This chapter is a little longer than usual. Sorry, there's a lot to cram in.
In preparation for the Relaunch Night, Mekena has implemented a 'one table at a time' game plan for the night. None of the staff is happy about the change.
"This idea of Kena's is going to leave us hopelessly backed up," Candace complained to Tyr. When he goes to respond, Chef Ramsey clears his throat. Shooting an annoyed look at the chef, he glares at his employee until she backs away, looking for something to do before she gets fired. Like the rest of the staff, she knows that Tyr won't tolerate backtalk about his wife.
"He's crazy," the college student said in a quiet voice to her co-workers. "Does he really love her enough to jeopardize his business?" The sound of soft singing fills the restaurant.
"Y'all better fall in line," Paul said, his first words since the announcement that Kena would be running the restaurant.
"What do you mean?" Candace asked, putting the vacuum away.
"Ms. Kena reminds me of my mother," he continued now that he had the attention of the others. "She may not like the task she's been assigned, but she'll get it done come Hell or high water. The tables will get turned and her idea to serve one table at a time will succeed. She'll make it succeed. I wouldn't stand in her way tonight."
"Hmph," Freda said. "We'll see, Paul."
The singing is found to be coming from the bathroom. It's a lovely soprano, soothing on the nerves. It stops at precisely four forty-five. The woman herself comes out of the bathroom and goes straight to the floor manager. She's understandably less than enthusiastic about Kena's idea. But unlike the others, Evelyn has worked in restaurants that run their business like this, so she knows that it can work, as long as the Expediter keeps up with the orders.
"Are you sure that you can handle this, Ms. Kena? You're putting a lot of responsibility on your shoulders."
"I'm the Expediter. It's my job to shoulder this responsibility. Come to me when you're ready to take your break, okay? I want to make sure everyone gets their breaks tonight. You'll manage the front staff?"
"Yes," the older woman nodded with a smile. She noticed her boss coming up behind her and her smile widened. "Make sure you keep the chefs in line tonight. They tend to be prima donnas."
"I'll do my best," she smiled.
Word of Chef Ramsey's arrival in Philly has spread and it doesn't take long for the place to be packed. The first orders pour in, but the staff, restricted by their 'one table at a time' edict, panic. It soon becomes apparent that their Expediter was prepared for this. She takes control of the kitchen as if she's done this a million times before.
"I need a medium-rare steak with a side of potatoes and green beans. An order of spare ribs and carrots. And a kid's burger and fries. ETA on the steak," she asks with calm authority. The cooks get to work on the order. "I need to hear some chatter in this kitchen. ETA on the spare ribs? ETA on the steak?"
"Steak is coming up in three minutes," Linda said.
"Burger and fries in four minutes," Danny told her.
"Thank you," Kena said. "ETA on the spare ribs and carrots?"
Darryl lowers his head and works on his order.
"ETA on the spare ribs and carrots, Mr. Darryl?"
"It's coming! God!"
"Alright, but you've got to talk to me. Working on one order at a time is going to be hard enough without a shutdown of communication. Got it?"
"Fine."
"This fish taco is a mess, Mr. Darryl, " she says a little bit later. "I need you to fix it so that we're not sending out food any old kind of way, please."
"The food is edible, ain't it?"
"Edible or not, presentation is half the battle in the foodservice industry. Plate it neatly, please."
"This is a joke! The food is fine. Just send it, goddamnit!"
"Plate it nice and I won't ask you twice, Darryl. Good God, that rhymed," she groaned as the other three chefs chuckled.
The first half-hour goes this way, with Darryl resisting the new order and defying Kena at every turn. Still, the food is getting to the tables, at a surprisingly good clip according to the servers.
[Candace] "Well, I'll be damned. I never would have thought this idea of Ms. Kena's would work! No one is complaining about the wait times. Let's see if the kitchen can keep it up all night."
"Freda, table 27's food is ready and getting cold. Pick up, please! Next up is French onion soup, pork chops, and cinnamon applesauce-"
"Stop rushing me, Ms. Kena! I have low blood sugar and-"
"Then maybe you should have eaten before you came to work, Freda. Do you need to take an early break to take care of your problems?"
"No," the woman grumbled, grabbing her tray with a glare at her temporary boss. Kena doesn't seem to notice, rattling off the rest of table 18's order. When Juan comes to pick up his next order, his pants are no longer pulled tight around his hips, but slouching around his butt and his shirt is undone to the third button. This is the way he normally walks around the restaurant. Now that the initial pressure is over, he feels that it's fine to revert to old habits.
"Mr. Juan. I need you to pull up your pants and button your top, please. And do it quickly so that your table can be served."
"Really?"
"Really, really. Hurry up, the food's getting cold." Juan straightens his clothes and serves his customers.
"I asked for an ETA on those burgers two minutes ago, Darryl."
"I don't have to listen to you!"
"Actually, you do have to listen to me, Darryl. I need your cooperation as we are in the middle of a busy service. The rest of this order is ready and getting cold."
"Get off my fucking back, lady. Your burgers are coming!"
"There's no need for that kind of language, Darryl. It's been three minutes since I asked for the burgers, do you need help?"
"I can cook just fine when I don't have some self-righteous bitch on my back!"
"That's enough, Darryl." Chef Ramsey said in a stern voice. Tyr was glaring silently at his employee. Usually, Darryl was difficult, but he was a good cook. Right now he is being defiant and rude to his wife and he's about to be fired from the look on his boss' face.
"That's okay, Chef," Kena said without batting an eyelash. "I wouldn't be on your back if you would communicate with me. No one else seems to be having a problem with the temporary change." Darryl threw the burgers at Kena, who caught them on reflex. "These are raw on the inside according to the chart. I need you to do them again, please."
"This is bullshit! I'm outta here," Darryl shouted, pulling off his apron.
"You're leaving?" Kena asked.
"You're goddamn right I'm leaving. I don't have to take all this ultra-polite bullshit from you!"
"Fine. Goodnight. Linda, Bishop, I need you both to make a medium-well burger with all the fixings. Danny, please make two orders of fries to go with the burgers. Let's go, people. The rest of this order is getting cold! What are you still doing here, Darryl?"
"You're just going to let me go?"
"Surely you don't expect me to evaluate your performance while we're in the middle of a dinner service? You said you were leaving and I said 'Goodnight'. You can talk to your regular boss about your performance tomorrow. ETA on the burgers?" she said in a louder voice.
"Two minutes," Linda and Bishop answered, re-focusing on their tasks.
"Fries will be ready in a minute, Kena."
"Thank you, everybody. Freda, I haven't given you that plate, have I?" The woman puts down the order of Fried pickles with a guilty start, her eyes still bugging out that Darryl got fired by the overly polite woman. Juan walks into the kitchen just then, his pants riding even lower on his butt and shirt half undone.
"Pull up your pants!" Kena shouted at the man. Everyone jumped, including Darryl who was still standing in the doorway. "You want to walk around like a toddler with a dooty in his pants, do it on your own time. You are at work right now and you will present yourself as such." Juan gapes at his new boss in awe. No one has ever criticized his attire before. At his continued staring, she snaps again. "I swear to God if I catch you watching around my restaurant like a prison inmate presenting again, you can go home like Mr. Darryl."
"Mr. Darryl?" He works hard to hide a smile.
"You'd better listen, Juan. She just fired Darryl," Freda told him.
"I didn't fire anyone. Darryl just- Why are you still here, Darryl?" Before the man can respond, she puts up a hand to stop him. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. You need to go home. Or wherever you need to go that you couldn't do your job tonight." Darryl leaves the restaurant in disbelief. Juan automatically starts fixing his clothes so that he looks like a young professional and the chefs hand over their food for Kena's inspection.
"Please take this platter out to table 6 with our profoundest apologies for the delay. Next on our agenda is an order of rice pudding and three strawberry cheesecakes. Let's move it, people! We're falling behind!" The kitchen staff get back to work, serving up the food in a timely manner. It doesn't take long for the word to spread among the rest of the staff that Darryl 'got fired' and everyone stops the idle chit chat and anything that doesn't have something to do with their jobs.
[Juan] "I'm not surprised that Darryl was let go. He's a bastard, always has been. But tonight, for some reason, he was just in rare form. She may not have fired him officially, but from the look on Tyr's face, he's not going to be working here anymore."
Tyr still hasn't said a word all night. Kena has taken on her responsibilities as Expediter with gusto. She's acting like a natural. Customers are leaving with big smiles on their faces and it's apparent in the tips being left that she and her staff are doing something right. With the night two-thirds of the way over, Chef Ramsey approaches the woman.
"Kena?"
"Yes, Chef?" Kena says distractedly. "ETA on that Stuffing and turkey?"
"Two minutes!"
"What's the ETA on your break?" Chef Ramsey asks in amusement at her blank look. "Everyone else has had a break, even your floor manager. It's your turn."
"But I'm the Expediter. Who's going to watch the food while I'm gone?"
"Evelyn is supposed to watch your people while you eat. I thought you knew that."
"No… I didn't," she said. Accepting the plate of food from Bishop with a smile and whispered thanks. Paul took the platter away, but before she could call out another order, the chef stopped her. "Candace, go get Evelyn. It's time for Kena to go on break. Seriously, Kena. Why didn't you ask your husband about breaks? I'm sure you get them on your job."
"At my job, I'm in my element and I can work breaks in. Here… I don't know, it never even occurred to me that the Expediter gets breaks." Her stomach gurgles. "I don't have time to go home and get something to eat. I've been so busy with this whole-"
"Evelyn, can you play Expediter while the Anasazis get something to eat?"
"Absolutely. I've been waiting all night to take over so that she can eat." Kena hands over her tickets with reluctance and follows Chef Ramsey to the office she cleaned up just the other day. Laid out on the desk is a meal fit for a king and queen. The small filet mignons are still steaming and the shrimp pasta looks succulent. With the small bed of asparagus under the meat, it's truly an amazing meal for the two. Kena gasps in delight and Tyr looks on in jealousy. He'd forgotten how little it took to make Kena happy.
"I took the liberty of preparing dinner for the two of you. Now eat, you have a half-hour for it. And talk," the chef added for Tyr's benefit. He closed the door behind himself.
"'Talk' he says," she grumbled, moving into the room to avoid Tyr guiding her by the small of her back.
"Yes, Kena. 'Talk'. We used to do it all the time."
"Yes, well," she grumbled again. "What shall we argue about tonight?"
"We don't have to argue, you know."
"Yeah, as long as I give into your every whim and demand," she glared at her husband.
"Or you could… not," he said, holding out the chair for her. She took it in a cautious manner, half expecting him to take it away from her. He sighed at her caution and suspicion. Just how badly had he hurt her over the years? "I'm not going to hurt you, Bliss."
"I don't respond to that endearment from the likes of you," she ground out. "The man that called me Bliss is dead and gone."
"Bl-Kena," he said with another sigh. "I'm right here."
"Whatever," she snapped. "Let's just eat. The food's getting cold."
"You seem to be saying that a lot tonight," he smiled. The woman shifted uncomfortably but didn't comment as she dug into her meal.
When Chef Ramsey returns a half-hour later, the two are having a civil conversation. Kena is even smiling and giggling as she digs into the last of her pasta.
"I'll never forget the look on his face when you fired him-"
"For the last time, I didn't fire anyone. He said he was leaving, so I let him go!"
"He won't be coming back."
"What you do with your employees is none of my business."
"I know." He reached across the table for her hand, pleasantly surprised when she gave it.
"Maybe the man who called you 'Bliss' isn't long dead yet."
"We'll see," the woman sniffed, pulling her hand away.
"Sorry to interrupt, but-"
"I was just thinking that it was time," Kena said, standing up and stretching. She grabbed a couple of pills out of her purse with a wince and swallowed them with the last of her water before heading out of the office. The two men looked confused but no one questioned her subtle move. Tyr resolved to get the full story later.
The two got back to work, serving a couple of VIPs, but treating them the same as their other customers. Then Chef Ramsey came in to interrupt her again.
"Kena, there's a couple of customers that want to see you."
"See me? But I'm-"
"Tonight, you are the boss," he reminded her in a gentle tone. "And the customers have asked to see the boss after their meal."
"Of course," the woman said at last, having Paul call for Evelyn so that service would continue smoothly.
"I apologize for the delay. My name is Mekena, and I am in charge of this restaurant for the night. You asked to see me?"
"Yes," Tobias Harris said. "We just wanted to compliment you on the service tonight. We were seen to our table almost immediately. The staff has been very courteous and professional-"
"Yeah, what he said," Joel Embiid said, finishing his apple crumble. "This food is fantastic. And we didn't have to wait an hour to get it like in some places."
"We'll definitely be coming back here to eat again," Al Horford told the woman.
"Oh! I thought you were filing a complaint," Kena laughed, relaxing a little.
"No, just the opposite, dear lady," Ben Simmons said with a wink. "Tonight has been a wonderful experience for us all."
"Well, thank you," the temporary boss said with a gracious smile. "We certainly appreciate your patronage!" She bowed slightly.
"We want to give you this signed Jersey from all of us. You can hang it in the restaurant with pride," Alec Burks told her, handing over the shirt to the confused woman.
"Well, thank you. Who are you all again?"
"We're the 76ers," the group of men said. She looked over and noticed her husband's complete excitement.
"Oh my gosh, that's awesome," Kena exclaimed with more enthusiasm. "I'm so sorry, I don't follow sports. But the actual owner of this restaurant obviously does. This," she said with a grand wave of her hands. "Is Tyr Anasazi. I'm just running the place tonight."
"May I speak?" Tyr asked her.
"Of course," she blinked.
"Are you sure?" he asked again to clarify.
"I just introduced you," she said with a roll of her eyes. "It would be a little weird if you didn't say anything. You're not mute."
"Forgive me," Tyr addressed the table. "With Chef Ramsey in charge of the restaurant tonight, I've been asked not to speak tonight without my wife's explicit consent."
"Ah, so this is one of those 'Kitchen Nightmare' things," Furkan Korkmas said with a nod.
"Yes," they both answered, then looked at each other. Simmons looked a little dejected at the revelation that she was his wife but played along. Tyr immediately jumped into an explanation of their latest game that got the whole table excited. As they talked about sports, Kena wandered away back to the kitchen. Once there, she talked to Evelyn about the best place to hang the jersey.
"I would put it somewhere prominent, but not by the front door," Evelyn shrugged. "They've been playing well this season. I don't want anyone breaking in and stealing it."
"Okay," Kena shrugged. "Can you put it by the register for now? I don't want to lose it."
"Of course," the floor manager smiled, swapping the jersey for the tickets.
"Where's Kena?" Tyr asked as soon as he saw his floor manager by the register.
"She's in the kitchen," Evelyn blinked. "Why? Is something wrong?" But Tyr was already gone.
"Kena? Kena?! Come on, they want to take a picture with us!"
"ETA on- I'm sorry, what?"
"The basketball team out there," Tyr said in an impatient tone. "They want to take a picture with us in it!"
"Why don't you go ahead, Tyr? I'm finishing up with these orders. Table 11's food is ready and getting cold," she said in a louder voice. Freda darted forward and grabbed the platter.
"Simmons insisted that you be in the photo as well," the business owner grumbled. "He was quite insistent; I think he has a thing for you."
"He has a thing for fat chicks?" Kena deadpanned.
"Kena, you're not-"
"Stop your lying," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Go on and take your photo," Ramsey said, sensing another argument brewing. "I'll stay here and expedite until you get back."
"Thanks, chef," Kena smiled, walking away. Tyr looks jealous as well as disturbed that about her comment. He wanders off to be in the photo too. While posing, Tyr makes sure to get in close to his wife. He also makes sure that she's well away from Simmons. The night ends successfully, with no one complaining about the food or the service. The staff gather after the cleaning has been done for the night, eager to discuss the events of the night.
"So… How did that feel for everybody?" Chef Ramsey asked. Everyone looks at each other before answering.
"Good," Paul said, nodding to himself.
"It was better than I expected," Candace agreed. "I thought that the whole 'one table at a time' thing was going to sink us, but it actually worked out well."
"I was surprised by that too," Linda smiled. "It was surprisingly easier to focus on putting one table's order together to send than doing only one or two dishes all night and hoping for the best."
"Kena, you're new here. What did you think of the service?"
"It was so busy," she huffed in laughter. "It was like being on the hospital floor with how busy it was, but without the patient interactions. I was okay with it, though. We had a few bumps in the shift, but it was good. We made it through."
"Like when Freda had her low blood sugar moment?" Freda looked uncomfortable suddenly.
"Nah, that wasn't a big deal. I was surprised that she didn't take an early break to take care of it. If one's sugar gets too low, bad things can happen. I'm glad you made it through the shift okay. How are you feeling now?" she asked the server.
"O-oh! I'm fine. It was nothing that severe," Freda answered in a vague manner. Any second she expected to be called out on her lie, but Kena let it go to her relief.
"I'm glad," Kena nodded, oblivious to Freda's musings. "No, I didn't see any major problems with the shift."
"What about Juan?" Bishop asked at the same time Juan asked "What about Darryl?" The two glared at each other until Kena stepped in to answer.
"The thing with Juan was just a wardrobe malfunction. Unfortunately for him, low-hanging pants are a real pet peeve of mine. I can't stand it when grown men act like they can't dress themselves. Walking around like they've got a dirty diaper and no way of changing it, it just makes me so," she cut off her angry tirade and started laughing as Chef Ramsey suddenly started adjusting his own pants even though there was nothing wrong with them. Everyone joined in her hilarity.
"No, but it's true though! I don't know, maybe I'm the only one that feels that way about it, and how people dress on their own dime is their own business. But looking that way while on the company dime is simply not acceptable. When you're at work, you should look like you're at work. What you do on your own time is our business." She looked over at Juan, whose pants were on correctly. "I promise I won't complain if you want to drop your pants now that the shift is over."
"That's okay," Juan said uncomfortably. "That comment about prison inmates kinda turned me off to the idea."
"Sorry."
"No, you're not." She shrugged but didn't argue the point.
"'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man'," she sang suddenly, causing the girls to start catcalling. Juan struck a pose and even the Chef couldn't help his laughter.
"Alright now, let's talk about Darryl," the chef said at last, still chuckling.
"I don't see what the big deal was. We had three chefs that were ready to play ball and one chef that wasn't and the one that wasn't took off. That still leaves three good chefs. And they did amazingly according to the food critics and the 76ers." Everyone clapped for the chefs.
"And that's all well and good, Kena. But what you did tonight, letting the fourth chef go, should have killed the service. You do realize that, right?"
"I don't see why," Kena shrugged. "Losing one person doesn't negate what the other three are doing. I also don't understand how I was supposed to stop Darryl from leaving. He said he was going to go. How was I supposed to stop him?"
"That's your nursing mind talking," he said in frustration. "Kena-"
"Forget it, chef," Tyr stood up for his wife. "What's done is done. Kena is never going to understand how Darryl leaving should have demoralized the rest of the team. It's not the way she thinks."
"Demoralized? But… Everyone was already working so hard. Why would losing one person-"
"See?"
"Well, I guess we'll find out how the other side works soon enough. Tomorrow, you and your wife are going to be on the floor at the hospital for a shift."
"What?!" Kena yelped, putting down the water she'd been about to drink. "I'm not taking that… that-"
"Kena, you said you were going to trust me."
"PHR would never allow camera crews on the unit!"
"I've already arranged things with the Philadelphia Health Region. They believe this would be good press for them. We've worked out an arrangement. Tomorrow, we're all going to your place of business to observe you in your natural habitat."
"I can't handle this right now," Kena said with a glare at her husband. He was spreading his hands, the picture of innocence, but she could already tell that he was going to harass her friends at work. She turned back to the chef. "My job is the one place I'm safe, Chef! I will not have that asshole jeopardize that!"
The restaurant staff was in shock. This is the first time any of them have heard her curse. Even at the height of her anger in the middle of the restaurant, Kena had never resorted to histrionics.
"Mekena, it's going to be okay…"
"No, it's not," she growled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she left the restaurant without another word. No one had the heart to stop the crying woman, simply glaring at her husband, who looked caught between anger and hurt.
"Well, man. Are you going to get after her?" Ramsey said sternly. That seemed to decide the man and he left to comfort his wife. "As for the rest of you, the Queen's Dish will have a member of my own staff here to help run this restaurant so that this experiment can continue. Goodnight." The staff filed out of the restaurant, whispering among themselves about this latest turn of events
In the meantime, Tyr found his woman crying in the car. He knocked on the window since he didn't have a key to her car.
"Kena? Bliss, let me in."
"I do not wish to speak to you," she said in an unsteady voice.
"I just want to help, Bliss. I'm not going to-"
"Fuck you, Anasazi," she exploded. "Why does it have to be my life you ruin?" She started the car and drove off.
Tyr found her later that night at their house, putting together an overnight bag. He tried to stop her, putting an arm out to stop her frantic packing, but she put her clothes in around his arm.
"Stop this, Bliss." She growled but refused to acknowledge him.
"Bliss. Mekena. We need to talk about this!"
"We really don't. I'm headed to a hotel room. I'll see you at my job tomorrow where you'll proceed to be a bastard to everyone in the only safe place I have left."
"Kena, what are you talking about? You're perfectly safe here."
"No, I'm not. You're here." When he froze at her harsh words, she pushed past him and left the house. She, therefore, didn't witness his tears for how badly she'd just hurt him.
[To the camera] "What have I done? Kena has a favorite quote that she used to tell me. 'Woman was taken out of man - not out of his head, to rule over him; nor out of his feet to be trampled under by him. But out of his side, to be equal to him - under his arm, that he might protect her, and near his heart, that he might love her.' I always liked that quote. I thought it described us." Deep, shuddering breath. "I guess it doesn't anymore. She's running away from me. She's always running away from me!" He started crying again. Chef Ramsey came in on this heartbreaking scene.
"Where's Kena?"
"She went to a hotel room. She said that she'll meet us at her job tomorrow."
"Why didn't you stop her?"
"She… She pushed me away," he said with a miserable sigh. "I always thought we'd find our way back to each other once she started working at the restaurant, but I think it's too late. She doesn't trust me. She doesn't even-"
"Snap out of it, Tyr," Ramsey said in a harsh tone, not liking the depressed man before him. "If there's one thing about Kena that's true, it's that she's a girl worth fighting for. She still loves you, but sometimes love isn't enough. You've screwed up big time, but that doesn't have to mean it's over. Do you still intend to force her to work for you?"
"No," he said in a small voice, having lost all of his bravado after her harsh words to him. "She doesn't want anything to do with me. Working in the same place, seeing her every day, would be pure torture."
"Then you need to let her know that the next time you see her. And make sure that she believes you. It's going to take time to fix this completely, but she's well worth the effort. You've fought for her before. Fight for her now."
"You're right," Tyr said, the light of challenge in his chocolate brown eyes again. "I want my wife back. I'm going to win her back."
"That's the spirit," the chef exclaimed. "Now get some sleep. Tomorrow you're in for the fight of your life."
[Sixth Commercial Break]
So, there you have it. Relaunch night is complete! Like I said before, Kena wasn't about to fail and let everyone down. But it wouldn't be a show without some obstacles to overcome.
That quote I mentioned is from an anonymous source and it's one of my favorites. I'm over the moon that I found a way to work it into my fiction.
Now comes the hard part, seeing how the other side lives. I'll see you guys next chapter to see how that shakes out! Remember, reviews are loved ^_^