, and you can serve more people. If you’re making two scrambled eggs or twelve, it’s nearly the same amount of work.”

  As Laura’s mind wrapped around the idea, she wondered how her customers would like a buffet. “It might work if Jay and Charley don’t eat us out of business.”

  “Well, that’s true.” Judy laughed. “Those two boys sure can eat. I worked in a restaurant that went to serving buffet style a few years back. The business changed over night. Some folks didn’t like it much, and others thought it was great. Jay and Charley would love it.”

  Laura smiled. “Yes, they would. Cooking would definitely be easier, and ordering supplies, billing.”

  “Sure would, but you can’t do all the cookin’ yourself, Laura. These folks come in as much to see you as to eat. You need to visit with ’em. It’s good for business.”

  Laura liked visiting with the customers, something she couldn’t do when she was running this place by herself. “I can do that. What would you do for lunch? A salad bar?”

  “Salad bar, sandwich bar, and soup or chili. Put a toaster out, maybe bacon, sliced beef, chicken or tuna salad, stuff like that. The regulars that come in here, they help themselves to the coffee pot. They won’t be shy when it comes to a buffet. They may eat a lot the first time or two, but it won’t be consistent, not for all of ’em anyway. Some of the men workin’ construction and truckers may eat more, but they’ll pass the word to their friends and you’ll have more business than you can handle. I’d add a nice dessert or two at dinnertime, but still have a salad bar.”

  “No dessert at lunch?”

  “Maybe fruit and Jell-O or pudding with the salad bar, but I wouldn’t make nothin’ fancy.”

  Having a buffet all the time would change the way they worked. They could handle more customers, and the cooking would be simplified. Instead of taking orders, people would help themselves. They could vary the menu like Judy suggested, so those customers who came often wouldn’t get the same thing every time they came. The more Laura thought about it, the more she liked the idea.

  Queenie wouldn’t approve.

  So what?

  The two women worked together to get ready for dinner when Luke came in, followed by Jay. Barbara drove up a minute later, and Jay’s eyes lit up the minute he saw her. Hadn’t he seen her around the café before today? Laura introduced them. “Barbara, have you met Jay Fisher? Jay, this is Luke’s mother, Barbara Snowden.”

  “This is your mama? It can’t be.”

  Laura leaned close to Jay. “She’s sassier than me.”

  “We’ll see ’bout that.”

  Laura excused herself to go back to the kitchen, but Jay and Barbara didn’t seem to notice. They were too busy sizing each other up. From the look in Jay’s eyes, he liked what he saw. Barbara was more guarded, but they sat at the corner table and ignored everyone else in the room.

  Luke followed Laura to the kitchen, shaking his head in wonder. Mom had been working here for several weeks, so Jay must have seen her before. Or had he? Mom had done the cooking and Judy waited tables during the dinner shift.

  Jay was a good guy, but Luke had never considered him husband material for his mother. Laura obviously had other ideas. She looked immensely pleased with herself.

  “Don’t gloat,” he muttered.

  He glanced over the counter. Mom and Jay were talking and laughing like old friends.

  <>

  Laura thought she’d heard the last of Ivy, so she was surprised when Ivy called one afternoon. “Laura, somebody’s after me. Can I come stay with you?”

  “Go to the police, Ivy. They’ll help you.”

  “I c-can’t, and I can’t go home,” she sobbed. “He’s going to kill me.”

  They were cut off. Ivy was probably lying again, but what if she wasn’t? What on earth had that girl gotten herself involved in?

  Customers started streaming in, but Laura couldn’t get her mind off Ivy. She was somebody else’s kid, someone else’s responsibility, yet Laura worried about her.

  She worked in the kitchen while Judy washed off tables and straightened up after the lunch crowd left. Ivy came in the back door, her eyes swollen and red, her face streaked with dirt, and her belly straining against the waistband of her overalls. Poor kid looked scared to death.

  “Oh, Ivy. I told you to go to the police.”

  “I can’t. He killed Jerry and he’s gonna kill me, too.”

  “Who?”

  “Some jerk from Georgia. He and Jerry were cellmates in prison.”

  Judy asked, “What on earth is a kid like you doin’ with a man who’s been in prison?”

  “She doesn’t always tell the truth, Judy. Go home, Ivy. Talk to your parents or go to the police. Get this straightened out, but don’t lay it all in my lap.” She had enough trouble without taking on more, and this kid was trouble with a capital T.

  Ivy wiped her eyes. “Did you watch the news last night?”

  “I did,” said Judy. “Some guy got himself killed somewhere over by Orlando
, I think.”

  “Winter Park,” said Ivy. “Tell Laura what he looked like.”

  “Skinny guy with a nose ring and that ugly hair.”

  “Oh, God.” Luke was at the apartment working with Jay, and Laura wasn’t shy about asking for his help this time. She and Ivy walked over together. They needed the police, but not the police in this town. Maybe Luke could take her to Vero Beach or somewhere they had a real police department.

  Luke was on the phone when Laura and Ivy came in. One look at the kid and he knew something was wrong. He quickly ended his call.

  “She needs help,” said Laura, “and I can’t help her this time. She witnessed a murder, and there’s someone after her.”

  “I’ll take care of it, Laura.” He had to get this kid out of here. Laura didn’t need more trouble and the café didn’t need that kind of publicity. “Come on, kid. We’re going to my mother’s ranch, and I’m calling my lawyer.”

  “Are you gonna turn me over to the cops?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  He unlocked the truck and Ivy climbed in, crying.

  He walked around and slid onto the driver’s seat. “Forget it, kid. Tears don’t work on me.”

  She swiped her hand across her cheeks, streaking the dirt. His heart hurt for the girl who’d messed up her life. She’d gone from one troublesome situation to another.

  “I’ll pay for your lawyer on one condition. You have to tell him everything. You don’t have to tell me or your parents or Laura or anyone else, but you have to be honest with your lawyer. He can’t help unless he knows the whole truth. No matter what, he can’t tell anyone else what you say without your permission. He’s going to represent you, not me or your parents or Laura. Just you. Got that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in, but you need to get your life straightened out before that baby gets here. Bad enough running like this when you’re pregnant. You can’t do that with a baby.”

  Luke glanced at Ivy and back at the road. “Does trouble follow you around, or do you look for it on purpose?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Is this the kind of life you want for your baby?”

  She stared out the side window. “No.”

  He hoped his mother would know what to do with this kid. He sure as hell didn’t. He had no idea what she was mixed up in, and he had a feeling she wouldn’t be the only one hurt if someone came looking for her.

  Mom could handle damn near anything, including a pregnant kid who was running from a killer. And he couldn’t even keep his old man away from Laura.

  Chapter Twelve

  When Maria stopped dusting to stare out the living room window, Barbara went to look. Luke was helping a pregnant girl out of his truck.

  Barbara groaned. “He isn’t picking up strays again, is he?” He used to find stray cats and dogs and bring them home when he was a kid, but this wasn’t an animal. This was a real live person. A pregnant kid.

  “Sure looks that way,” said Maria. “She’s a mess.”

  Barbara met them at the door. “Well, who do we have here, Luke?”

  “This is Ivy. She’s gotten herself into some trouble and I didn’t want her hanging around Queenie’s Café. Laura’s got enough to worry about right now.”

  “Yes, she has. What kind of trouble?”

  “She witnessed a murder. Billy will be out in an hour or so. I need to get back to Kingston. Can you—”

  “Sure. Ivy, are you hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  Barbara sent Ivy to wash her face while she fixed her a sandwich. With the dirty streaks on her face gone, the kid didn’t look so bad.

  Ivy sat at the breakfast table, where Barbara had put the sandwich. “Thanks. It looks good.”

  “Have you seen a doctor?”

  “No.”

  “I didn’t see one either when I was pregnant.” Barbara poured Ivy a big glass of milk. “I should have, but I didn’t have any money for doctors. I had enough trouble feeding myself and paying the rent in those days.”

  Ivy took a big bite of her sandwich and looked up, a question in her eyes.

  “I was seventeen and my parents didn’t want a pregnant daughter.”

  “My mom said I had to get out, because she didn’t want any more kids. So I left.”

  Barbara brought her coffee to the table and sat down across from the girl. Ivy ate the rest of her sandwich and drained the glass of milk, inhaling the food as if she was starving. She probably was. Cute kid, but she was too young to be a mother. She couldn’t be much more than thirteen or fourteen years old. “Ivy, when is your baby due?”

  Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I got pregnant the day after Thanksgiving.”

  “This is May, so you must be about six months along. The baby is probably due in August.”

  “You mean I have three months to go?”

  “Honey, you’ll feel like you’ve been pregnant forever before that baby comes.”

  Ivy grinned and dimples flashed.

  Barbara looked around for Maria. “Maria, come meet Ivy. I don’t know where we’re going to put her. Laura is still staying in the guest room part of the week.”

  “She can stay with me,” said Maria. “Carlos and me, we have plenty of room. We’ll take good care of her.”

  Yes, they would, and no one would think to look for her there. Whatever the girl had gotten involved in, she had to be protected. Someone needed to take care of her and the child she carried.

  When Barbara was six months pregnant, she was working two jobs and living in a rooming house in Tampa. The neighborhood was mostly poor Hispanics who didn’t speak English, and she didn’t speak Spanish. Her landlady collected hand-me-downs from her friends and neighbors, baby things that were worn but usable. Barbara had been touched by the kindness of people who didn’t even know her, people who knew only that she was young, pregnant, and alone.

  Like Ivy.

  After she won the lottery, Barbara set up a fund to help the needy people in that neighborhood. It was her way of paying back a debt she owed them. Those kind people had helped her through some difficult times, and the least she could do was to help them in return.

  <>

  Judy and Meg worked the dinner shift that night so Laura could have dinner at the ranch with Luke, Barbara, and Ivy. Barbara had invited Jay, who never turned down a free meal. Maria and Carlos were there, too. Laura had never had much time for friends before, and now she realized what she’d missed by working all the time.

  Jay puttered in the kitchen, helping Barbara get dinner on the table. She’d fixed chicken and rice, steamed vegetables, salad, and cheesecake with fresh strawberries for dessert. The meal was delicious and the friendly conversation even better. It was the first time Laura had ever socialized like this, with friends and family gathered around a big table enjoying a meal together.

  Maria told stories about their kids and grandkids, and Carlos talked about Luke. “He was a curious little guy. He was around six when our kids had a bunch of baby hamsters. Luke asked me how the hamsters made babies.”

  “What did you tell him?” asked Jay.

  “To ask his mother, of course.”

  Everyone laughed, including Luke.

  “When I stopped laughing, we had our first talk about sex,” said Barbara.

  Luke set his fork down. “I remember. That’s when I learned it takes two to make a baby.”

  “You didn’t know that before?” asked Jay.

  “It was just me and Mom, so it never occurred to me. I just knew I didn’t have a father like most kids.”

  Laura had a father and no mother. She was six when she learned all the other kids at school had mothers. Some didn’t have fathers, but they all had mothers. She came home crying that day and Dad told her she had a mother. Queenie.

  Curious about her mother, Laura stopped at the café on the way home from school the next day. Queenie gave her an ice cr
eam cone and asked her if she liked school. But Dad came over and yelled at Queenie. He told Laura to come to the motel after school, and when he finished with Queenie, she was crying. It was the only time Laura had ever seen her cry.

  “My father left when Mom was pregnant with Lily,” said Ivy. “I don’t remember much about him, except he had blond hair.”

  Ivy seemed more at ease since she’d talked with Billy. She’d cleaned up and looked a lot better. Laura wondered what she’d do with a baby when she was still a child herself.

  Luke asked, “Ivy, how did it go with Billy?”

  “He’s awesome. He said I could testify without telling anyone where I was.”

  “Is he going to get a message to your mother?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to go back.” Ivy turned to Barbara. “You’re not gonna send me back, are you? Billy said I won’t ever have to go back. He said I could go to a foster home, but Maria said I could stay with her and Carlos.”

  “Sure,” said Carlos. “It’s too quiet with all the kids gone.”

  “How old are you?” asked Luke.

  “Fourteen.”

  Laura wondered if she was telling the truth this time. Ivy seemed to respect Barbara and Maria. The two women had mothered her after Earl’s attack, and now they were mothering Ivy. Did the kid know how lucky she was to be here, where she was protected and coddled by people who cared?

  “Ivy, if you want to keep your baby, we’ll help you,” said Barbara. “If you don’t, that’s okay, too. We’ll still help you. You don’t have to make a decision now. You have two or three months to decide what you want to do.”

  “I’ll take care of the baby if you want to go back to school,” said Maria.

  “And I’ll help,” said Barbara. “I like babies, too.”

  Laura asked, “What about you, Jay? Do you like babies?” He’d been watching Barbara all evening.

  “Sure. Always wanted kids, but my wife didn’t.”

  “I always thought I’d marry and have more kids,” Barbara said on a sigh. “Now I’m too old.”