Episode 75 How to Gage pressure

 

 Episode 75

Ted pushed through his duties with a frantic energy, scrubbing the tables as if he could polish his way to freedom. Marco was still clearly bothered by something, a dark cloud hanging over him, but there wasn't a moment to address it while the work was piled high. Once the gas situation was sorted and the last guest had finally departed—leaving nothing behind but a settled bill—Ted shut the doors tight.

He cleared the last of the tables and finally sat down for a quick lunch. Marco dropped into the chair across from him, his eyes heavy with suspicion. "What's going on with you?" Marco asked, leaning in.

"Nothing, really. Like I said, it's nothing," Ted replied, his voice a bit too thin. He tried to keep his eyes from drifting toward the window, where the new guy was sitting out on a picnic table. Ted had always thought Marco was far too observant for his own good. He looked down at his plate, but the food was unappetizing; he took only two or three bites before pushing it away.

With the staff so thin, there was barely a heartbeat of free time between the lunch rush and dinner prep. Ted stood back up and began the desperate process of wiping down the tables and resetting them for the evening meal. He worked with a blur of efficiency, every second saved being a second he could use to find out what Shelly was up to.

Fifteen minutes before Ted finished, Shelly and Gage had already clocked out for the day. Gage leaned against the siding of the building, looking relaxed. "Why don't we have a late lunch or early dinner at a place in Cannon Beach?" Gage suggested. "I believe it’s called Moe’s. We could go there, and you can fill me in about life here."

As he spoke, Gage reached out and tucked a small piece of blue sea glass behind Shelly's ear. She flushed, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Well, you see... I don't know if that would be exactly..."

Gage cut her off with a smile. "Hey, it’s just friendship. Just a meal. You can tell me all the cool things about being at the beach and we can just continue to talk."

Shelly hesitated. She knew Ted would be done in the next half hour, but then she remembered the breakup. He was the one who broke it off. *I guess I’m free,* she thought. Gage seemed cool, and it was just as friends. She looked up and said, "Okay, Gage, let's go."

They caught the shuttle from North Cannon Beach to South Cannon Beach, laughing and joking. They walked into Moe’s and ordered burgers, fries, and milkshakes, all served in the restaurant's signature frisbees. Shelly briefly thought about how many times she and Ted had come here, but she pushed it out of her mind. This wasn't the same Ted she had fallen in love with. She and Gage had a great time for over an hour, dipping fries into their shakes and enjoying the meal. Afterward, they chose to walk the two and a half miles back up the beach, watching the gulls swoop and the waves crash. Gage thought she was beautiful, but he kept his intentions respectable; he just wanted a peaceful new start after the bad blood at his old job in Washington.

Meanwhile, Ted finally punched out and rushed to the laundry area where the time cards were kept. He saw Shelly’s card was already clocked out. He dropped off the loading dock and ran to the ice cream shop, but she wasn't there. He felt a brief spark of relief that she wasn't there with Gage. He then rushed to her dorm and knocked on the kitchen door.

Maria came down the stairs. "She’s not here," Maria said simply. She had seen Shelly head off with Gage from a distance, but she didn't like getting involved in other people's business. She shut the door, and Ted went to the beach to ask around, but no one had seen her. Frustrated, he went back to his dorm to try and relax for the two hours he had free before the dinner shift.

When the dinner shift began, 150 guests flooded the dining room. Ted worked hard, especially at the table with the guest speakers and the founders' children, who always requested him. They had complicated, weird orders, and he buzzed around making sure they felt they had preferential treatment. Once the shift ended at last, the staff sat down for a meal of beef tips in a delicious sauce. Ted ate only because he hadn't eaten all day.

Thinking he would save some work for the morning, Ted only threw on the tablecloths, leaving the napkins and silverware for later. But the dining room manager came out and demanded they finish the reset. Ted tried to be cheeky with her, but she wasn't having it. "Please reset, and then you can go," she said. It was 9:30 PM by the time they finally finished and clocked out.

Ted made one last sweep. The ice cream shop was closed and the courtyard was empty. He went back to the girls' dorm and knocked. A girl named Zuri, short and dainty, answered with a bit of an attitude. "She's not here. It's after 9:30 and we have an early shift. We don't like the knocks."

Determined, Ted used his key to enter the staff lounge. As his eyes adjusted, he saw Shelly and Gage sitting together watching a movie. "Oh, Ted, how was your day?" Shelly asked.

"Stressful," Ted muttered. He looked at Gage. "You can pause the movie, **Tire Gage**," he snapped, making fun of the name. He asked Shelly to speak outside. He told her he had worked fast specifically to see her and have a fresh start. "I saw how much fun you were having on that park bench, and now I find you here. What did you do all day?"

Shelly crossed her arms. "It's none of your business, but he invited me to Moe's. We had a meal and walked the beach. Now we're watching a movie. You can't claim every spot as yours, Ted, especially since you broke up with me. You're welcome to watch with us, or we can talk tomorrow on our day off."

She went back inside, leaving Ted in the cold. He trudged back to his dorm building. He went to the restroom to wash up, where he ran into Arnold, the scrawny assistant gardener.

"Hi, Ted," Arnold said. "I got a new roommate. I think his name is Gage."

Ted’s heart dropped. Not only would he have to see Gage with Shelly, but now he was going to be living with the man. He’d have to be nice to him, or everyone would think he was picking on the new guy. It was the perfect end to a miserable day.