"Okay, then." He laughed. "Most of that stuff we can get for you. We have shipments that come in a few times a week, so tell us what you need and we'll order it."
"How about we start with whatever's easiest and go from there."
Twenty minutes later, Genna had the makings of a plan, a few parts ordered along with some tools the guy suggested. Chris filled out the rest of the order sheet, jotting down details. "Do you have a number I can reach you at when all this comes in?"
"Uh, yeah…" Reaching into her pocket, Genna pulled out the burner phone Matty had gotten for her when they first got on the road. She'd never used it, having no reason to, but Matty insisted she carry it. As soon as she flipped it open, she saw the message: Missed Call. Matty. Shit.
Scanning through it to find the number, she read it out loud for Chris to write down.
"908," he said, repeating the area code. "Where about is that?"
"That would be New Jersey."
"Yeah? You a Jersey girl?"
"Something like that."
"What brought you to Vegas?"
"What brings anyone to Vegas?"
She'd gotten kind of good at deflecting, she thought. Answer a question with a question and you never have to lie. Her brother had taught her that. Of course, it never worked with him. Dante always knew that meant she was hiding something.
"Good point," Chris said with a laugh. "Anyway, I'll give you a call when it's in. Shouldn't be more than a week or so."
Genna left then and drove straight to the small diner across town. It was a little white building with big windows and blue awnings, Morningside Diner written in block letters along the glass. The clock in the Honda showed it as a few minutes past six, stuck on east coast time. Matty had been working at the diner for a week, from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. She drove him there and picked him back up at his insistence, making her keep the car just in case she needed it.
In case my invisible friends and I want to go for a joyride.
She parked in front of the diner and walked inside, a bell above the door jingling to announce her arrival. Bright colored booths lined the walls, blue barstools dotted along the counter, as the black and white checkered floor glistened. There was even a jukebox in the corner.
A jukebox.
All that was missing were those little white hats that kind of looked like paper boats. The first time she'd walked in, seeing Matty at work, she'd said that to him. He hadn't found it funny.
"You're late."
Genna rolled her eyes, finding Matty perched on one of the stools near the register. "I'm like, three minutes late."
His eyes flickered to a clock up on the wall. 3:16 pm.
"I was worried," he said. "Thought something might be wrong."
"Sorry." She pulled the phone out to wave it at him. "I'm not used to this thing. It flips and has all these buttons. I don't even know if it works, honestly, because I didn't hear it ring."
He took it from her, flipping it open, and handed it right back. "You had it on silent."
"Oh." She glared at it, pressing random buttons. "How did I do that?"
Laughing, Matty blocked her hand before she could press anything else. "Probably by doing that."
Rolling her eyes, Genna slid the phone back into her pocket before plopping down on the stool beside him. She felt Matty's eyes studying her, like he had something else to say.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
"Starving."
"Order something," he suggested, grabbing a menu off of the counter and holding it out to her.
Genna glanced at it, settling on the first thing she saw. The middle-aged woman behind the counter approached. Doris. "You ordering something, sweetheart?"
"Uh, yeah… can I get the grilled cheese platter?"
"Sure," Doris said, grabbing an ordering pad from her apron to jot it down.
"And can I add some bacon to that grilled cheese? Like, inside of it? Oh, and some pickles, too? Oh my god. Pickles. Inside the grilled cheese."
Doris looked at her with confusion before writing it down. "Grilled cheese, add bacon and pickles. Something to drink?"
"Strawberry milkshake."
Doris nodded. "Anything for you, Matt?"
"I'll take what she's having... minus the pickles and bacon."
"Matt," Genna grumbled when the woman walked away. "It just sounds so generic."
"Okay, Jen, you're not much better."
She rolled her eyes, childishly sticking out her tongue.