Horrid Thoughts with Hard Questions
Through The Kitchen Door...
“Great! Claire, I’ll get your uniform, and then I’ll show both of you where you’ll be staying!” The man winks at us, his face glowing with satisfaction. “I’ll be right back,” he says as he slips into the kitchen.
“Lizzy, can you believe it? We have jobs! Oh, things are finally going right.”
“Yeah, it’s finally happening.” I do my best to hide my skepticism with excitement, but Claire senses it, anyway.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy?” Her eyebrows come together in frustration and concern. The guilty feeling that floods over me makes me want to pass out. I force myself into optimism.
“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?” I give her a confused smile. She smiles back. All is well in her mind.
The man strides back to our table with a bright yellow uniform neatly folded in his hands. “Here you are, Claire! Now, waitressing is not as easy as it looks, so Sandra over there will start your training tomorrow morning. Think you can handle that?” Claire takes the clothes and nods at him cheerfully. “Good, now you two can come with me and I’ll show you your room.”
Claire grabs my arm as we begin to follow the man back towards the kitchen. Some women working at the counter smirk at us as we pass by to get to the door.
It smells good in the kitchen—like pancakes and sausage. I can’t remember the last time I smelled breakfast. My mother was always too hung over to wake up earlier than one in the afternoon, let alone cook anything. There are a couple of older looking women at the stoves, but they are too focused on the food to notice two strange girls passing through. We follow our new landlord into a dark wooden door that leads us out of the kitchen and into a hallway with a large set of rickety stairs in the middle.
“Where do those go?” Claire asks, reaching her head trying to see the upstairs.
“Nowhere important my dear, just to my room and to rooms of a few other tenants like yourselves. This way.” He leads us to another door right across from the one we just came through. With a light expression, he takes an old set of keys out of his pocket and unlocks it. I hear the lock open with a pop and the door falls out of the frame with a loud creak.
“Welcome to your new home ladies. I’m sorry if it’s a bit dusty—I’ve been saving this room for very special guests. Please make yourselves at home. The beds are fully equipped with a clean set of sheets and blankets. The bathroom is over there with running water and all the necessities. Food is provided as long as you do your job and do it well. Anything else you want you have to pay for yourself. Pay day is Sunday every other week—you get four dollars an hour. Dinner is at eight and you will come get it in the kitchen.” He explains a few more details to us before walking to the door and putting his hand around the knob. “Also, don’t mind the noise at night, girls. There’s a secret bar upstairs that gets a lot of business in the evening. I have to put food on the table somehow, don’t I?” he asks with a wink and a crooked smile. His stare is so intimidating that I give him a half smile and a quick nod. Claire’s eyes are wide with curiosity. “Well I’ll see you at dinner, girls. Sandra will help you if you need anything.” He smiles warmly before he starts shutting the door.
“Wait!” I yell before the door closes.
“I’m sorry did you need something else?” he asks as he squeezes his head through the crack, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Um, thank you for all of this, mister…uh…”
“Just call me Adrian.” He smiles wide, showing his perfect white teeth. I notice that one of his canines is missing. What an odd tooth to lose…
“Thank you, Adrian.” I smile back. I can’t help but feel a little bit better about our situation as I hear the door click shut and Adrian make his way up the mysterious stairs.
“Lizzy, can you believe it? We have jobs! Oh, things are finally going right.”
“Yeah, it’s finally happening.” I do my best to hide my skepticism with excitement, but Claire senses it, anyway.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy?” Her eyebrows come together in frustration and concern. The guilty feeling that floods over me makes me want to pass out. I force myself into optimism.
“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?” I give her a confused smile. She smiles back. All is well in her mind.
The man strides back to our table with a bright yellow uniform neatly folded in his hands. “Here you are, Claire! Now, waitressing is not as easy as it looks, so Sandra over there will start your training tomorrow morning. Think you can handle that?” Claire takes the clothes and nods at him cheerfully. “Good, now you two can come with me and I’ll show you your room.”
Claire grabs my arm as we begin to follow the man back towards the kitchen. Some women working at the counter smirk at us as we pass by to get to the door.
It smells good in the kitchen—like pancakes and sausage. I can’t remember the last time I smelled breakfast. My mother was always too hung over to wake up earlier than one in the afternoon, let alone cook anything. There are a couple of older looking women at the stoves, but they are too focused on the food to notice two strange girls passing through. We follow our new landlord into a dark wooden door that leads us out of the kitchen and into a hallway with a large set of rickety stairs in the middle.
“Where do those go?” Claire asks, reaching her head trying to see the upstairs.
“Nowhere important my dear, just to my room and to rooms of a few other tenants like yourselves. This way.” He leads us to another door right across from the one we just came through. With a light expression, he takes an old set of keys out of his pocket and unlocks it. I hear the lock open with a pop and the door falls out of the frame with a loud creak.
“Welcome to your new home ladies. I’m sorry if it’s a bit dusty—I’ve been saving this room for very special guests. Please make yourselves at home. The beds are fully equipped with a clean set of sheets and blankets. The bathroom is over there with running water and all the necessities. Food is provided as long as you do your job and do it well. Anything else you want you have to pay for yourself. Pay day is Sunday every other week—you get four dollars an hour. Dinner is at eight and you will come get it in the kitchen.” He explains a few more details to us before walking to the door and putting his hand around the knob. “Also, don’t mind the noise at night, girls. There’s a secret bar upstairs that gets a lot of business in the evening. I have to put food on the table somehow, don’t I?” he asks with a wink and a crooked smile. His stare is so intimidating that I give him a half smile and a quick nod. Claire’s eyes are wide with curiosity. “Well I’ll see you at dinner, girls. Sandra will help you if you need anything.” He smiles warmly before he starts shutting the door.
“Wait!” I yell before the door closes.
“I’m sorry did you need something else?” he asks as he squeezes his head through the crack, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Um, thank you for all of this, mister…uh…”
“Just call me Adrian.” He smiles wide, showing his perfect white teeth. I notice that one of his canines is missing. What an odd tooth to lose…
“Thank you, Adrian.” I smile back. I can’t help but feel a little bit better about our situation as I hear the door click shut and Adrian make his way up the mysterious stairs.