Lila at work

The priests liked to sit in the back with the curtains closed. It was so on the nose. Lila always volunteered to take that section, even though it was the feast or famine part of the restaurant. Lila had enough regulars that she didn’t worry about the famine. Chad grasped an empty bus tub to his hip and joked for the millionth time that she should go listen and see if they were talking about confessions they’d heard.

There were only four of them, one from Trinity, one from Saint Mary’s, one from Saint Peter’s, and the really old one from Sacred Heart. He was the only one who never ordered a double, but he only drank Macallan’s, neat. They all drank scotch, Dewars when they ordered a double.

The first one to arrive always ordered the double, usually finished before the others arrived, but always seemed shaken by something. Probably an altar boy accusation.

Some early 80s soft rock played through the PA system. Lila turned the lights down from lunch and sauntered back to the kitchen, swinging her hips to move her legs instead of the other way around.

“Good God, it’s hot back here,” she exclaimed as she grabbed a slice of zucchini from a chicken teriyaki in the window. “Y’all want me to make you some lemonade?”

“Lord, yes, child! Go work your magic!” Linda wiped her brow as she flipped a burger.

The walk-in was heavenly, and she lingered as she collected six lemons and a lime to make a pitcher of lemonade for the kitchen. Lila’s lemonade was legendary.

As Lila passed the line on her way back to the wait station, Linda said, “If Mr. Brown comes in tonight, don’t you give him none of the black bean soup out there. I made fresh today.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lila replied, giving the soup a stir in the warmer before rolling the lemons and lime on the counter to loosen the juices. She cut them all in half, across their equators and dropped them into an empty pitcher. She cut a slice off each hemisphere before squeezing then excavating the peel with her thumb. After all of the lemons were squeezed, she dumped a scoop of sugar in the empty pitcher and drew hot water from the coffee machine to dissolve it. Then she poured the juice in and stirred vigorously with a tablespoon before filling the empty pitcher with ice and pouring the hot lemonade concentrate over it. She topped it with filtered water from the Coca-Cola dispenser, gave it a final stir, and took it to the kitchen.

“Be a double angel and take that teriyaki to Mr. Graves before I have to put you over my knee for eating all his zucchini.” Linda swatted Lila’s behind with a kitchen towel. “Then you can come back and tell me who’s got you prowlin’ around like a loose-hipped leopard. You look like ladies oughta lock up they men.”

Lila smiled and popped another piece of zucchini between her pouty lips before sprinkling parsley on the plate, putting it on a tray, and carrying it into the dining room on her shoulder, adding a little extra hip swing just for Linda, who swatted her again, and said, “Go on, get outta here and let me get some work done.”