Chapter 1 Initiation
Warning: Please don't take this seriously. I didn't.
Characters:
Victor Thomas: College student, age nineteen
Brian Thomas: College student, age eighteen
Tuck Tucker: Owns three restaurants, age fifty-five
Elizabeth Tucker; The Witch, Tuck's second wife, age Thirty-two
Betty: Bookkeeper, petite, meek, age thirty-seven
Trudy: Office worker, age twenty. Large eyes are her distinguishing feature.
Vera Tucker: Tuck's first wife and mother of his daughters. Age forty-three
Eric: Restaurant Manager and fiancΓ©e of Caroline Tucker
Caroline Tucker: Tuck's older daughter, age twenty-three
Sarah Tucker; Tuck's younger daughter, age Twenty-one
Melinda: Housekeeper in Tucker home, a Black girl with needs, goes by Missy, age Twenty-eight
Salvatore: Tuck's cousin, Manager of Tuck-South.
After four hours on the job I was bewildered. Why had I let my brother talk me in to spending my summer working for a family-owned restaurant chain? The job description, 'driver and miscellaneous duties' appealed to me, along with the promise of a place to sleep, with meals provided.
So far, I'd been read the riot act by the owner's wife.
"You'll sleep in the cottage at the rear of the house. The maid will deliver your evening meal. You are not to come inside the house unless you're specifically invited," Mrs. Tucker told me when I first arrived at company headquarters. I nodded to confirm that I understood her and was relegated to the first floor storeroom.
"Move everything from the front to the back and everything in the back to the front," the witch told me. "Don't break any of the china. If you do, I'll deduct the cost from your pay."
I was especially careful, carrying stacks of plates, cartons of glasses and individual mugs to shelves at the rear of the storeroom. The mugs had the company logo, a photo of the smiling owner and 'Tuck', screen-printed on them.
The same logo was on the side of a white van, which was backed into one section of the downstairs stock room.
I heard the footsteps of the three women tread the floor above. It was easy to tell which one was crossing the room. The sound Mrs. Tucker's high heels made was distinctive. It had a ring of authority when she walked to the kitchen for a cup of coffee or to the lady's room to take a leak. The sneakers Trudy wore scuffed the floor as she went about her tasks of printing menus, sending facsimiles or sorting the mail. Betty, the petite bookkeeper, only went to the kitchen to fill her coffee mug once that morning. Her heels made a sound to reflect her personality, soft, pleasant and unobtrusive.
At ten A.M. the witch used the intercom to tell me to go pick up her husband. "The keys are in the car, along with directions to the house. Bring him straight here."
I spoke to the box on the wall, "Yes, ma'am," and went outside and got into the Lincoln Town Car. The directions were easy to follow, and it only took a few minutes to drive the two miles. The home was large, and there was another car parked in front of the garage. I wondered why Mr. Tucker needed a driver.
He came out the side door of the house, looking older than the picture of him on the logo. I judged him to be in his middle fifties, much older than the witch whose footsteps had made such an impression on me all morning.
Should I get out and open the back door for him? He was seated in the passenger's seat next to me before I could decide.
"Victor? Please call me Tuck," he said, extending his hand.
"Thank you, Sir," I said, shaking his hand.
Tuck was not a big man. He was wearing a dark, summer suit. His dark hair was slicked back and his mustache was neatly trimmed.
"Did Professor Sawyer brief you about our business?" Tuck asked as I maneuvered the big car into traffic.
"Not really, Sir."
"We run a lean and mean operation. My wife manages the office and I...well, I'm not sure what I do. We only have three restaurants. Two are in the suburbs, catering to families, and one is downtown, concentrating on the theater district.
"I have a short meeting and then you can drive me to Tuck-North," he said as he got out of the car. I noticed a dark SUV was now parked in front of the building.
As I moved cartons of paper goods, cases of canned goods and boxes of cleaning supplies around in the stock room, I listened to the footsteps above. Now, in addition to the witch's high heels, there were scuffing sounds, which I assumed were made by men's shoes.
At eleven-thirty, two men came downstairs and drove off in the SUV. A minute later, Mr. Tucker appeared, saying he was ready to go. He directed me to a route that would avoid the city traffic, and proceeded to tell me more about his company's operation.
"My managers work four long days and are off two days. We move them around, with one exception, and that creates a scheduling nightmare. But I pay them well. That keeps them happy. I can't remember the last time one of my managers missed an assigned shift."
I wondered what the one exception was, but didn't ask. He seemed to be willing to tell me more and I was glad to listen.
"We serve a quality meal at the right price. My bartenders serve a damned fine cocktail, too," he said, and then turned his head to look at me. "I can't let you drink during working hours. What are you, twenty?"
"Nineteen, Sir," I said.
"You may as well know, Victor. I'd rather you hear it from me than one of my wives. I have a drinking problem."
He was looking straight ahead. I saw no need to comment, so I looked straight ahead, too. He directed me to Tuck-North and told me to drop him at the door and then park the car at the rear of the parking lot.