The Good Liar(48)

“I’m glad to be here. Sorry I’m a bit late. It won’t happen again.”

Kim leans back in her desk chair and stretches her arms above her head. About my age, Kim opened the restaurant two years ago. Her hands are calloused and scarred like all chefs. She’s got a stack of orders in front of her, the day to day of the restaurant. Most of the restaurant has been given over to customers or the kitchen, but she’s squared off a small space of her own.

“It’s been a weird twenty-four hours,” I add, wondering how much she knows about me or if she cares.

“You could start tomorrow, if you’d like.”

“No. Please. I need the distraction.”

Kim stands. She’s tall and angular, her hair cut almost boy short.

“Great. So why don’t we meet with the chef and go over the menu for the day?”

“That sounds perfect.”



I work through lunch and the early dinner sittings without a break other than to answer my mother’s anxious texts wanting to know how my first day is going. The deal I made with Kim is that I’ll switch out with the night manager at six. The kids are older now, and they can handle themselves until I get home. Maybe dinner will even be on the table.

Hope springs eternal.

I like being in the restaurant, interacting with the staff, watching Kim in the kitchen, moving efficiently among the stations, hurrying everyone along gently, rhythmically, to get the plates out on time. The menu is a mix of Portuguese and Spanish—lots of grilled meat and flavorful paellas, and there are blue-and-gold ceramic plates on the walls. The air is spiced with saffron and lemon and garlic, and the grilled Portuguese chicken salad I had for lunch was fantastic. It feels good to be in the thick of things, to be interacting with strangers who have no expectations of me other than that I’ll seat them at a good table and be attentive to their needs. If I get one or two odd glances, I ignore them.

Franny comes in with Joshua and the kids right as I’m finishing my shift.

“Is this where you’re working now?” Franny asks. She’s wearing a shift dress that suits her square frame, showing off the slimmer parts of her. She’s also taken care with her makeup and hair. She looks poised, polished, secure. “I never made the connection.”

“It’s my first day.”

“Hey, Cessy,” Joshua says. He’s wearing a suit, but he’s taken off his tie. Not my type, Joshua, but forty-five looks good on him.

“Aunt Cecily!” the girls cry in unison, running around the podium I’m standing at to hug either side of me.

“We haven’t seen you in forever!” Emily says reproachfully. The girls are wearing matching dresses I don’t recognize. More appropriate for summer than fall, especially given the temperature outside.

“I’m so sorry, my darlings—things have been busy. But I’m very glad to see you now.”

I give them each a close hug. Julia’s is a little longer, since she’s always needed the most affection. I miss when my own kids were this size. When I could hug them as long as I wanted without an eye roll.

When I stand up, Joshua and Franny are smiling at us. Joshua’s gotten a haircut since the last time I saw him. His hair is thinning out on top, and I can see through to his skull. He looks relaxed, though, which he hasn’t in a long time. In truth, Kaitlyn and Joshua were one of those couples I never quite got. Not because they fought or disliked each other but because they never seemed to have anything in common other than their kids. Though who am I to judge? Tom and I were the couple everyone always said was perfect for each other, and look what happened to us.

“I’m so happy for you!” Franny untucks her arm from Joshua’s and gives me a hard hug. “Teo,” she whispers in my ear, then giggles. I’m struck, as I’ve been the last couple times I’ve been near her, with how closely she smells like Kaitlyn. Maybe it’s just that she’s living in Kaitlyn’s house now, using the same soap or shampoo, surrounded by Kaitlyn’s things.

“What are you guys doing here?” I ask.

“We’re celebrating.”

“What?”

Franny laughs. “I guess you didn’t hear with everything going on today . . . but the Supra Board decided to confirm our decision. Josh and the girls are getting their compensation.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic! I’m so happy to hear that.”

I reach out and take Joshua’s hand, giving it a squeeze. It makes sense that he’s relaxed now. He wasn’t desperate for money, like I was, but a future with one income and two girls was something that was wearing on him. Joshua’s a planner—another divergence with Kaitlyn—and his spreadsheets weren’t balancing.

“Do you have a reservation?” I ask.

“We do.”

I check the computer, and there it is, a reservation for four for the Rings. I check them off and grab some menus.

“Do you have time to join us?” Joshua asks. “For a drink?”

“Let me call the kids and deal with a few things here. I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

I seat them at their table and fill in the night manager on the transition issues. Then I call the kids to make sure they’re home for the night. Henry answers and tells me that Cassie “has a boy over.” I ask him to pass the phone to her.