Page 28 of Just Ten Seconds

“You’re the one standing in my kitchen instead of getting out into the dining room where you’re supposed to be working.”

I give him the finger, and he laughs loudly.

“I knew there was a fireball in you.”

Connie shimmies over to Dean’s table and lays her arm on his back as she asks if he needs anything. Her hand is moving a little too low, a touch too friendly, even for your neighborhood waitress. He moves to the side a bit, but she doesn’t get the hint as she continues to assess his back muscles.

Jackie appears by her side and hip-checks her, nodding her head to the other side of the room where Connie is supposed to be working. With a wink to Dean, Connie makes her way to where she belongs.

When I’m back in the dining room, Jackie hands me the coffeepot and asks, “Can you fill table two? I’m swamped.”

“Dean’s at table two.”

“Yeah,” she states the obvious. “He wants coffee.”

“Fine. I’ll just ask Connie—”

She thrusts the pot toward me as she gives me a smug smile. I’m wise enough to know she thinks she’s being slick. I also know I have a job to do, so I might as well get to it. So, I take the pot and head over to their table.

“Dad said you saw Dear Evan Hansen!” Amanda jumps lightly in her seat as soon as she sees me approach.

“It was awesome,” I tell her as I fill Dean’s cup to the top, knowing he won’t be adding milk or sugar.

I catch Dean’s smile out of the corner of my eye.

“Amanda wants to be an actress.”

“Auditions are next week. They’re doing The Little Mermaid at the children’s theater. I wanna be Ariel so bad, but I won’t get it now.” Minutes ago, she was looking at her cast like a proud badge of honor. Now, all she has is a frown at the sight of it.

“Of course you can still play her. Do not let that cast keep you from trying for that role. You should audition,” I say. I would have gotten out there at her age even if I had a broken leg.

“Mara is an actress,” Jackie chimes in from behind me.

“I thought you were swamped?” I suspiciously ask her over my shoulder.

Jackie doesn’t care. “She was the best actress at LaGuardia High School. It’s a school for teens gifted in the arts. Jennifer Aniston went there,” she boasts.

“Not at the same time we did. We don’t know her or anything,” I add.

Jackie leans in like she’s letting Amanda in on the biggest secret of all time. “That’s how Mara and I met. I was a pretty good dancer, if I do say so myself. But Mara, oh, she was a phenomenal actress. Still is.”

“I was okay,” I say.

Jackie ignores my comment and continues, “She was the most magnificent Maggie Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She put Elizabeth Taylor to shame.”

“Who’s Elizabeth Taylor?” Amanda scrunches her nose.

“You act?” Dean’s eyes crinkle in a mix of adoration and surprise. His legs spread wide as he leans back in his chair in approval.

“I did. Past tense,” I clarify.

“And it wasn’t only high school theater. She has a degree in performing arts and was even in an off-Broadway show,” she explains.

“You were on Broadway?” Amanda asks, bouncing in her seat.

“It was a tiny production off-Broadway. Nothing fancy,” I explain.

“I wish you could help me,” Amanda says with a groan. “Dad tries to run lines with me, but … he kinda sucks.”