by Edna Curry
But for right now, she needed a hot soak in the bathtub to ease her aching muscles and some rest before another early shift at work tomorrow.
Thank goodness aspirin and Tylenol were still available, though there seemed to be a lot more instructions and warnings on the bottles now. Were people that much more cautious now? Or had the laws changed about labeling? She couldn’t really ask about these things without revealing why she didn’t already know the answers.
***
The next afternoon, Vi and Sally sat in the corner of the kitchen having coffee. The restaurant had quieted down. Lucy and two other girls were still on the floor, clearing and resetting tables. The cook had baked and decorated a birthday cake for Vi to celebrate her birthday, so it sat on their break table in front of them. They ate a slice with their coffee.
“How is Lucy doing?” Vi asked.
Sally shrugged. “She’s very good with the customers, friendly and talkative. Everyone likes her. But she’s having quite a time learning to use the cash register.”
Vi raised an eyebrow. “Really? She did great on the math test I gave her. And I’d think she’d be used to using one. She’s obviously experienced at waiting on people.”
Sally sipped her coffee, her brows knitted. “I know. She does great with everything else. She’s already memorized a lot of our regulars’ names and usual orders, and hardly ever gets an order wrong. Handles complaints like a pro.”
“I’m glad. Just be patient about teaching her the cash register, then.”
“Sure, Vi. She did mention that the only cash registers she’d used before were manual addition ones. So, maybe she just needs to learn how to use our touch screen.”
“Yeah,” Vi said, nodding.
“She uses a kind of old-fashioned phone, too. Most of us have smart phones. But she just has a flip phone that doesn’t even do text.”
“That is kind of odd. Well, I’m sure she’ll learn stuff as she goes along. I need to get back to work. Did I tell you my son is taking me out for my birthday tonight?”
Sally grinned. “LOL. The restaurant owner goes somewhere else for her birthday dinner.”
“Yeah, well, Dave thinks I need to have a change of scenery once in a while. He’s always scolding me for putting in too many hours here.”
“Have fun, Vi. And tell Dave I said hi.”
“I will.”
***
Dave finished work and drove his used Honda downtown to pick up his mother. And to check on Lucy. He hadn’t been able to get the lovely brunette out of his mind all week. He wondered if her bruises had faded. Again, he worried that she’d lied to him about how she’d gotten them. Was she an abused woman? It was none of his business, he scolded himself as he drove up to the back of the Hometown Restaurant. The large parking lot behind it was almost full. Dave parked and went in through the back door. The place was humming.
Sally came out of the bathroom just as he strode in the back hallway. “Hi, Sally. How’s it going?”
“Oh, hi, Dave,” she said. “Very busy. I’m glad you’re taking your mom out. She’s been overdoing it again. Make her understand that she needs to take it easy after surgery.”
He grimaced. “I’ll try, but she doesn’t listen to me.”
Sally grinned. “I know. She doesn’t listen to me, either.”
“How’s Lucy doing?”
Sally tipped her head at him questioningly. “Huh? How do you know Lucy?”
He grinned back to tease her. “I have my ways. Is she working out?”
“Yes, she’s a good waitress. A little eccentric, but that’s okay.”
“Eccentric?”
Sally shrugged. “Doesn’t know much about appliances or touch screens or computers. Stuff most young women are great at. But I’m teaching her.”
“That’s great.”
“Gotta go. Orders are waiting. Have a good time taking Vi out.” Sally waved at him and disappeared into the kitchen.
“Thanks. Oh, there you are, Mom.”
Vi appeared from her office, wearing a long green coat and carrying her purse. “Hi, Dave, I’m ready to go.”
“Good.” He was disappointed not to see Lucy, but knew if she was working, she’d be too busy to talk. He’d call her again soon.
They headed back outside to his car. He’d made reservations at a nice restaurant she liked. It was fancier than hers and pricier, so not as busy. He’d asked for a quiet table so they could relax and talk.
They checked their coats and the maître de showed them to a corner table, and then brought them menus, water and a bottle of her favorite white wine.
“You’re spoiling me, Dave,” she said, sipping the wine as she eyed the menu.
“I like to do that, Mom. You need spoiling. Sally tells me you’re going full speed already.”
She grimaced. “Sally talks too much. I’ll have to scold her about that.”
“Don’t you dare. Someone has to help me take care of you. You know Dad wouldn’t like you overdoing it if he were here.”
Her large, blue eyes filled and she blinked back tears. “That’s hitting below the belt, Dave.”
“Sorry, but I worry about you. You know the doctor said to take it easy for a while, until your body has time to recover. It’s only been a month since the surgery.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I’ll try to do better. It’s just that we were so short-handed for a bit. Now we have a couple of new girls and it’s past exam time at the college. The girls that have classes always want time off when they have to study extra.”
“Good. How’s Lucy working out?”
The waiter interrupted to take their orders.
He ordered a T-bone steak and Vi closed the menu with a sigh. “I’ll have the broiled walleye and a baked potato and salad. Doctor’s orders,” she said, making a face at him.
“Very good, madam.” He took their menus and left.
“How did you know the new girl’s name? Did Sally tell you about her?”
Dave considered lying, but his mother knew him too well. “Actually, I met her on the bus Sunday, coming back from the dental convention. I had the seat next to her.”
Vi studied him, sipping her wine. “Did you send her to my restaurant to ask for a job?”
He shook his head. “No, I had no idea she wanted a job here in Mankato. She told me she’d only come here to check on her parents.”
“She’s a lovely girl, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she is,” Dave agreed. “I hope her bruises are fading?”
“Some. They’re still showing.”
“Is her memory better?”
“Memory?”
“She was having trouble remembering things since the accident, she said.” He didn’t want to tell his mother she hadn’t known what year it was, or that her parents had died. Maybe she’d known those things before and just forgotten them after the accident. He had no idea how amnesia affected a person. He didn’t want to make his mother suspicious, just because he was. He’d get to know her on his own and figure out what was the truth. “Couldn’t remember how to put numbers in her cell phone, for example.”
“Hm. Yes, she’s having trouble with the touch screen on the cash register, too. Said she’d only used a manual one before. And she’s very reluctant to say anything about her life before she got here. Never mentions her family or friends or anything.”
“She told me her parents are dead. They used to live in North Mankato, she said.” Dave felt it was safe to pass on that info without revealing too much to his mother.
“Really? What were their names?” Vi asked.
“She didn’t say. Though the last name was Johnson, of course.”
Vi frowned. “Johnson? But her last name is Denton. Was she married, then?”
Dave stared at her. “I don’t think so. She told me her name was Lucy Johnson.”
“Hm. I wonder why she said that? Maybe she was just afraid to tell a stranger her real name?”
Had that
been all it was? Or had she been married? God, he hoped not. Why was he thinking that? It was none of his business, was it? “Maybe,” he muttered, frowning. “Or maybe her parents divorced and her mother remarried. Then they’d have different last names.”
“True. Have you asked her out, yet?” Vi asked, eying him.
He almost choked on his wine. “Mom. What makes you think I want to ask her out?”
Vi laughed. “You never ask me about the other girls who work for me. Obviously, this one is special. Hey, it’s okay, honey. She seems very nice.” Vi reached out and patted his hand, then pulled back as the waiter appeared beside them with their food.
After he’d left, she squeezed lemon onto her walleyed pike and took a bite. Then she watched as Dave cut pieces off his steak. She reached over and poked her fork into a couple and popped them into her mouth. “Umm, perfect. Thanks.”
“Sorry,” Dave said, looking at her contritely. “I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have ordered beef when I know you can’t have it now.”
“Nonsense, I’m not a baby to be catered to. I just needed a taste of your steak. I’ll be good and stay with my broiled fish.” She smiled at him and continued eating. “Besides, I can have beef occasionally, I just have to limit it most of the time.”
“I see.”
“How’s your computer class going?” Vi asked. “You are teaching that night class at the high school again, aren’t you?”
Dave nodded. “Yes. I enjoy it and the extra money comes in handy. It’s going good. We started last week. I have mostly senior citizens again. Some of them haven’t even used a computer before. But a couple are pretty good and just want help getting better and learning new programs.”
“Maybe you should have taken up computers instead of dentistry.”
Dave shrugged. “There’s not much money in teaching, either. But don’t worry. I’ll get a list of patients soon and then I’ll be able to open my own dental practice.”
She reached out and patted his hand. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me, son. I just want you to be happy.”
“You’re the best, mom.”
***
The next day, after a long, busy shift, Lucy hurried home after three o’clock. She was glad she usually had the morning shift so she didn’t have to walk home in the dark. Few people were out and about as she walked to work early in the morning and she could leisurely stroll home in the daylight in the afternoon.
She filled her tub and lay in it until the water turned cold, then climbed into bed and read for an hour. She’d taken several books home from the library on recent history. She badly needed to catch up on what had happened in the country in the last sixty years. She would sometimes watch the news, but that wasn’t much help. They tended to talk about recent murders or opinions of political figures, when she needed facts and explanations of what was happening around her.
She fell asleep and the book fell onto her chest.
Hours later, she began dreaming. A tall, blond man was yelling at her, beating her with his fists. “You’re no good. Supper was cold again. I told you not to make me mad.”
“Please don’t hit me again,” she begged him, cowering on her haunches against the kitchen cupboard. “I’ll try to do better, I promise.”
He hit her several more times, then stormed out. She heard the car start and roar away while she huddled on the floor and cried.
Then she awoke…and looked frantically around, realizing she was in her apartment, not the house in her dream.
The lamp beside her bed was still on and her book lay open on her chest.
Thank God it had only been a dream. Her mouth dry, she climbed out of bed and went to the kitchen for a cold glass of water. She glanced around her as she gulped it down. Everything seemed the same as it had been when she went to bed. She settled on the sofa, afraid to go back to sleep for fear the dream would return. She tried to picture the house and man in her dream. Did she recognize them? She couldn’t be sure.
Had it been real? A memory from her past? If so, who was the tall blond man? Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the details of the dream, but it was fading fast. She couldn’t bring his face into focus.
Maybe Vi and Martha’s talk about an abusive boyfriend had brought it on? The power of suggestion? She sure hoped that was all it was.
Chapter 6
Near the end of a busy day, Howard, a good friend of her father’s, came into the Hometown Restaurant. Lucy was sure it was him. That long, lean body and face with a high forehead and long bent nose were not easily missed. Luckily, he sat at one of her tables, so she hurried over to him, handing him a menu and a glass of iced water.
“Hi, Howard,” she said with a welcoming smile. “Nice to see you again. How are you?”
His head whipped around to her and his mouth dropped open. “What did you call me?”
Lucy’s mouth dried and she felt a hot flush climb her face. Oh, no! She’d screwed up. Of course he couldn’t be Howard. He couldn’t be the same age now that he’d been when she knew him sixty years ago. “Howard Miller,” she stammered. “I…I’m sorry. I must be mistaking you for someone else.”
“It’s okay. You just surprised me. Howard Miller was my grandfather,” the man said. “People often tell me I look a lot like him. But how did you know that?”
“I…I’m not sure. That is, Howard was a friend of my father. He often worked on Dad’s old Ford car.”
The man smiled. “Yes, my grandpa loved cars. He was a genius at fixing things.”
Lucy sighed in relief that the man wasn’t upset with her mistake. “Dad used to say he could fix anything.”
“What was your dad’s name?”
She swallowed. “Ben Johnson.”
He held out a bony hand for her to shake. “I’m Wally Miller. I’m pleased to meet you. You’re new here, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’m Lucy.” She skipped the last name, shook his hand, swallowed and then glanced around to see if anyone noticed her talking too much. “What would you like today?”
She took his order and scurried back to the kitchen with it. Yikes. She must learn to think before she spoke. People would think she was crazy if she kept mistaking people for those she used to know. Her heart pounding, she finished her shift, managing to merely smile and only say a few more words to Wally when she brought him his order and later gave him his bill.
She must get going on figuring out who she really was. And to do that, she needed to learn to use these new-fangled things called computers. The librarian had suggested classes at the local high school.
***
When Lucy finished her shift at three o’clock, she changed out of her uniform back into her slacks and blouse. Then she grabbed the restaurant’s phone book, looked up the high school’s phone number and wrote it down.
Once more buying a sandwich for her supper, she hurried back to her apartment, then called the school. After being directed to three different departments, she finally got a person who could help her.
The woman said, “Yes, we have computer classes for beginners. A new one just started last week, but the teacher is pretty lenient. I’m sure it would be okay for you to come and join in tonight. It starts at seven.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be there.”
“You can bring your own laptop, if you wish.”
“I don’t have one,” Lucy said in dismay. “Is that okay?”
“Well, sure. The school has computers. Just come as you are, then. You can just pay the fee to the teacher tonight.” The woman gave her the address and directions to the classroom.
Lucy wrote it all down, afraid she’d forget.
After taking a short nap and eating her sandwich, she took a cab to the school. A couple of students leaving the building as she walked toward it directed her to the correct room.
When she stepped inside, the first person she saw was Dave standing at the teacher’s desk at the front of the room. “Oh,” she said. “I…I must have the w
rong room. I’m looking for the adult computer class.”
Dave glanced up at her in surprise, then came to greet her. “Lucy, how nice to see you. Yes, this is the computer class. I’m teaching it.”
“Oh,” she repeated, staring at him. “I thought you said you were a dentist.”
“I did. I mean, yes, I’m a dentist, but I minored in computers, so I also teach an occasional computer night class for adults, too. Come on in and take a seat.” He waved a hand at the dozen or so people already seated at a long table. Most had a laptop in front of them. A few were watching them curiously.
“I’m sorry I’m starting late. I mean, I just called today and the woman told me she thought it would be okay for me to start tonight. Here’s the fee.” She handed him the cash.
“Thanks. That’s fine, Lucy. You’ll be able to catch up, don’t worry. Class, this is Lucy.”
A chorus of “Hi, Lucy’s” came from the group.
Dave said, “You can sit over here at this desktop computer, since I see you didn’t bring your own.”
“No, I don’t have one, yet. I guess I need to buy one.”
“No hurry, you can use the school’s while you’re here. But if you want to practice at home, of course, you’ll need your own.”
Lucy took the proffered seat at the desktop. He turned the computer on and said, “This is a PC and has Windows 7 on it. Are you familiar with that?”
She swallowed and chewed her lip. “Dave, I’m afraid I don’t remember anything about computers. So I guess I’ll have to relearn it all. Sorry.”
“No problem. Just follow along as well as you can tonight and I’ll help you catch up after class if you have time, okay?”
Dave went back to the front of the group and said, “Okay, I think everyone’s here now, so let’s get started. Tonight I’d like to go through the basics of Word. Go to your desktop and find the big blue W icon. Everybody find it? Now double-click on it to start the program.”
Dave walked around the room, making sure everyone had found the correct icon and opened it to start the program running.
He stopped beside Lucy.
She glanced up at him and grimaced. “I’m having trouble making this controller do what I want,” she said.