Chapter 9
“Earth to Taylor, come in,” Nate says, bringing me back to the present.
“Sorry, man. I have been a bit distracted lately.” I said.
“It’s cool. Can you set us up in lane three?”
“Sure. Lucky lane coming up. I hope you guys make it to the semi-finals.”
“Me, too. We have been bustin’ our balls trying to get the two new guys up to par.” Nate said.
“The lane is set. Have fun.” I said. “Oh, I take my break at 9:45, if you get a few minutes around then, maybe we can talk for a bit?”
“Sure. We can also talk after closing. I’ll give you a ride home.”
“I actually drove in today. But, yeah, we can get a beer or something.” And with that, Nate walked over to lane three and started chatting and laughing with his team mates.
Lane nine is done, so I walk over to clean up. While wiping down one of the tables, someone comes up behind me and covers my eyes.
“Guess who?”
“Let’s see. Tiny fingers. Voice as sweet as honey. Is it Dominic?” I laugh, turning around.
“You’re so silly sometimes, Tay.” Tiff laughs.
“Are Yasmín, Dom, and Tim coming, too?”
“Dom got called in to work, some kind of emergency or something. But Yas and Tim should be here soon. You should probably tell Debbie to make more pizzas and pretzels. You know Tim is going to order a lot.” She laughed.
“Oh, yeah, I know. I just have to wipe down the screen and I’ll head over there. I’ll see you later.”
And sure enough, just as I reach the snack bar, I hear Tim laughing to death as he and Yasmín walk in. She must have run smack into the door again. That girl has a real problem with glass doors. I help Debbie get the pizzas ready for the oven and then head back to my counter.
After getting all the teams set up with their lanes, I make a few announcements about upcoming events and remind everyone about tournament rules. I put Frozen on in the kids section. And then I just sat there at my counter, ready to assist anyone who came up. I watched the bowlers having fun and laughing, well most of them were. There is one team who always seems to be super serious all the time. A few kids came up every once in a while when a game wasn’t working or they wanted a new movie.
The kitchen closes at nine and Debbie takes her break. When she gets back, I take my break while she watches the counter.
I head to a table near lane three where Tiff, Yasmín, and Tim are sitting. We watch as Nate bowls; he gets a strike. He waves to us as he waits for his ball to return. He bowls another strike; then walks over and sits with us. I had already told Dom, so it wasn’t an issue that he wasn’t here tonight. I told them that I found out I was adopted and I wanted to find my birth parents. They differed on whether that was a good idea or not. We talked about finding them for a few minutes while eating pizza. Then we started talking about the tournament. When it was his turn again, Nate got up to bowl.
After my break, I helped Debbie clean the kitchen area. Then she went to clean the bathrooms. I head over to my counter where two small kids are waiting.
“Can we watch the Sonic movie?!” They ask with excitement.
“You sure can,” I reply as I look through the list. Finding it, I tap on it and send them back to the kids area. They run off, excited to watch the movie.
I sit and watch the bowlers. The night is winding down. Soon everyone is done. It’s eleven o’clock and Debbie clocks out for the night. I wait for everyone to leave. My friends said they will wait for me in the parking lot while I close up. I do a quick check to make sure everyone is out. I wipe down the tables, then sweep and mop. Once I am finished, I grab my stuff and head out. I lock the doors, pull the metal shutter down and lock it.
“Took you long enough,” Tim says.
“You still want to grab a beer?” Nate asks.
“Yeah, I just want to drop my car off first.” I say.
“Alright, we’ll follow you,” Tiff says.
They follow me to my house. I get out of my car, lock it up, and take my stuff inside. After changing my shirt, I head back out. I get in Nate’s car and we all head to the bar.