BELLE

The rest of the evening was a blur. That was one nice thing about working at the diner; it kept you busy enough that time moved quickly.

There wasn’t a single moment when I didn’t have something to do. I was grateful for it, even if I was exhausted by the end of the day. It kept me distracted from my own thoughts.

It was dark now and well past 10 p.m. I groaned as I looked at the clock. I still had two more hours of my shift left.

I wouldn’t mind being the only waitress on the floor if I were with Tommy—hardly anyone comes in after...