Bella by Lisa Samson

still be there.
    Manny grabbed José’s arm. “I didn’t know why she was late! All I knew was that she was late all the time!”
    â€œAnd you know she wasn’t always like that.” He pushed his hair back with a sigh. “Manny, she’s one of your best employees. Been here for four years. You ever stop to ask her what was going on?” José pointed to everyone around them. “You know anything about any of these people besides Amelia?”
    He might as well go all the way. He breathed in deeply. “You know anything more than the fact that Henry the bartender is making twice as much as Pepito, my cook ? Why does Pieter always give better sections to Kevin than Margarita?”
    â€œEnough!” Manny straightened his tie and looked around him, a flush seeping from his collar up to his hairline. He pushed José toward the walk-in freezer and shut the door behind them.
    Manny pushed José’s shoulder. “ What’s wrong with you? How do you get away with talking like that in front of my employees? ”
    It always came down to pride with Manny. “ What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you, man? What is it with you? What is it? ” José pushed Manny back. “ Carlos, Carlos, one of your people, he’s below minimum wage, man. Why is that, huh? Oh, he doesn’t have papers? And you can get away with it? ” He pushed open the door. “ We all slave in the kitchen for you. It’s all about you, man!”
    José stormed out of the walk-in. Time to get out of here. “ Enough of this talk about family ,” he mumbled.
    Manny followed. “José!”
    José picked up a pot on the counter and turned on Manny. “This pot is the same one you bought eight years ago when you opened. It scorches because it’s old.” He pushed the pot into Manny’s chest. “Buy another one.”
    José cruised by Kevin, then by Pieter, staring a hole into him. “You got something to say?” he asked Pieter.
    Pieter’s face paled.
    If he could say one more thing . . . no. He’d already become angry enough. There was no telling what he’d do to Pieter once he got started.
    â€œYou clean out your locker too! I’m done!” Manny hollered.
    José stopped, looked at his brother, and waved him off with a weary hand. He was done too. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
    â€œAnd call Mama. She’s worried.”
    I’ll bet she is , José thought.

Thirteen
    N ina ground out the half-smoked cigarette beneath her heel. She wasn’t planning to keep this baby, but just in case . . . pregnancy or not, it wasn’t good to smoke, right? She had to rely on something other than cigarettes to get through the rest of this day. She stepped into a nearby convenience store to buy some snacks for the trip to the beach.
    Several minutes later, apples and water in her bag, she waited back at her post, only imagining how Manny must have been reaming out his brother.
    José, hands balled up into clenched fists, pale with anger, stormed out of the restaurant, and right into traffic. Nina watched in horror as the driver of a maroon sedan jammed on his breaks and yelled out the window, “Hey, man! What are you tryin’ to do?”
    José stared at him, blinking, suddenly far away from the scene.
    Where did you go? Where do you go when that happens? she wondered.
    José shook his head and came to life again.
    She met him as he stepped up onto the curb. “Are you all right? What happened?”
    José shook his head, eyes moist. “Let’s go.”
    â€œDon’t tell me he fired you!”
    He just stared at her. Oh no.
    â€œI can’t believe him! He is such a piece of—”
    â€œHe’s been good to me.”
    Okay, fine. Family loyalty and all that. She got it. She adjusted
her purse. “I guess we did ruin his day.” She held up a