Dan arrived at the pizzeria to find Ernie waiting for him at the front door. The young man was wearing new blue jeans, his Parker's Perfect Pizza tee-shirt, and a new pair of shoes. Surprised at the change in the young man, Dan said, "Hello, Ernie."
"Hello, Mr. Parker. I'm ready to work," Ernie said straightening up.
Dan was about to tell Ernie to call him Dan when he thought about it. The past two weeks had been about letting Ernie understand a little about life. A little time spent showing people that he respected them would be a good thing. Nodding his head, he said, "Okay."
"Great," Ernie said meaning it. He had been afraid that Dan would send him off to another miserable job for a week. The kinds of jobs that he had imagined were pretty bad. He could see himself emptying the porto-pots that were at all of the construction sites. That had to be a horrible job.
Dan unlocked the doors and said, "You'll need to put the chairs down off of the tables while I start the muffins."
"Yes, sir," Ernie said turning to the task immediately. This was the first time he had ever gotten there early enough to actually help open the store.
Dan watched him work for a minute and then headed towards the kitchen. There were muffins to make and the sooner they were in the oven the sooner they would be ready for sale. He had prepared enough batter for five dozen muffins. His little morning snack had taken on a life of its own. He was going to start offering chocolate chip, blueberry, and peach muffins. They all used the same batter and that simplified things significantly.
He had just finished folding the blueberries into the batter when Ernie poked his head in the kitchen and asked, "What do you want me to do now?"
"Make some coffee," Dan answered.
"I already started it," Ernie said.
Surprised to learn that Ernie was actually showing some initiative, Dan said, "I guess you can put out the pizza toppings in the pizza station."
"Yes, sir," Ernie said. He went over to the refrigerator and started removing the ingredients.
Dan glanced over at the young black man and said, "Don't try to carry too many things in a single trip. You'll drop them."
"Yes, sir," Ernie said putting back one of the tubs. He decided it would be better to be safe than sorry. The last thing he wanted to do was screw up this chance. Glancing over at Dan, he knew that this was his last chance to succeed.
Cathy entered the pizzeria and saw Ernie at the pizza station. Disgusted, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm working," Ernie said placing the tubs in the holes.
"I thought we had gotten rid of you," Cathy said wondering if quitting was an option. She didn't want to work with Ernie. The guy was a complete jerk and the comments he had made about her were way over the line of decency.
"Mr. Parker is giving me another chance," Ernie said looking over at her.
"Oh," Cathy said. She noticed that he was filling the pizza station and said, "That's my job."
"Mr. Parker told me to fill it," Ernie said. He gestured to the back room and said, "We'll ask him what he wants me to do now that you're here."
"Okay," Cathy said.
Dan came out of the kitchen and headed over to the pizza station. He turned on the pizza oven so that it would be at the proper temperature when it was time to start cooking pizzas. Turning it on too early was just a waste of electricity. Noticing Cathy was there, he said, "Cathy, would you show Ernie what needs to be done in order to get the store ready to open?"
She glanced over at Ernie thinking that he was just going to watch her work and said, "I guess so."
"Let him do the work," Dan said. He poured a cup of coffee before returning to the kitchen.
Cathy went over to the pizza station and rummaged through the shelf under the cash register. She found what she was looking for and said, "Here's the procedure we're to follow in the morning."
"Okay," Ernie said looking at the sheet of paper in her hand.
Looking down at the list, she said, "The chairs are down, the coffee is made, the pizza station is filled, and Dan is working in the kitchen. We need to put the clean mugs in the freezer so they'll be frosty cold by lunch. After that, we need to restock the to-go boxes, the pizza pans, the refrigerator, and the condiment stations. After that, we'll inspect the bathroom and floors."
"Yes, ma'am," Ernie said heading back to the kitchen to get the mugs from the kitchen.
Cathy waited in the dining area for him to return. She expected to hear the crash of mugs getting dropped. She was almost disappointed when he came out with a tray of mugs without having dropped it.
While putting the mugs into the freezer, Ernie said, "I want to apologize to you. I was not very nice to you when I worked here before."
Cathy was shocked by his apology. She didn't know what to say to him. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "You weren't very nice."
"I agree," he said. Knowing that he'd have to be satisfied with that lukewarm acceptance of his apology, Ernie returned to putting mugs in the freezer. It was almost full. He asked, "What do I do with any mugs that won't fit in the freezer?"
"Take them back to the kitchen. Dan likes to keep at least twenty boxes for each size pizza out here. See how many of them you need before returning to the kitchen," Cathy said.
"Right," Ernie said turning to where Dan kept the boxes.
It was during that quiet time after lunch when Eric entered the pizzeria. He had chosen that time of day to visit knowing that Dan wouldn't be busy. It always amazed him that someone younger than him owned such a magnificent business. Each time he visited this place, his respect for Dan went up another notch.
Dan waved to him when he entered. Eric made a gesture like he was drinking from a mug and stopped by the pizza station to a root beer. After Ernie had handed it over, he went over to where Dan was working on his books. He always felt like he was interrupting something when he came over. He said, "Hello, Dan."
Dan looked up at him and said, "Hello, Eric. How are things going?"
Eric smiled at Dan and, in a very calm voice, said, "Something rather amazing happened last night and I wanted to share it with someone. I figured you would be the best person to tell."
"What happened?" Dan asked thinking that Eric was rather subdued this afternoon. Normally the guy talked fast and expressively about whatever was going on in his life. Eric wasn't waving his hands around in the air like usual.
"I saved someone's life last night," Eric said in a soft voice that wasn't suggestive of bragging. It was the most amazing experience of his life and he didn't want to demean it by boasting.
Dan said, "Wow. What happened?"
"A man was having a heart attack and his heart stopped beating by the time we arrived on scene. For all intents and purposes, he was dead. I put the paddles on him and brought him back to life," Eric said.
It was one thing to go through the training to learn how to do something like that, but another to actually do it. Dan said, "I'm impressed."
"It really made me think," Eric said. He had gotten into the EMS squad in order to help people. Last night had been the first time that he had done something significant. Up until that time, it had been mostly dealing with people who had injured themselves in an accident or were feeling sick. Most of them could have driven themselves to the hospital. This had been different. This had been a matter of life and death.
"I imagine," Dan said watching the mix of emotions flash across Eric's face. It was pretty obvious to him that Eric had experienced something significant.
Eric said, "I guess it is time that I grew up."
"What do you mean?" Dan asked.
"I've been drifting. It is funny, but the EMS work was the first thing that I've ever done that actually meant something. I liked the feeling."
Dan nodded his head in understanding. He said, "I can see where you would feel good about it."
Shrugging his shoulders, Eric said, "I've been watching you build this pizzeria. I'm really impressed by what you've done."
"Thank you," Dan said feeling pleased by the compliment. Although he didn't brag about it, he was proud of the pizzeria.
"Last night as we were working to save that guy's life, his family was standing around us looking terrified that they were going to lose him. I realized that if I were to drop dead today that there'd be no one who would really miss me," Eric said. It had been rather touching how the teenaged children were watching events unfold with wide terrified eyes.
Concerned that Eric was being a little too hard on himself, Dan said, "There are a lot of people who would miss you."
"Well, I only have a few friends," Eric said softly. When he wanted to talk about the previous night with someone, he realized that there were only three people who he felt would understand: his parents and Dan.
"Don't underestimate how many people care about you," Dan said. He'd never seen Eric this introspective. Up until now, he had believed that Eric had two moods — he was either carefree or excited about something.
"I've decided that it is about time that I move into a real house and start getting serious about my life. I saw last night just how fragile life really is," Eric said. If they had arrived on the scene just a few minutes later, the man would have died. It was a very sobering thought.
"No one is exempt from death," Dan said.
"That's a fact of life," Eric said nodding his head in agreement.
"Are you going to stay with the EMS squad?" Dan asked. It wasn't clear what the young man intended to do from the way that he was talking.
It was a good question. Eric had joined the EMS squad to be a hero. He had wanted to save peoples lives thinking that it would result in some scene out of a comic book with him standing heroically over the villain. The reality of it was very different. It felt good to save someone. There was that sense that he had done something very important, but somehow he had imagined that there would be more to it. He wasn't disappointed, but it had made him re-evaluate what was motivating him. He said, "Yes. In fact, I'm going to help buy some more equipment for them."
"That's good," Dan said.
Eric nodded his head and said, "Well, I just stopped by because I wanted to tell someone what I had done."
"I'm honored that you chose to tell me," Dan said.
Looking Dan in the eye, Eric said, "I came here because I knew that you would understand and wouldn't make too big of a deal about it."
Wondering if he had been a little too reserved in how he had reacted, Dan said, "It is a big deal and you should be proud of what you've done."
"I know and I am proud of it. It was also incredibly private," Eric said. He had begun to understand why Dan had been so quiet about what had happened that day with the tornado.
"Private. I like the way that sounds," Dan said nodding his head.
"Anyway, thanks for listening to me," Eric said.
"Any time," Dan replied.
"I'm going to go out and look for a new house. It is time that I get ready for the rest of my life," Eric said.
"Are you going to find a job?"
Eric shook his head and said, "I have two jobs. I've got to manage my investments and I'm working the late shift on the EMS squad. I don't need to do anything else."
"You're probably right," Dan said. He still wasn't sure if Eric was actually that rich.
"I'll see you around," Eric said.
"Anytime. Next time, the root beer is my treat," Dan said. He always told Eric that, but his friend always paid for his drink.
Granny Parker entered the pizzeria and immediately spotted Ernie standing at the pizza station. She frowned and considered turning around. Muttering under her breath, she said, "I'm going to have a long talk with that boy. There is no reason to keep that waste of space around."
She hadn't taken more than two steps when Ernie was standing in front of her. He said, "Granny Parker."
She snapped, "What do you want?"
"I apologize for my rude and obnoxious treatment of you in the past. You deserve far more respect than I've shown you," Ernie said.
Granny Parker raised an eyebrow and studied Ernie. He appeared to be sincere, but she didn't trust him. She said, "Apology accepted, but don't expect me to trust you."
"I don't expect that, ma'am," Ernie said. It was disheartening to find that everyone to whom he had apologized had accepted his apology, but none of them trusted him. It was hard to blame them for their attitudes.
"Good," Granny Parker said.
"If you need anything, just call on me," Ernie said.
"Okay," she said. He seemed sincere, but that didn't mean anything.
Ernie returned to the pizza station while Granny Parker headed towards the restroom to change clothes. She swung by the kitchen and saw Dan making another batch of pizza dough. He looked over at her and smiled. He said, "Good afternoon, Granny Parker."
"I see that boy is back," Granny Parker said.
"Yes, he is," Dan said.
Frowning, she said, "I'll give him this chance, but if he blows it then one of us is leaving."
"You'll be staying here if that happens," Dan said letting her know which one of the two he'd rather have there. Ernie was on probation.
"Good. I'd count the register tonight very carefully if I was you," Granny Parker said. She didn't have a very good opinion of Ernie and wanted to make sure that Dan knew it.
Smiling Dan said, "I think you'll find that he's a lot different today."
"A leopard doesn't change its spots," Granny Parker said.
"It does when you soak it in bleach for a week," Dan replied with a grin.
She laughed at the image of a big cat sitting in a tub of bleach. She said, "You might be right."
Pointing to the bag she was carrying, he asked, "So what are you wearing for us today?"
"I've got an orange wig," Granny Parker answered.
Shaking his head, Dan said, "I'm sorry, but I really have to know where you got those outfits you wear. Where do you get an orange wig?"
"That's a granny secret," she answered with a grin.
"I'm serious. I've got to know," Dan said.
Granny Parker smiled at him and said, "You live seventy years and the weirdest things end up in your closet. Sometimes the only reason you keep them is because you're too embarrassed to throw them away."
"Okay," Dan said. He could see how buying one stupid thing a year would leave you with some pretty odd stuff in your closet.
She smiled at him and said, "The kids like it when I dress up a little weird. It lowers their guard so that I can get closer to them. You can't help someone who views you as an overbearing old woman with a corncob up your ass."
Dan laughed and said, "You have an amazing vocabulary."
"Thanks," Granny Parker said. She looked down at the floor for a moment and then said, "I'm serious about you not trusting Ernie. People don't change that much so quickly. He'll work at it for a while, but then he'll revert to his old self."
"I don't expect to change him," Dan said with a smile. He knew that it was impossible. All he could do was to show him the consequences of his actions and let him know that he had choices. He said, "All I've done is I give him the tools to help him change himself. What happens next is up to him."
"I'm still going to watch him like a hawk," Granny Parker said. She'd hate for the pizzeria to suffer because an idiot decided to do something stupid.
Ernie went home after his shift. Walking into the house, he looked around. His brother, Sam, was seated in front of the television watching music videos. Ernie listened to the music for a minute and then said, "That's bullshit."
"What?" Sam asked looking over at his brother.
"Turn that crap off," Ernie said.
Surprised, Sam said, "I thought you liked this music."
"Not any more," Ernie said.
"What happened?" Sam asked staring at his brother as if he was from another planet.
Gesturing to the television, Ernie said, "That music is all about how things are bad for Blacks. We're gangsters. We've got attitude and everyone has got to get out our way. It is all bullshit."
"What do you mean?"
Ernie said, "Are you going to trust someone who says that they hate you, they're going to fuck your woman, steal your money, and possibly kill you?"
"Hell, no," Sam said.
Pointing to the screen, Ernie said, "That's what they're talking about. You go around spouting that kind of nonsense and you're going to end up on a roof pushing hot tar around with a mop. You actually do what they're talking about and you'll end up in jail taking it up the ass."
"Huh?"
"I want more than that," Ernie said realizing as the words came out of his mouth that he really did want more than that. It dawned on him that he wasn't like the Blacks in those music videos. He didn't live in the projects. He didn't belong to a gang. He was a kid from a middle class neighborhood. The world they talked about wasn't his reality and it wasn't a reality that he wanted.
"You're the one who is going to end up being Bubba's bitch," Sam said with a frown. The last thing he wanted was to have his brother giving him advice on how to succeed in life.
"No, I'm not."
"What do you think you're going to do?" Sam asked staring at him.
Smiling, Ernie said, "One day I'm going to own my own business. I'm going to make money, buy a house, get married, and raise a herd of kids. People are going to say, 'There goes Mr. Smithers. He's a rich man, but a good man.' People are going to look at me with respect."
"Who are you kidding?" Sam asked looking at his brother like he had lost his mind.
"No one. I can do it, but it is going to be a lot of work," Ernie said.
"Right," Sam said.
Shaking his head, Ernie said, "Turn off that music. You don't need that influence in your life."
"Now you're starting to sound like Mom," Sam said.
Although Sam had meant for it to be an insult, Ernie decided that wasn't half bad. He said, "Maybe she isn't as dumb as you think."
"Yeah, right," Sam said thinking that it was Ernie who thought their mother was dumb. He turned back to watch the music videos.
Shaking his head, Ernie went into his room and got out the pad of paper. It was time to work on his personal definition of happiness. He sat down and read a little of the article thinking back to his discussion with his little brother. After a half an hour of working diligently on describing the emotional environment that he wanted, he paused when his mother called out, "Dinner is ready."
Ernie put away his material and headed to the kitchen. As he settled into his seat, he looked at the food on the table. Dinner that night was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. He said, "It looks good."
"I thought you didn't like meatloaf," his mother said.
Ernie shrugged his shoulders and said, "It is not so bad."
"Oh," she said. She had talked to Captain Dawson earlier that day to find out what Ernie was doing while she was away at work. She'd been a little uneasy when Captain Dawson had laughed and told her not to worry.
"Pass the potatoes, please," Ernie said looking over at his mother.
"Sure," she said. She was trying to remember the last time he had said please to her.
Sam entered the room and took a seat at the table. He glanced over at his brother and shook his head. Turning to his mother, he said, "I've got a baseball game tomorrow night. Will you be there?"
"I'll try," she answered.
It had been years since Ernie had watched a baseball game. The last time was back when his big brother was playing the game in high school. He remembered sitting in the stands cheering for his brother. He said, "Sure, I'll be there."
"You never come to my games," Sam said surprised by Ernie's statement.
"There's a first time for everything," Ernie said shrugging his shoulders.
"I'll believe that when I see it," his mother said dismissively. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she didn't trust it.
"You and me, both," Sam said. Looking at his mother, Sam said, "All of a sudden he's doing this big brother thing. He should keep his mouth shut. I don't need him telling me what kind of music I should or shouldn't listen to."
Their mother looked from one boy to the other. She shook her head and said, "I wish I understood what was going on."
Lazlo Zalezac