Bone in the Throat - Anthony Bourdain [50]
"I told her to take advantage. She should get her teeth bonded. You know Rachel?"
"That's the short one with the nose ring?"
"Yeah. She had all her teeth capped and a couple a root canals and it cost her like fifty bucks," said Stephanie.
"But, he's not practicing anymore," said Tommy.
"He isn't. It's his partner who does it. Harvey can set it up. Rachel had a couple a drinks with him and bingo—movie star teeth."
"That's really fucking squalid, man," said Tommy.
"I wouldn't do it," said Stephanie. "Not for that."
"You'd just tell Cheryl to do it," said Tommy.
"I was kidding," she replied.
Tommy finished his drink and ordered another. Stephanie snuggled closer to him. "Soooo," she said. "How long have you been seeing her?"
"A couple months, alright. Happy now? I didn't want everybody in the place to know," said Tommy.
"I think that's so cute," said Stephanie. "Restaurant Romance. Secret Affair. And nobody knew."
"It's nobody's business," said Tommy.
Stephanie ran her finger around the top of her glass. "I hear Harvey's going to bring in some musicians for brunch," she said.
"I heard that too," said Tommy.
"What do you think?"
"I think I don't like it. Our paychecks are bouncing and he's hiring a bunch of musicians. I don't get it."
"You see the fish tank in the window? What do you think of that?"
"Oh, god," said Tommy. "That's a fucking abortion. I can't believe he spent money on that. That costs a lot of money. He's gotta pay somebody to come in and clean it, there's the chemicals, the pumps, the filters, the little bubblers. And it looks like shit."
"It's hard to keep tropicals," said Stephanie. "I had a fish once. The water's got to be just right, you gotta check the pH all the time. It's a lot of work."
"Business sucks, he's having a hard time making the nut, and he goes out and spends all this money on a bunch of fuckin' fish. Then he's gotta pay some fuckin mook to come in and clean it. I just don't see where we get any return on it."
"He says it'll bring people in," said Stephanie.
"That's what he says about every stupid idea he gets. 'It'll bring 'em in.' Buncha dead fish floating in a tank in the window, that'll really bring 'em in," said Tommy bitterly.
"I don't mind them. I think they're pretty," said Stephanie.
"The chef wants to poison them when nobody's looking," said Tommy. "He hates that tank worse than I do."
Stephanie looked concerned. "He wouldn't really do that, would he? It's not their fault. The fish didn't do anything."
"He says it reminds him of those seafood joints with the lobster tanks. You know, 'See 'Em Swim. Pick Your Lobster.' He hates it."
Stephanie shuddered. Tommy could feel it travel through his body. "But, he wouldn't hurt the fish?" she asked.
"No, he wouldn't do that," said Tommy.
" 'Cause if he's gonna do that, let me know first. Maybe I can get Harvey to get rid of it. Maybe he'll let me have them. I'll take care of them," said Stephanie.
"Stephanie, you're such a softie. This is a side of you I've never seen," said Tommy.
"There's lots of sides of me you haven't seen yet," said Stephanie. "So, where's Cheryl? Waiting for you back at your place like the little woman?"
"Yeah, right. Can you see that?" said Tommy. "She's out visiting her folks in Rhode Island."
"Mmmm," said Stephanie thoughtfully. "How fortuitous." She slid her hand down Tommy's legs and squeezed his inner thigh.
"Cut it out," said Tommy, not too convincingly.
"You're blushing!" said a delighted Stephanie. She moved her hand up into his crotch and squeezed.
She led Tommy across the empty dining room and through the waiter station. They stumbled drunkenly down the stairs and through the swinging kitchen doors. The cooks were all gone. Big Mohammed was the only person in the kitchen. He was mopping behind the line, listening to Egyptian pop songs on the cassette player.
"Will he keep his mouth shut?" she asked.
"Big Mo'?" said Tommy. "I think so."
Tommy and Stephanie passed through the kitchen and down the hall to the dry