As Isabel walked through the door she was surprised to find The Crashdown as packed as she had ever seen it. She slowly made her way through the crowd, scanning the room for Liz as she gently moved people to one side or another to get past them.
She ended up waiting for Liz to appear between the counter and the kitchen door. The counter was cool to the touch and Isabel amused herself by tracing its patterns with her ring finger.
When Isabel finally spotted Liz it was apparent that she was swamped. Her arms held a large brown platter and there were six white china dishes and a half dozen tall crystal glasses perched precariously on it.
She balanced it between her hip and the edge of the table while she handed the meals out. Giving the customers a few straws and some extra napkins she turned and made her way back towards the kitchen.
She was stopped by an elderly couple who needed a refill of their coffees. Smiling over her shoulder at something the gentleman said Liz made her way over to the serving counter where the coffee pot was brewing. Isabel hated to bring notice to herself but she figured she needed to call out to Liz and get her attention and at least let her know she was here.
"Liz!"
Responding to the sound of her name she whirled around, coffee pot in hand. She smiled and waved to Isabel. Making her way over to the couple's table she motioned to Isabel to come over. They met in the middle of the restaurant and Isabel followed her as she put the coffee pot back and journeyed back towards the kitchen.
"Hey Isabel, you're early!"
"Um, yeah. About that. Max gave me a ride over because he's picking Michael up."
Liz ceased walking. She looked around the restaurant and frowned, both because she didn't see Max and because she was annoyed with herself for reacting to the mere mention of his name. She felt her cheeks flush crimson and her breathing quicken.
"I don't see him."
Isabel just smiled without bothering to look around for her brother.
"Well I left him in the car. Just as we pulled up he suddenly asked me why I needed a ride tonight. I told him we were going out after your shift. I think he's still recovering from the shock."
Both girls started to laugh, only to be interrupted by Michael ringing the service bell.
"Hey! This food doesn't serve itself!"
Liz squinted at Michael and stuck her tongue out at him. She giggled when he rolled his eyes.
"I'd better go. Find a seat if you can."
"Do you need some help? If you have an extra uniform I wouldn't mind."
Liz looked at Isabel as if she had suddenly morphed into chocolate.
"Are you serious?"
Isabel laughed at Liz's expression. It was so hopeful that she had the urge to tease her and say no, just to see what would happen. But she decided to pass and just end Liz's torment quickly.
"Sure. I mean I don't mind waiting for you anyway and if I help then we'll be done and on our way that much quicker, right?"
Liz couldn't help herself. She was so grateful to receive help that she threw her arms around Isabel and enveloped her in a spontaneous embrace. Isabel was shocked but responded with a brief squeeze. Liz pulled back and grabbed Isabel's hand, towing her along behind her into the kitchen.
"Oh that'd be great! Ever since Courtney…well, you know, we've been short but until tonight it hasn't really overwhelmed us."
As the girls appeared Michael looked up from the grill.
"Hey." His greeting was brief and he immediately turned his attention back to the food.
"Liz why don't you go serve that stuff and by the time I've changed you can show me where the next order goes?"
"Ok. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Liz went to retrieve the food and Isabel went towards the employee lockers. Seeing the one that Courtney had used she opened it and found a clean uniform inside. That whole Courtney thing had been weird. She had tried to seduce Michael and just when it seemed like she was going to betray them all she saved them from Nicholas.
Closing the bathroom door behind her Isabel began to change. As she pulled the soft cashmere sweater over her head and replaced it with the slightly stiff polyester of the uniform she wondered if Max would ask her about her and Liz going out. His expression had been priceless, she recalled with a grin.
He was probably still in the jeep with that same look frozen on his features. Eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, hands gripping the steering wheel in a deathgrip so tight the knuckles of his hand were blanched. She hoped he would come in soon.
Michael looked up as Isabel exited the tiny bathroom and made her way over to the lockers. As she put her clothes in a locker he called over to her.
"Thanks. This is going to help a lot."
She smiled at him and had just put her hand on the swinging door when a thought struck her. She had been so caught up in getting Liz's attention that she had forgotten that she and Max had talked about something in the car that Michael needed to know. Swinging around she strode over to Michael's side and leaned in close to whisper.
Michael was momentarily surprised to see her when he twisted back toward the side of the grill Isabel was standing near. But then he quickly became annoyed.
"What?" he growled.
"It's important, Michael. I forgot to tell you about it earlier and Max will fill you in completely later--if he ever gets up the nerve to come in, that is."
His curiosity was piqued in spite of himself.
"So tell me already."
"It's just that I was talking to Max about Lani and Rath."
This time the astonishment lasted longer than an instant. She had talked to Max about them? He knew that Isabel had been avoiding the topic for a while now because of what she had discovered. He wondered what it was that had prompted her to finally open up about it.
Isabel interpreted his look correctly.
"Yeah I know. But I was apologizing for not realizing what they were really like. Anyway, as I was getting ready to go into this whole speech Max stopped me and said something that just blew me away. He said that it was Congresswoman Whitaker who told me about my past self and all that stuff I did. And I just believed it without question. He said we've been so hungry for clues about ourselves that we believe anyone who has information, or even appears to. He said we need to be more careful about processing the information we get and about trusting the sources we get it from."
"Oh my god." Michael stood dumbfounded. His spatula was poised above the grill and it was only a splatter of hot grease on his hand that jerked him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah I know." Isabel agreed.
"I never thought that Congresswoman Whitaker or the Skins lied. I never even considered that it was possible."
"We need to tell Tess, too." Isabel said. She was about to say something else when Maria made her way into the back.
"Hey Isabel. Liz sent me back here to let you know who needs what and all that."
"Oh. Ok. Well I'll talk to you later, Michael."
"Yeah. Ok, Isabel." He turned back to his cooking, more anxious than before for his shift to be over.