Rock N Roll Weight Gain

Chapter 2

When Ritchie's father passed away he was left with the old house and the car. He was glad for the car, but soon he realized that with his father gone he would have to fend for himself if he were to keep the house. He got the first job that he was able to find, which was in a diner – "Stu's Kitchen" – downtown. He worked for a friendly man who liked him a lot, especially after finding that the boy was very good at cooking. Business soon improved, as the boy's burgers acquired a good reputation, and that made both him and his boss very happy.

"Mornin' Ritch," said Boe, one of the waiters, who was especially friendly to Ritchie because he liked to get rides in the boy's black chevy.

"'Sup Boe," Ritchie responded, buttoning up his uniform red shirt, "caught Dio's concert yesterday. Dude's the best."

"If you like that sorta stuff, sure..." the tall black mocked, "Stu said we're supposed to sell two Stud Combos for the price of one today. He even advertised on radio. You 'bout to be very busy, my man."

"Shoot, that was today? I completely forgot. I'll prepare the kitchen, then. Where's Bri?"

"She's probably getting here soon," he said, meaning Brienne who helped out with the kitchen, "chill, we've got another hour before opening."

When they did open the restaurant there was not much of a crowd, only the elderly regulars who went there for light affordable breakfasts and friendly chats. Overall it was a very calm morning, and Stu himself, a tall, plump rosy-cheeked old man, was helping out with the orders.

Close to lunch, after Stu told Ritchie to take a break, the boy went to the back of the restaurant and rested gently on the hood of his car. He puffed on a cigarette and listened to Alice Cooper on his walkman. A red Ford Pinto slowly parked beside his spot, and he did not pay much mind to it, untila girl's voice said.

"Cool ride, kid."

 Ritchie almost didn't hear her, but he nodded happily. She was blond, with shoulder-length hair, wearing a baggy gray hoodie over gym clothes. Her body was on the thicker side, but it looked fit and healthy. He looked as the young woman continued to walk, and went outside a while after she did.

As he looked over the kitchen's counter, inside the restaurant was the girl. Absentmindedly he did not get it at first, but then he noticed. Although her hair and overall expression were different, without any make-up, it was most certainly the girl from the concert. He almost burned a few burgers, staring with his mouth open, as she sat there waiting for her order.

Suddenly a man came in, he was tall and broad-shouldered, and was wearing a high school jacket, even though he appeared to be older than a student. He seemed to be in a hurry, and almost did not stop when the girl tried to give him a kiss. Ritchie flinchered, and tried to keep on cooking even though his attention was wholly focused on the situation. The boy was speaking in a low tone, and the young woman was pitifully trying to make him laugh. Stu's broad back suddenly obfuscated the couple, because he went there to offer them coffee. The boy looked like he rudely refused, and the girl smiled apologetically at the old man. Then, it looked like she tried to hold the boy's hand, but he flinched, and then he said something in an angry tone to her, gesturing a lot as he talked. He got up brusquely and walked away, and the girl was left looking down at her coffee with teary eyes. Ritchie then placed a big order on the counter and rang the bell, a double Stud Combo, which were two big fries, two big burgers and soda. To his surprise, Boe took the order to the girl's table. "Shit," Ritchie thought to himself, "she's probably ordered for both of them, and it looks like her date's not interested." He felt very sorry for the girl, but after being called out by Brienne, a short curly haired girl, he paid more attention to what he was cooking.

After some time, he looked again at the table, but the girl was gone. He walked outside to take a break, as lunch was almost over and nobody had ordered for some time, and soon he noticed that the Ford was still in the parking lot. He walked up to his car and sat down in his car, with the door open. The red car's window rolled down and the girl smiled at him. Her eyes were swollen, as if she'd just cried.

"Got another one of those?" she asked, pointing at his cigarette.

He handed her one, doing his best not to get red in the face. She was very beautiful, even though she looked very different from when he saw her at the concert.

"Hey I..." he got the courage to say, "I saw you the other day at Dio's."

She went quiet for a moment, and now she was red in the face. She looked toward the other side, and said:

"You sure?"