Last Night at the Lobster Read Online Free PDF

Roz sometimes bitches that he’s hogging one of her four-tops, but on slow days she’s grateful to have him. Plus he doesn’t run her the way the shoppers do, asking for waters all around and more biscuits for the kids, sending her to check with Ty to see if the scallops are frozen or if there’s any clam juice in the seafood stuffing.
    Manny drops by to say hey, and Mr. K. taps an article with a liver-spotted hand. “We almost lost to Weaver. Weaver! I don’t know what’s going on over there anymore.”
    “It’s early,” Manny says, because he’s heard Coach go off like this before. It’s the start of the season, and though New Britain’s gone through three other coaches since he retired (forced out, rumor was, over a disagreement with someone on the school board), he still gets excited this time of year. “We’re still undefeated, right?”
    “We haven’t faced anyone yet, and we’ve got less than a month to get ready for Southington.”
    “I hear they’re good,” Manny sympathizes, though he’s only heard it from Mr. K. himself, and can’t remember the details. Like any longtime acquaintances, there’s a comfortable slackness to their conversations. Manny can listen to him and scan the room for trouble at the same time, like a cop writing someone a ticket. The foyer’s getting busy, with Kendra trying to greet and seat at the same time.
    “What’s this I hear about you guys closing down? That right?”
    Officially Manny can’t answer him, but his pause is a tip-off. “Where’d you hear that?”
    “Around.”
    “Not from anyone around here.” Meaning Roz.
    “It’s not a big secret, is it?”
    Manny plucks the rubber band and rubs his wrist, stands with hands on hips.
    “Damn,” Mr. K. says. “I was hoping it wasn’t true. When?”
    “Tomorrow.”
    “Jeez, I wish you’da told me. I’ve got a ton of coupons just sitting around at home.”
    “You like Italian food?”
    He shrugs.
    “They should be good at the Olive Garden. That’s where they’re sending us.”
    “The one in Bristol?”
    “Starting Monday. Come on by, we’ll take care of you.” Because Manny and the survivors, being new, are scheduled for lunch all week. He hadn’t considered it a good thing until now.
    “I might do that,” Mr. K. says.
    “Do,” Manny says, and nods to seal the deal, then excuses himself to help Kendra.
    One problem the remodel was supposed to solve was their small foyer. In the summer, customers can take their pagers outside and sit on the benches. Today they’re crammed between the live tank and the marlin, blocking the way to the restrooms, and every time the door opens, the wind makes them groan. Kendra’s not at the point of taking names yet. There are open tables, she just can’t get to everybody at once. When she leaves her post to escort a two-top in, the crowd mutters. A tall bald guy in a khaki trench coat over a suit and a red bow tie bellies up to the host stand. Manny steps in and asks how many are in his party.
    “Fourteen,” he says, and looks behind himself. “We’re not all here yet.”
    “Do you have a reservation?”
    “The girl I talked to said you don’t take reservations.”
    “We don’t, but for parties of more than ten we like to have some advance notice.”
    “That’s why I called,” the man says. “She made it sound like it wouldn’t be a problem.”
    “It’s not,” Manny says, nonchalant, thinking it was probably Suzanne and that it was probably intentional, while simultaneously trying to figure out where he’s going to put them all—along the back wall, fitting together six freestanding four-tops—and who’s going to serve them. It’s a two-person job, so Roz, obviously, since Coach will be holding down his corner for a while, and Jacquie, since her section’s next to Roz’s. By basing his choice on proximity, Manny doesn’t have to admit his natural hesitation to give this mob to Nicolette. It’s an office party, always demanding,