"Welcome, Frank," Sadie said, and used her hand to direct me toward the cafeteria line. A small gap in the line was created when she greeted me and I think she was intent on seeing it closed. Something about her manner made me hustle to fill the gap. "You owe me five days, Houser," Sadie called as we moved toward the chili.

"Five days?" I asked Houser for clarification.

"Yeah, I gots to work the line," Houser said, nodding to the buffet line, "if you eat a lot, you owes days to Sadie." He smiled as he picked up a tray off the stack. "It ain't bad work, it's just...