The burgerhouse was around 2 miles away, a short drive. Unfortunately I still didn’t know where my car had ended up, so I had to walk the distance. An image of my car overgrown by vines and rust flashed through my head for a moment, and I closed my eyes for a moment, willing it away, it would be fine… please be fine. I was thankful when I saw the burgurhouse.
The exterior was about how I remembered, though the neon sign wasn’t on. I pulled open the glass door, which set off a bell with a familiar ding. I didn’t know how to feel as I looked around the dining area, and the wave of relief that hit me was almost palpable. The interior despite the several years was blessedly unchanged. For a moment I didn’t recognize the person behind the counter, and then I realized it was Paul. He was the first person I knew from before the return that I had seen after it, and It was jarring how much he had changed in what felt like just a few hours. I hadn’t known Paul that well, but I had been familiar enough with him. He had been been lanky and slightly slouched when I last saw him, with slightly greasy long hair. Now he stood straight and attentive. His red hair was in a cut short, just tickling his ears. His outfit was largely normal, but much brighter than the colors he usually wore, and there was a shiny black pauldron over his uniform on his right shoulder. Paul turned to face me the moment I entered the building, his phone nowhere in sight, and he smiled and greeted me confidently.
“Hey, long time no see Ethan, you haven’t aged a day.” he chuckled briefly at his own joke, and then continued. “Tom told me you were back. He’s on a quick errand, we’re nearly out of eggs. Tom asked me to give you a quick tour when you came, so if you’ll come round back I’ll show you everything new.” I was caught off guard by Paul actually talking, not to mention surprised he was still working here. From what little he had talked it had sounded like he wasn’t planning on staying for too long, certainly not over a year. But here he was, more confident and happy than ever. Just how much had the people I had known changed? would I even recognize Jake if I saw him?
Paul led me to the back, which was mostly like I remembered it. There was a long counter with a large griddle built into it, covering a third of the space. That was where we made burgers, but Paul explained that it was now mostly to make omelets of all things. To the side there was an overflowing box filled with odd round fruits. The fruits were cherry red at the bottom, but faded to green on one side, they reminded me of very odd apples, and I asked Paul about them.
“Ah, you haven’t seen any of those before have you? Come from the dungeon tree, they’re giant versions of those helicopter seeds on maples. We call them samaras, which is apparently what those seeds are called.” Paul grabbed one and turned it so I could see the green side, there was a pale line on it.
“Right there’s where the wing sticks out, but it's not quite as edible so we just chop em off.”
Next he opened the walk-in fridge, opening it to show me its contents.
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“We got all sorts of greens in here waiting for prep, but you know those for the most part. The interesting part is these” he said, pointing out a carton of eggs almost as big as my fist.
“Animals grow when you give them shards, and so Tom invested in a couple chickens and some shards for them and voila, giant eggs. Lot more bang for your buck than normal eggs.” I was about to ask a follow question about the giant chickens when the door dinged, and Tom stepped into the back room a moment later. He was carrying a new carton of oversized eggs. His hair cut shorter than usual, but he made up for it with a new, equally short beard. In addition he wore a brown shirt, jeans, and sturdy boots. He looked like he was ready to go on a hike, in other words he looked like I remembered him. He also looked happy to see me
“Ethan! It's been a while.”
“Yeah, I guess it has.” I replied with uncertainty.
“Well I would love to sit and chat, but there’s loads to catch you up on work wise.” Coming from most people the first part of the sentence would sound like empty niceties, but coming from Tom it sounded like he really meant it. He always had been a good manager, always friendly enough I almost forgot he just wanted to get me to work effectively and quickly. Our last interaction had been odd, but it was probably because I had been starting to slow down and he knew it would be better in the long term.
Tom set the eggs in the fridge and Paul went out to grab the rest from Tom’s truck. Meanwhile Tom grabbed a knife and samara, and my instruction began then and there.
“Rule one: cut along where the wing was, it's more willing to give there.” Tom said, demonstrating how to properly prepare a samara for dicing.
“Rule five: the eggs are bigger than you need, whisk the whole thing up, but only use a third of it, store the rest in the fridge.” Tom explained as he whipped up a omelette for a customer.
“Rule fourteen: samaras are great for sweetening, but be careful not to add too much, just a bit will do, especially during return week.” He cautioned when I went heavy on the samaras. Apparently tomaras were mostly from the dungeon where they grew year round. Outside they only grew during spring, which was already past.
“Rule thirty eight: when it comes to peppers, start small, add more if they ask for it… or if they’re asking for it, if you know what I mean.” Tom’s usual smile was traded out for a sarcastic smirk when he said that last part. After that lesson he grabbed his phone and checked the time, and then turned to me.
“Alright that's all we needed to get through today, you’ll pick up the rest in a few days. I’ll see you tomorrow round ten and you’ll start your first actual day.”
“Alright, see you tomorrow, have a nice day!” When I finally stepped out of the burgurhouse it was nearly 7. The summer sun was still lingering in the sky despite this, remaining up the entire walk home. I was genuinely smiling when I left, but with every step I got closer to home I felt my spirit fall. My head felt quite as I just walked home, and before I knew it I was standing in front of home. It looked even worse in the dark, and I hesitated outside the door this was the moment of truth, what to do about home? My room was unusable, and all the other rooms upstairs were too. Unsure what else to do I just stepped inside and started looking around. To my surprise the guest bedroom on the first floor was almost entirely intact, save the thick layer of dust. I laid down on the dusty bed, testing to see if it would work. I must have been more drained than I thought because I was asleep within moments.