Kevin barely dodged Edwina rushing back to her tables as he entered the kitchen. He pushed the ticket down onto the spike next to the cooking range, shouting to be heard over the sizzling oil and banging pans. “Chicken Teriyaki for table four, no onion!”
After a few seconds with no reply, he frowned. “I said CHICKEN TERI--”
“I hear ya! I hear ya!” Todd slammed another pan onto the stove, muttering a few words that he probably thought the boy couldn't hear.
“...And no onion!” Kevin repeated, just in case.
The only reply from the scowling cook was a snort.
He turned around, only to find his brother's face barely an inch from his own. With a startled yelp, Kevin stepped backward and nearly collided with Todd.
Todd's language was suddenly much louder and more colorful. Despite the increased plausibility for hearing it, Kevin chose to ignore the outburst.
His brother stood staring at the floor, his fingers drumming against his thigh. His free hand rose up to adjust his earplugs.
“Alex? What's wrong?”
“I dropped my mom's necklace.” Alex's tone remained level. The quickening of his drumming fingers screamed for him.
Kevin followed him a few steps away from Todd and the furiously clanging kitchenware. “And you need help finding it?”
“No. It's under the refrigerator,” Alex explained.
A sense of foreboding began to grow. “The one at home?” he asked, clinging to hope.
Alex shook his head, one hand coming up to point at the massive steel appliance towering behind them. It was, of course, much larger than their home refrigerator. Its weight, when completely empty, was 684 pounds. This information was helpfully written on a post-it note stuck onto one side. And of course, unlike their home refrigerator, this one was decidedly more...observed.
Todd slammed a plate onto the counter and shouted for Edwina.
Kevin lowered his voice. “Why were you even back here?”
“The milk ran out.”
“What?” He frowned, perplexed. “There should be plenty at home; Dad just bought some!”
The door to the dining room banged open. With a clatter of dishes, Edwina was out again before it fully closed.
Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Here. Yesterday.” He closed his eyes, shutting out the light. “Ingredients have been going missing.”
“Missing?!” Kevin automatically looked around, but no thieves chose that moment to make their presence known. He turned back to Alex. “So, did you find out anything?”
His brother quietly shook his head, his eyes still shut tight. His fingers drummed at a gallop.
“Ah, nuts...hang on.” Kevin scanned the kitchen, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what to do. Another bang from the cooking range made Alex flinch, and Todd cut loose a litany of swears.
“Todd!” Kevin rushed over to the busy man. “Hey, if you want to take a smoke break, I can cover you for a little bit.”
Without any further encouragement, Todd threw his apron down on the counter and spun on his heel. “Hallelujah!” The door to the alleyway slammed behind him hard enough to make both boys wince. The kitchen was suddenly much quieter, save for the sizzling of oil and the bubbling of sauce.
Kevin immediately ran to the refrigerator, glancing once more over his shoulder to confirm that only the two of them remained in the room. Carefully, he gripped the sides of the machine and lifted it a few inches... A sudden punch to his back made him drop it again. The slam as it hit the floor reverberated throughout the room, barely masked by one from the door Edwina had just barreled through.
He dashed over to the stove and made a show of stirring the boiling-over sauce.
“Kevin, table eight is looking for you!” She stared when she saw him at the range. “What the—where's Todd?!”
He gave her a casual shrug. “I sent him out for a smoke break.”
“You...what?!” Edwina stiffened, her face reddening to match her hair. “Why would you do that!”
Another shrug, though he surreptitiously moved a little further away from her. “He seemed like he needed it.”
Her mouth opened and closed a few times. “Are you CRAZY?” she finally shrieked. “Table three is still waiting for that salmon re-fire, and five doesn't even have their apps yet!” Her eyes seemed to ignite. “Maybe you don't care if you get tipped or not, High-school, but some of us have tuition and books to pay for! I am not letting my GPA take a hit because you think someone's nicotine habit is more important than—” She broke off, turning to look at Alex who was now breathing deeply in an effort to center himself. “Is Alex okay? What's he even doing here?”
“He dropped something important under the refrigerator,” Kevin admitted. “We're just...trying to figure out how to get it back.”
She scrutinized the appliance in question, which was no longer flush against the wall. “You weren't trying to move that thing, were you? It's over six hundred pounds!”
“I know, I know,” said Kevin. “Don't worry. I'm...trying to be smart about it.”
Edwina snorted and rolled her eyes. After a moment, though, she suddenly lit up. “A levering system might work. I could calculate the length we'd need, based on the mass—”
Kevin thrust a basket of mozzarella sticks into her hands. “You said table five didn't get apps yet? These are on the house.”
That, at least, finally shut her up. “Don't forget my salmon!” she called, already rushing back out to the dining room.
When the door swung shut behind her, Kevin let out a breath. “Okay.” He turned back to the refrigerator. “Just hold on a little longer, Alex. I've got this.”
His brother nodded mutely.
He'd managed half an inch before the door to the alley swung open again, though at least this time, he managed to muffle the thud from the drop. A cloud of pungent smoke preceded Todd into the kitchen. Kevin nearly gagged. He could only imagine what wonders this aroma was doing for Alex.
“—isn't your boss! I am!”
Kevin froze.
His father stormed in after Todd, his face tinged a deep red. His eyes swept over the kitchen and landed on the two boys and the refrigerator. Immediately, he stilled.
Todd reached for one of the pans and started to grumble. “The fish is all—”
“Quiet.” His dad started to take a step towards them, paused, then beckoned Kevin over instead. When Kevin was close enough, his dad's voice dropped to a whisper. “What happened?”
“He dropped the necklace under the refrigerator,” Kevin whispered back.
His father frowned, then crossed the room to stand in front of Alex. “Alex,” he said gently, “go home.”
Alex shook his head.
“Go home,” his dad repeated. “We will get the necklace for you. It's okay. I promise.”
His brother remained still, except for the drumming fingers.
His dad sighed. “As stubborn as your old man was,” he muttered. He turned back to Kevin, and their eyes locked. “Well, I guess we'll have to...try...to move the refrigerator.”
“You can't move that thing!” Todd was staring at them both, wide-eyed. “It's over six-hundred pounds!”
“We know!” both father and son said at once.
“But I think,” his father continued, “if we try really, really hard... and go really, really slowly... we might just manage it. What do you think, Son?”
“Uh... Oh! Of course!” Kevin followed his father back to the refrigerator, and they took up their positions on either side of it.
“Now Kevin,” his father cautioned with a glance back at Todd, “make sure to be very careful, okay? Remember, this thing is very, very heavy, and we wouldn't want to break our backs.”
“Of course,” Kevin affirmed. He could feel his palms becoming slightly sweaty. Todd had turned back to the stove, but was still casting frequent glances their way.
“We're going to count to three,” his dad said. “And remember: slowly!”
He nodded, even though his father couldn't see him from the other side of the massive appliance. “Okay!”
On “three”, Kevin tensed all of his muscles as though straining, even letting out a few grunts for good measure. He heard his dad doing the same, and he let the man take the lead on how high and how far the refrigerator should go.
They'd only gone about an inch when his father said “Okay, let it down for a bit!”
Kevin still couldn't see the necklace. “But—”
“It's okay, Son!” his father insisted. “Don't try to be a hero!”
They let the refrigerator down gently, “rested” for a moment or two, then repeated the whole charade again. Inch by exaggerated inch, the metal monstrosity slowly crept across the tiles until, finally, a string of black beads peeked out from just under the edge. Kevin stooped and carefully picked up the necklace, handing it to his brother.
Alex wrapped his hand around the beads, and his breathing became slightly more normal. “...Thank you.”
Kevin smiled. “You're welcome.”
The door to the dining room flew open again, and Edwina set another ticket on the spike. “One order of pasta primavera, extra sauce. Table eight is getting really antsy, Kevin—oh! Mr. Logan, you're back! Table eight needs service, three and five are still waiting for their food, and while most of five appreciated the free mozzarella sticks, one of them is lactose intolerant!”
His father stretched, went to the sink, and started washing his hands. “Comp table eight, tell five we'll just be two more minutes, and offer three a free dessert for their trouble.”
“Is Alex okay?” she asked.
Kevin turned to check, but then did a double-take. The spot where his brother had stood was now quite empty.
“He'll be fine.” His dad made his way to the range and turned to wink at Kevin. “My boys are stronger than they look.”
_END_
