Healing His Broken Luna.... Chapter 99

Chapter 12 - Work

I've just devoured my first New York slice of pizza and it was amazing. To think, just three days ago, I was devastated over two little bread rolls that Alpha Jaxon ground into dust.

This was shaping up to be the best day of my adult life so far. I had slept in a warm bed, taken a hot shower and had fresh new clothes on. I've eaten more food in the last few days then I get in a whole week and I spent the day in Central Park doing what I wanted.

I made my way back towards Hell's Kitchen so I wouldn't be late for work. I walked by Hell's Glam Salon and that nice man from earlier this morning waved to me as I walked by. Brews and Bites was a big corner restaurant and bar. Its exterior was painted black, while the rest of the building above it was still red brick. I pulled the door open and stepped in.

"Are you Syble?" A young man wearing black slacks and a fancy white button up shirt asked me.

I nodded my head and felt a little uncertain if I was dressed appropriate. 

"I'm Pete. I'm Lola's second in command here. She won't be in until later, but I'll be evaluating you tonight to see if you're a good fit for the job. Follow me to the back and we'll get you set up."

The back hallway had a restroom for employees only and it had a dozen lockers on the walls.

"You're welcome to use a locker during your shift for your personal items. Clean aprons are hanging on the rack over here, at the end of your shift, toss the dirty apron into this bin. All of the dirty tablecloths and napkins also go in the same bin and they're swapped out the next morning by our cleaning service. Oh, and Lola doesn't like cell phone's visible while working."

I placed my backpack in a locker and shoved my jacket inside. I closed the locker door and pulled the key out to lock it. I slipped the key in my pocket. We walked through two swinging doors and into the kitchen.

"Everyone, this is Syble, she's going to be our new dishwasher and barback. She has a speech disability but understands everything you say. Please make her feel welcomed."

I followed Pete around and he showed me the restaurant, bar, and back rooms. He showed me how Lola liked the dishes washed and where everything goes. We moved into a walk-in refrigerator and he showed me where all the fancy beers were at, chilled wines and bar condiments for restocking the bartender's supplies. Then he showed me how to change a keg of beer, carbonation tanks and soda fountain syrup refills.

I stocked the bar with coasters, napkins, ice, chilled glassware, condiments, straws, etc. The bartenders working were very nice to me as I worked. This really didn't feel like work compared to the chores I had to do at the pack house.

An hour later, I returned to the sink and washed the dishes that were piling up. I listened to the music playing in the kitchen while the chefs cooked up a storm.

"I'm Ricardo and this is Carlos. I hope you don't mind the Bachata music." Ricardo the chef said. I smiled and shook my head. It was very nice and made dish washing move quicker.

"You'll have to excuse Ricardo's singing, he thinks he's Romeo Santos or something." Carlos let out a hearty laugh.

"You like enchiladas? Tonight's special is a shrimp and crab stuffed enchilada. Everyone working gets a plate of the house special." Ricardo told me. I have no idea what an enchilada is, but I sure was looking forward to trying it tonight.

I continued to wash dishes and stopped to check on the bar supplies. I was scrubbing a big pot when a waitress spilled a bowl of soup just outside the swinging doors to the restaurant dining area. I moved quickly to get the broom and mop out and had it all cleaned up in a matter of minutes. It was like reflexes for me. If you didn't move fast enough at the pack house you'd get a beating.

"Great work!" I heard Pete say. "Take your thirty minute dinner break. Help yourself to a plate of the house special. Oh, and nonalcoholic beverages are included while you're working, you can grab it at the bar."

I nodded and smiled. The hours seemed to sail right by into the evening. Ricardo gave me a plate of the enchiladas with rice and beans. It was out of this world delicious. I've never had anything with such wonderful and robust flavors.

The kitchen closes at 10pm and the dining room at 11pm. Soon enough I was scrubbing the last of the pots and pans. The bar closed at 2am on weekdays and 4am on weekends. I scrubbed the sink out and made one last check on the bar supplies. It was midnight when I noticed Lola was sitting at the end of the bar talking to someone. The bar was pretty busy, and I could scent at least two wolves in the establishment. I walked back into the kitchen and Pete approached me.

"You did wonderful tonight. We'd like to offer you the job. Your shift will be Tuesday through Saturday from three thirty to midnight. We offer eighteen dollars an hour to start. How's that sound?" He asked.

I nodded my head and smiled. I had a job. A job that paid me money.

"Here's the pay for tonight, it's one hundred and forty-five dollars. We usually pay the dishwasher cash out of the register, because they don't seem to last long. Some people can't handle the hard work I guess."

A giggle escaped me. I hardly recognized my own laugh. Hard work? That was pretty easy and fun. Plus, I got fed and paid for being here. This is great!

"We'll see you tomorrow?"

I nodded my head and made my way over to the bathroom. I put the apron in the soiled bin and used the restroom. I shoved the money in the pocket of my jeans and unlocked the locker. I wasn't sure where I would go tonight. The shelter I stayed at locked the doors at nine. I put my jacket and backpack on and left the restaurant. I walked three blocks west and realized I was walking in the wrong direction toward the water docks. I turned around and walked back in the direction that I came.

I was wondering if I should try and find a place to sleep in Central Park or maybe just wait at the train station until morning. Selene said that hotel rooms are cheaper outside of Manhattan, I have no idea what a room will cost. I've never had my own money. I took the subway map out of my pocket and tried to figure out if I was near a train tunnel that could get me to Brooklyn.

"You look lost." I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned to find a tall pale looking man. His eyes almost looked red for a moment and then I noticed they were like deep black voids. Instinctively I sniffed the air to make sure it wasn't a rogue. I couldn't smell anything because the wind was still.

I wished the wind was blowing in my direction so I could scent him. He had me nervous for a moment, there was something unnatural about him. A gust of wind hit his back and blew his scent right to me. He wasn't a wolf, but I did smell blood. That's strange, he didn't look hurt.

"She's with me Ambrose." I heard a female voice nearly growl behind me. It was Lola.

"She must be new." He said.

"New to Hell's Kitchen yes. I'll make sure she stays away from your docks." Lola told him.

"She smells sweeter than most mutts."

"We'll be leaving now. I suggest you return to your docks." She grabbed my elbow and we walked back silently for the remaining two blocks back to the restaurant.

"Alright kid, start talking!" Lola said staring at me intensely.

I opened my mouth to say something but only squeaks could be heard. I reached in my backpack for my note pad and pen.

"To the back office." Lola said and I followed her.

"You're a wolf!" She said. I nodded my head yes and then no.

"What do you mean?"

I wrote down, "I never shifted on my eighteenth birthday."

"I can barely smell it, but I'm picking up the scent. Even the leech scented you. Your wolf is weak. Do you have a pack?" She asked.

I wrote, "I used to. I was turned into a pack slave when my parents died eight years ago."

"That's awful. No wonder you're so skinny. Is someone going to be looking for you?" She asked.

"No. I'm no one important." It wasn't a lie. They think I'm dead.

"Do you have any family?" She asked and I shook my head no.

"Where are you staying?" 

I jotted the word "shelter" down.

She paused for a moment. And I sniffed the air in the office realizing she was also a wolf. I had caught her scent earlier in the bar but wasn't able to pinpoint her in a full room. When I first met her, she was smoking a stinky cigarette, so I didn't pick up her scent. I wondered what she was doing here.

"Yes, I'm a wolf. A lone wolf actually." She said, noticing that I was scenting the air. 

"I moved to New York with my parents when I was a pup. Our pack's Alpha, Alpha Jordan, was killed in a war with all of our warriors. What remained of our pack was taken over by a LaRue Alpha from the neighboring territory. My father had family in New York and wanted to resettle here. Alpha LaRue was generous enough to help my parents and they started this bar. When they passed away, I took over and expanded into a restaurant. The building is still owned by LaRue Enterprises."

I nodded my head. I had never met another wolf who didn't talk down to me or treat me like a slave. I hope she doesn't ask me to leave.

"We have an open studio apartment upstairs. It's pretty small, about 320 square feet. It usually rents for fourteen hundred, but I can give it to you for twelve hundred a month. All the utilities are included in the rent. And it's semi furnished." She said.

I quickly shook my head yes. YES PLEASE!

"Alright kid, follow me."

Lola led me to the stairs outside the building right next to the restaurant. She gave me three keys; one for the main lobby door, one for the mailbox and one for apartment 3F.

"The apartment doesn't have a phone or wifi, most humans just use cell phones. The laundry facilities are in the basement and the trash shoot is at the back of each hallway. The building has six floors above the restaurant with a total of twenty-five apartments ranging from two bedrooms to studios. I'm on the top floor. The train line is two blocks east, but we have two grocery stores within a five block radius and a Target. You can go anywhere in the city in the daytime but stay away from the water docks at night."

I wanted to ask her about the docks and Ambrose but had left my pad of paper and pen down in her office. I suppose I could always ask her later.

"We'll see you tomorrow at three thirty, get some rest. There should be one set of sheets and a blanket in the closet that are clean." Lola said and left me at the door to my new home.

The apartment was more than twice the size of my stall and had one window. It also had a small closet and a tiny bathroom with a shower. There was a mini fridge, small microwave and sink. No stove, but I found an electric hot plate and a toaster oven in the cabinet. There was a television mounted on the wall and a queen sized bed.

I put the sheets and blanket on the bed but didn't find any pillows. The mattress looked new and the smell of fresh paint lingered in the air. I need to make a list and do some shopping tomorrow. I still had Saul's wallet and my pay from this evening. Maybe I'd even buy a plant for my single window.

I stripped my clothes off and slipped on a shirt. I wrapped myself around in the blanket and drifted off to sleep before I even had the chance to thank the Moon Goddess for a wonderful day.

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