Something in the Blood

“Next.”

“Hi, can I get an espresso, extra sugar, please?”

“Name?”

“Sam.”

Sam’s phone began to ring; it was her sister Rebecca. “Hello.”

“Hey, just wanted to check in and see how it’s going?”

“I’ve been on a few interviews, but everyone wants experience.”

“So, no job offers yet?”

“One. At a clothing store that only pays minimum wage with commission, which is why I’m about to interview for a waitress job at a local pub.” In a sarcastic tone. “Yay me.”

“No, don’t give up. You said you were done with waitressing.”

“I don’t have any experience in anything else, and no one is offering me work.”

“But you hate waitressing. I’m sure someone will give you a chance.”

“I’ve sent out a plethora of resumes and nothing. I can’t keep waiting, my savings are running out, and mom needs the help.”

“I hate that you’re all the way in Waukegan. It’s so far.”

“Sam! Your drink is ready.”

“Thank you. -Waukegan is really growing, and there are more jobs here; besides, it’s less than three hours away.”

“I know, I just hate that once you start working, we'll never see you.”

“Once mom and I have enough saved up, then we’ll all be together.”

“They won’t allow mom to take them to another county.”

“That’s why I’m going to petition to adopt them.”

“How about Marquez?”

“Hopefully by the time we’re ready to move, Debrah will have her shit together.”

“Mom won’t want to sell the house.”

“I told her if she doesn’t want to sell it, she can rent it.”

“I’m going to miss my friends.”

“Becky, I get it, it sucks, but we don’t have many choices. Mom and I are doing the best we can. Besides, it’s nice out here and they have great schools.”

“I talked to my manager. He said he would recommend me to the McDonald's out there.”

“That’s great. Thank you for doing that.”

“Yeah. What’evs.”

“I’ll call you and let you know how it went.”

“You think you can make it for dinner tonight. Avery is Bar-B-Quing.”

In a mocking tone, “Ooh, Avery’s Bar-B-Queing.”

“Shut up! I like him. He’s nice.”

“He’s so beige.”

“What the heck does that mean? Racist.”

“It has nothing to do with him being a pasty white guy. Plus, hello, we’re white. It’s just that he has a weird flat personality.”

“He’s smart and once you get to know him, he’s funny.”

“What’s important is that he respects you. You deserve that, it’s just weird cause he is so not your type.”

“That’s the point. I’m tired of dating losers just because I’m attracted to them. I don’t want to end up like mom, chasing after a bunch of losers.”

“You mean Joann, and you are not Joanne. I don’t want you to be with losers either, but I also don’t want you to be with someone because he’s good for you, but you don’t love him. You're still young, Becca, you have plenty of time to fall in love, and he deserves to be loved.”

“I may not be in love with him, but I do like him a lot. He’s nice, loyal, and if he happens to earn a six-figure salary, then it’s a bonus.”

“And there it is.”

“It’s not the money, I swear, but the money doesn’t hurt. You should try and date smart instead of… not dating at all. When was the last time you had a date?”

“I might stay out here another night, but I’ll let you know what I decide. Bye.” Sam hung up before her sister could say another word.

When she stepped outside, the sun blinded her, so she put her sunglasses on, took a sip of her espresso reluctantly crossing the street to make her way to “Mama Dukes PUB.”

“Hi, I’m Samantha. I have an interview with Mike.”

“Yeah, he’s right back there to the right. He’s the loud big guy with the beard.”

As Sam approached, he turned around.

“You must be Sam.”

Sam smiled and extended her hand. “Yes, you must be Mike. Nice to meet you.”

“Please take a seat.” Mike pulled the seat out for her and sat down across from her.

“You’re far from home. You don’t mind the commute?”

“No, if it all. Once I find a job, I’ll find a place out here.”

“I see you’ve worked as a waitress for a long time, since high school, right?”

“Yeah, I started working at our neighborhood pizzeria my sophomore year.”

“You must really like being a waitress.”

“To be honest, even though I do enjoy waitressing, I felt burned out, and I was hoping to do something different, but it’s not working out.”

Mike laughed. “I like your honesty, but someone in my position might say if your heart ain’t in it then you have nothing to add to my business.”

“I have plenty to offer your establishment. I’m a damn good waitress, I’m hard-working, loyal, and have excellent social skills. I know how to keep my tables happy.”

“I like honest, and I like ballsy. Up to a certain point, that is. Your last job was at Rico’s. How did you like it there? Says you were there five years.”

“I enjoyed it. The customers were cool.”

“If you enjoyed it, why did you quit?”

“I needed a change, and I also want to move to Waukegan.”

Mike's expression showed he wasn’t buying her answer. “Or maybe it has to do with his son taking over two years ago; the place hasn’t been the same since. I know he doesn’t pull in the crowds his father used to. Why do you think that is?”

“There’s a lot of turnover, so time is always spent on training new staff; this takes away from the flow of the floor.”

“Why is there so much turnover?”

“I’m not sure, I don’t ask.”

“Bull shit, you know.”

Sam chuckled. “I quit because I got tired of how unprofessional he is. He also hired friends who are just as unprofessional. They never keep the kitchen properly stocked for the chef, and he likes to drink his profits with his dumb friends who never pay, let alone tip. On top of that, when a customer would give a complaint, he would never take it seriously, so getting repeat customers became a thing of the past. He’s throwing his father’s legacy down the drain.”

“Cause he’s a spoiled little prick who never worked a day in his life. He doesn’t understand the sweat and tears it took for his dad to make that place a success. He sees the restaurant as a cash cow instead of a business.”

“It’s sad. I had a lot of respect for his father. He taught me a lot.”

“I like you, Samantha Duncan. We’re very tight around here. Everyone who works for me has been with me for over ten years. Except for the sous chef, he’s been here a little under five years. The only reason this waitress position is open is cause our Deena just had a baby and she doesn’t want to come back to work. She doesn’t have to; she’s married to the Chef, and I pay him very well. I pay all my employees well, including my waitresses, cause I’m a good boss.” Mike winked at Sam. “I got a good feeling about you, so I want to offer you the position. I pay my waitresses the state-required minimum wage, and everyone keeps their own tips. I also give great Christmas bonuses, and everyone gets a paid day off for their birthday.”

“That sounds great.”

“You’ll be on a 90-day probation period. If you treat my customers well and you respect me, my place, and your co-workers, you will find a home here. Sounds good?”

“Yeah, sounds really good.”

“Good, you could start this coming Monday. Alright?”

“Yeah, perfect.”

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to Curtis. -Come in early, around 9:00 AM, so Curtis can give you the paperwork you need to fill out. He’ll be the one training you, and he’ll introduce you to everyone. He’s the manager, any concerns or questions, you go to him first, he’s the boss.”

“Thank you so much. I look forward to meeting everyone.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Curtis, meet your new waitress, Samantha.”

“Nice to meet you, Samantha.”

“Everyone calls me Sam.”

“I know Mike said you start on Monday at 9:00 am, but just so you know, we are closed on Mondays until 4:00 pm for dinner. 9:00 am is too early for me, so come in at noon to fill out your paperwork. The chef and the kitchen staff are the only ones who are here at 9:00 am, preparing the menu for the week. The waiters and the bartenders get here at 2:00 pm for our meeting, then they get to know the new menu for the week. We require all the waitresses to do a tasting so they can be better prepared to help their customers with the menu.”

“Great, I’ll see you Monday at noon.”

“Alright, Sam. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call. Take Care.”

As Curtis escorted Sam to the door, the Chef came out to greet her and gave her one of his famous sandwiches to go. “Here you go, lunch is on me. It’s filet mignon with onions, mushrooms with a little smoked blue cheese, and a drizzle of my special sauce.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing. See you guys on Monday, and thanks for the sandwich, it smells delicious.”

As soon as Sam stepped outside, she lit a cigarette and began to walk to the main road where her car was parked. Sam felt positive about this place and loved the energy everyone had. It seemed all the positive reviews she read online were true. She took a hit of her cigarette and smiled, thinking ‘Maybe the universe is finally going to be kind to her. Sam looked before crossing an alleyway when she noticed a little boy digging through a dumpster. He was very skinny and dirty, so she walked over to him.

“Hey, little man. Are you okay?”

But the little boy just stood there staring at her, not saying a word.

“Are you by yourself?”

Still, the boy did not respond, but he pointed at the sandwich.

“Are you hungry? Here you go, you can have my sandwich.”

Sam handed him the sandwich. “My name is Sam. What’s your name?” The little boy took a bite of the sandwich, then ran off into an empty warehouse.

“Hey, wait! Stop!” Sam ran after him, following him into the building. It was very dark, wet, and smelled horrific. “Little boy, please come back! I won’t hurt you, I only want to help you.”

As she walked in, she called 911.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“Hi, I’m following a little boy who was alone in an alley, digging through the garbage.”

“Is he hurt?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Sam heard a noise above her and realized the little boy had gone to the second floor. Sam ran up the stairs to find him.

“Ma’am, if he is not hurt, what is the emergency?”

“That there’s a hungry little homeless boy.”

“What is your location?”

“What? I’m sorry, there’s a bad connection in here.”

“What is your location?”

“I’m not sure, some warehouse off of Spring Road.”

“What’s the cross-street, ma’am?”

“It’s near Mama Dukes Pub.” But the phone was too staticky and the operator didn’t hear her.

“Can you repeat that?”

“Yeah, it’s...” Suddenly, the little boy darted past her. “Hey, little boy, don’t run. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Ma’am, you do not have possession of the child?”

“No, he ran from me into this disgusting plant.”

“He ran where? The call is breaking up.”

“He was in the alley but ran into this abandoned plant, factory, or something.”

“Okay, you’re on Spring Road and what? What is the cross street?”

“Little boy, where are you? I don’t have candy, but I have gum. Do you want some gum?”

“Ma’am, I need your location so I can send someone.”

“I don’t know the cross street. Hello? Hello, can you hear me?”

All Sam was able to hear was static, then the call dropped. When she looked up, the little boy was standing a few feet away from her, eating the sandwich.”

“There you are. Hi, my name is Sam. What’s your name?”

The little boy just stood there in silence with a blank look on his face.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I just want to help you. Are you okay? Do you need help? Are you all by yourself?”

The little boy continued eating his sandwich, not answering any of her questions.

“Do you like that sandwich? I can take you and buy you something else to eat. Maybe some ice cream?”

“I’m sorry, Sam.”

“Sorry? Why are you sorry?”

“I’m sorry you have to die.”

“What did you say? That shit isn’t funny, little boy. Is someone here with you?”

The little boy pointed behind her, and she became consumed with fear. She slowly turned around, and that fear turned into terror.

“Their hungry too.” ……..