Chapter 29

On entering the back room, Dan grinned over at Jimmy. The black man was dressed better than usual.

He asked, “So, how was the fishing trip? Did you bring me back any fish?”

Jimmy frowned and said, “I didn’t catch anything. Hell, I didn’t even go fishing. I started reading those papers you gave me and couldn’t put them down. Once I finished them, I couldn’t stop thinking about them.”

“Oh.”

“Where in the hell were you when I was a younger man?” Jimmy asked looking over at Dan. There was a trace of anger in his voice.

“I don’t understand,” Dan said rather surprised by Jimmy’s reaction to the papers.

Jimmy sat down at the break table and shook his head. He said, “I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life. I’ve ranted about how unfair it was that I was born a black man in a white world. I’ve bitched about being poor. I’ve blamed everyone and everything around me for my misery. I had dreams when I was a kid of being a rich man. I’m not a rich man.

“I’m fifty years old and a short order cook who works the graveyard shift in a chain restaurant. But you want to know something? The only place that I’m happy is in that kitchen. When I’m in there, I’m the master. The rest of my life is a disaster, but I’m happy when I’m here.”

Jimmy was quiet for a moment and then asked, “Do you know how I ended up being a short order cook?”

“No,” Dan answered.

Jimmy sighed and said, “I was a young asshole and thought I’d get rich real quick. I walked into a restaurant one night with a gun and robbed them. It was a family place. The whole family worked there. The little girl busing tables wasn’t even ten years old. So there I am robbing the place. I was waving my gun around like a crazy man and talking bullshit. They were terrified. I got the money and ran out. I was caught and went to prison for armed robbery.

“Prison is a horrible place. You’re stripped of every human dignity. It is filled with folks who think that the world owes them something so they are justified in taking what they want. There are lots of angry people in prison. I know. I was one of the angriest. It is a horrible place, but it makes you think about what you did to get there.

“Do you know what I did when I got out of prison?”

“No,” Dan answered.

“I went to the man I had robbed and apologized,” Jimmy said. Eyes getting moist, he asked, “Do you know what that man did?”

“No.”

“He asked me if I wanted a job. Hell, I was an ex-con! I would have scraped shit out of a shithouse for a job. Of course, I said ‘yes.’ He took me in the kitchen and held up a head of lettuce. I’ll never forget his words. He said, ‘This is a head of lettuce. You don’t cut lettuce with a knife. You shred it with your hands.’ I give everyone the same little speech,” Jimmy said. Shaking his head, he said, “That man was Harold Derkins. I’ve been cooking for him ever since.”

“He’s a very nice man,” Dan said.

“Reading that damned article opened my eyes. I learned the hard way that I am responsible for my own happiness. There wasn’t a fact in that article, that I didn’t learn through blood, sweat, and tears. I paid for that knowledge with my soul!. It’s too late to help me. I know everything in it.”

“I’m sorry,” Dan said.

Jimmy shook his head and said, “Don’t be sorry. I called Mr. Derkins last night. He’s sending out someone to take my shifts for me. I’m taking all of the kids in my whole family to someplace private. They’re all going to read those articles. There’s no sense for them to have to learn those lessons the hard way.”

“I’m sure they’re going to appreciate what you are doing for them,” Dan said. He had wished that he had those articles when he was still in high school.

“They’d better,” Jimmy said with a hard edge to his voice. He looked at Dan and said, “You’re going to be working with someone new tonight. I’m sure they know their way around a kitchen, but watch them.”

Dan turned around and saw who had just entered the back room. Smiling, he said, “Hello, Mr. Derkins.”

“Hello, Dan. I hear that we’re going to be working in the kitchen together,” Harold Derkins said with a grin. He turned to Jimmy and said, “Hello, James. I hope that you and your family have a good time this week.”

Harold pulled an order off the counter and looked at it. Shaking his head, he handed it over to Dan and asked, “What does this say?”

“Two pork chops with green beans, waffles with strawberries, and a cheeseburger medium well with onion rings,” Dan said. Shaking his head, he said, “Cathy’s really going to have to learn how to write better.”

Harold laughed and said, “I told my wife that everyday for the first five years we were in business. I was the only one in the kitchen who could read her orders.”

Dan laughed and said, “I was expecting to see Ellen walking through that door earlier. When Jimmy said that he called you and that you were sending a cook down here, I was positive that it was going to be her.”

“She’s going to work the rest of the week. I just thought it would be nice to see how Jimmy was doing. He was pretty upset when he called last night,” Harold said, throwing two pork chops on the grill. He threw the hamburger on the grill next to them. As he worked, he said, “This is the first time that Jimmy has ever asked for a whole week off of work.”

“You don’t need to tell me how you know that. I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Dan said.

“What’s your idea?” Harold asked.

“I think you’re the type of person who watches out for his friends,” Dan said as he laid a burger on the bun. With deft moves, he piled a little lettuce, onion, and tomato on the open side of bun. He dropped the garnish next to the burger. Just as he finished, the buzzer on the fryer went off and he grabbed the handle. Lifting it out of the oil he gave the fry basket a few little shakes to remove the oil. The fries went on the plate and the plate went on the counter. He rang the little bell.

“You’re pretty good with your timing,” Harold said. He glanced down at the chops and burger. They needed to cook a little more. He’d start the waffles when it was time to flip them to cook on the other side. He dropped a basket with onion rings into the fryer and flipped the button. He dumped the green beans in the boiler.

“It looks like you haven’t lost your touch in the kitchen,” Dan said.

“I always enjoyed working in the kitchen,” Harold replied finding that he was really enjoying the night. It had been a long time since he had gotten a little hands-on experience in one of the restaurants. He wasn’t sure if he enjoyed the work or the company more.

Dan glanced at the door as Rob passed by for the tenth time. He chuckled and said, “I think that Mr. Rendell would be a whole lot happier if he was in the kitchen and you were greeting guests.”

“I imagine so,” Harold said with a grin. He had noticed Rob passing by the kitchen with a worried expression on his face. Dan tapped the grill with his spatula and pointed at the burger before turning back to his order. Harold glanced at his order and said, “Thanks.”

“So what is the real reason you’re working the graveyard shift on a Friday night?” Dan asked looking over at Harold.

Harold laughed at the question and answered, “The first time we met, I thought that you were a rather perceptive young man. I wanted to see if my first impression of you was correct. I’m glad to see that I was right. I’m beginning to wonder if I was right enough.”

“Don’t be misled. I’m clueless most of the time,” Dan said. He picked up an order and glanced at it. He tossed three pieces of bacon on the griddle. He picked up the pancake batter and poured three pancakes. Moving over to the eggs, he grabbed two of them.

“You really are good,” Harold said watching Dan out of the corner of his eye.

“Jimmy has been training me,” Dan said as he cracked the eggs over the griddle with one hand. The shells went into the trash.

“I can tell. You’ve got the same style in the kitchen,” Harold said. He shook his head and said, “I’ve been trying to get him to become a corporate cook. Every time I’ve asked him to do it, he turns me down.”

“I imagine that he’ll take you up on the offer soon,” Dan said earning a surprised look from Harold. Noticing it, Dan said, “I think he buried some demons last weekend. He’s going to bury some more during this week.”

“I think you’re right,” Harold said shaking his head. Dan kept surprising him with his insights into people.

Dan shrugged his shoulders and wiped down the counter. He said, “He’s a good man. I’m proud to consider him a friend.”

“It seems to me that you have a lot of friends,” Harold said. He had heard from Ellen about Dan’s active social life. It was hard to believe that he had three girlfriends.

“I think the same could be said of you, too,” Dan said wondering how one was supposed to respond to that kind of statement.

“I want to thank you for what you’ve done for Ellen. She was headed towards being a lonely old woman until she met you,” Harold said while lifting the green beans out of the boiler. He shook the strainer and dumped the beans on the plate. A spoonful of applesauce in a small bowl followed.

“She’s a friend,” Dan said shrugging his shoulders. He added, “We all need friends.”

“Well, I appreciate all you’ve done for her,” Harold said. He added the garnish to the three plates and put them on the counter. He rang the bell.

Dan smiled as he turned the pancakes and said, “You know she told me to build a cardboard version of my kitchen to test the layout. I did that this summer. That was an experience. I stood there in the middle of that pretend kitchen and could see how it would work. I had to rearrange things a little to get them to my liking.”

“She knows the business. Even I listen to any advice that she has to offer. I’ve had her work in every department of the company. I’ve never been disappointed in her as a businesswoman,” Harold said. One of the things that he was proud of was that his kids hadn’t grown up to be spoiled little rich kids. All of them were hard workers. His sons weren’t all that interested in the restaurant business, but they all worked for a living.

“I can tell. I always listen to her advice,” Dan said. He put the pancakes on the plate and then laid the bacon around them. He dropped the eggs on top of it. Pulling off a little sprig of parsley from the bunch in one of the bins, he added the garnish. Setting the plate up on the counter, he rang the bell.

“Smart.”

“It must be a slow night or you’re as good of a cook as Jimmy,” Dan said when he saw that there weren’t any orders waiting.

“I was going to say the same thing of you,” Harold said. He grabbed a towel and started wiping down the cooking area. He glanced over and saw that Dan was doing the same thing.

A couple of orders appeared on the counter and as they worked, there was a flash of light from the door. Both men looked over and didn’t see anyone. Neither man had to see the photographer to know who it was.

Dan smiled and said, “Hello, Ellen.”

“Come on in, Ellen,” Harold said chuckling.

“I just had to get a picture of the two of you cooking together in the kitchen,” Ellen said sticking her head inside the doorway. She said, “It is going to make a great picture for the company paper.”

Dan listened to the computer. He was listening to a chapter of his Intro to Business textbook. He stopped and moved the cursor back a couple of paragraphs and started it again. This was the chapter on managing personal finances. A lot of the material was review for him since he had already learned it over the past year. It was nice to have it presented in a well organized manner rather than learned on an as-needed basis.

Diana knocked on his door and stuck her head through it. She said, “You’re still at your desk. I thought that the day you graduated that I’d never see you sitting there again.”

Dan turned to look at Diana and said, “One of the things you’re going to discover after you graduate, is just how ignorant you are.”

“What?” Diana said offended at being called ignorant.

“The school hasn’t taught you one damned thing that you really need to know,” Dan said. He moved the mouse over to the menu bar and selected to print the document.

“I’m a straight A student,” Diana said as the printer started working.

“I know. That doesn’t mean that they are teaching you the important things,” Dan said.

“What do you mean?”

Dan asked, “Where did you learn the Facts of Life?”

Diana faltered and said, “From the articles that Tom gave you.”

“That’s right. How many of the things you learned in high school contradict the Facts of Life?”

“Lots,” Diana said frowning. She kept hearing about fairness knowing that it didn’t really exist.