CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR – CONTENTION AT THE WORKPLACE

The rest of the shift passed in a blur. Laura managed to avoid any major mistakes, but she could feel the concerned gazes of her coworkers following her around the diner. Even Pete, who was usually oblivious to anything that wasn't directly related to his grill, seemed to be watching her with worry. As the dinner rush died down and they began closing up for the night, Tina approached Laura again. "Hey," she said softly. "A bunch of us are going out for drinks after work. Want to join?" Laura hesitated. Part of her wanted nothing more than to go home, curl up in bed, and forget about everything for a while. But another part of her craved the normalcy of hanging out with friends, of pretending for just a little while that she was just a regular waitress with regular problems. "I... yeah, okay," she found herself saying. "That sounds nice." Tina's face lit up. "Great! We're heading to O'Malley's. Meet you there in an hour?" Laura nodded, managing a small smile. As Tina bounced away