“Sal said?”
“You better be taking your break, Lola-Girl!” Sal called from the kitchen. I turned to face the pass, but he had his back to me. The guy knew everything that happened in his diner without even looking.
“I’m just about to take my break, maybe we could sit?” I asked Moira.
“Oh, yes. That’d be great.”
I moved out from behind the counter and slipped into the first open booth, smiling up at Jan as she poured us both coffee in the cups laid out on the table. Moira sat opposite me, wringing her hands on the plastic tabletop. She cleared her throat several times and stared out of the window.
“My son will kill me for saying this but…” She turned to face me and wrapped her hands around the cup. “He’s failing his classes.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say so lifted my cup to my lips and took a sip of the black coffee. “Which classes?”
“Mainly English, but he’s falling behind in math too.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Can you help him? Sal said you do tutoring and that you’re reliable. I need someone who will help him without it feeling like…” She trailed off, but I understood what she was saying. If there was any kind of person who refused help, it was a teenage boy.
“I get what you’re saying.” I took another sip of my coffee and placed the half-empty cup on the table. “I can help.”
Her shoulders sagged, and her eyes closed. “Thank god.” She chuckled. “I was so nervous to come and talk to you.”
I smiled wide. “I get it. Teenagers can be a nightmare.”
“They can, especially boys.” She leaned forward. “I was thinking maybe one session a week?”
“That could work. I could do sixty minutes of English and then thirty minutes of math.” I mentally tried to remember my schedule, but my brain was so tired I could barely remember my name. “I’ll need to check my schedule with Sal, but I’ll do it here at the diner.”
Moira nodded and placed her purse on the table, digging into it. “I’ll give you my number.” She pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, scribbling digits onto it. “If you call and let me know when you can do it, I can work on Cade on my end.”
“Cade??
? I asked, taking the paper from her.
“Oh.” She chuckled again, the high pitch making me wince. “That’s my son.”
“Gotcha.” I looked down at the paper, folded it in half, and pushed it into the front pocket of my apron. “I’ll contact you with time and dates, and we can go from there.” I stood at the same time Sal came into the main section.
“Moira?” He halted, his head rearing back. “What are you doing here?”
Moira stood, shouldering her purse as she did. “I came to talk to Lola about the tutoring you mentioned to me.” She stepped toward him and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You should come over for dinner this week. We haven’t seen you in what feels like forever.”
Redness spread on Sal’s cheeks and Moira stepped back, staring at him and waiting for an answer. I bit down on my bottom lip to stop the laugh that wanted to escape. I’d never seen Sal like this before, and I was going to relish in every single second of it.
“You know how busy I get.” He cleared his throat and flicked his gaze from me to Moira. “How’s the big guy?”
Moira heaved a sigh. “You know how he gets. He’s swamped at work, so I hardly get to see him at the moment.”
Sal placed his hand on her shoulder and dipped down. “I’m sure it’ll slow down soon enough.”
“That’s what he keeps telling me, but it’s been over a year now, and nothing’s changing.” She shook her head, her light-blond hair fanning around her. “Listen to me complaining about him when he’s trying to do good in the world.” She clutched the strap of her purse and turned to face me. “I’ll speak to you soon?”
“Yep. I’ll take a look at my schedule after my shift is finished.”
“Thank you.” She waved her hand at both of us and walked out of the diner, her head held high and shoulders squared.
“You know…” I started, looking up at Sal. “It’s rude to stare.”
“Shut it,” he murmured, grabbing the two used cups off the table. “There’s a pile of dishes in the kitchen with your name on it.”
“Ugh.” I followed after him, narrowing my eyes at the shake of his shoulders. “You’re so mean.”