“I don’t think that’s such a good idea after all. Lonnie might have Odell involved in all kinds of things and us showing up might derail his plans,” I answered. “Going out there every weekend is hard enough on Odell.”

CHAPTER 30 - MILTON

CHAPTER 30

MILTON

ME AND YVONNE HAD A BUSY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT AT our house. Some of the regulars we thought we’d lost had came back. When we got to the grill Monday morning, we got busy right away. It was going to get even busier with Christmas just a few weeks away. Every year, some folks had so much cooking to do, they came to the grill the month before and ordered extra stuff to go with everything else they planned to serve on Christmas Day. They met with Mr. Cunningham for hours on end discussing menus, prices, and how they wanted everything cooked. We took so many advance requests for various items today, Mr. Cunningham was threatening to stop taking orders by the middle of December. He said that every year and never followed through.

All them orders meant a lot of extra work for me and the other cook, but I never complained. I loved working at such a popular place because it meant job security. Mr. Cunningham often told folks that he was in no hurry to retire—even though he was old enough—because he enjoyed what he did. He’d also told us that if he got disabled or died, he had already lined up relatives to take over the grill. But he couldn’t promise that they’d keep us on. Because of that and the Odell thing, me and Yvonne didn’t know what was going to happen in our future. For now, we would take life one day at a time.

Even though Mr. Cunningham was griping about all the rush orders, he was as happy as me and Yvonne was that we had such good business. This morning a lady representing a church group came in and ordered enough food to feed more than a dozen members of her congregation at her Christmas Eve supper. She wanted everything cooked and ready to go the day before Christmas Eve. To make sure she got special attention, she paid in advance and left a huge tip. Mr. Cunningham got so slaphappy, he didn’t even bat a eye when I told him I might be late coming back from lunch.

Willie Frank came to the grill a few minutes before noon. He had promised to let me use his truck again so I could pay Odell another visit. He had brung Sweet Sue with him so they could eat lunch while I was gone. White men could enjoy romantic escapades with colored women behind closed doors. But when they was in public, they couldn’t hold hands, or do nothing else to show that they was more than just friends.