A Thing Significant by Strange Little Swirl

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Josie and Z, nor do I pretend to. They're the belongings of some highly intelligent Canadians. The story and new characters are the products of too much time and imagination on my part…

Prologue

The air conditioner had broken at least two hours ago, about five minutes into her shift. While some of the clients who were still eating had been inpatient and huffy, most of the regulars, well into their sixties, waved off Josie's apology and told her they could care less. They remembered when Zola's only had the rusty-non-functioning, as the staff soon found out- teal blue fan in the corner; the owners had splurged on it to ensure it matched the teal and white seats in the booths, the counters, the stools, and the waitresses' aprons.

The fan and the aprons were all that remained now. Zola and her husband had handed the management of the business over to their son Nico years ago. Fifty some years later, long after he'd grown out of the high-chair that used to sit next to the cash register, Nico and his wife were loved and warmly greeted by guests.

Josie swept her hair back again, disgustedly finding that the hairs at the nape of her neck were clumped and wet with sweat. Strands of hair had come loose and swung freely. The deodorant she'd packed had been reapplied several times within her shift hours. Even now, with the high-rise apartments across the way casting shadows on the restaraunt, Josie was slowly being driven mad.

"Don't have this weather in Canada, huh?" said Morris, or Patty Melt with Relish, as Josie called him. You Need to Refill the Ketchup Bottle, Honey chuckled, then swiped one of Relish's chess pieces off the board in a move that was positively deft for his age. Josie gave them a smile. Most of the older clients, for some reason, assumed tat Josie had spent a childhood in parkas with pet polar bears. Little did they know that Josie had actually lived in Philly for a brief period before this...

Josie took the piece and put it back on the board. Then, simply to settle the unbalanced karma, Josie gave Relish a move. "Check. No we don't."

Nico hollered from the kitchen, in lieu of a bell, and Josie excused herself from the gripping conversation. The large-bellied, graying man jerked his head to the large packages behind him. "Do you think you could unpack the delivery? I've got my hands full with Morris' order." The onions and patty were sizzling in front of him. Josie gave a loud groan, for which her boss swatted her with the towel that had been on his shoulder.

The college student went over to the boxes, getting the box cutter to open the large packages along the way. It was nut delivery day. Why the man bought so many was beyond the second year pre-med student. They sat forlorn and unused in the back of the freezer. It took the petite girl a few moments to stuff them on top of the pile already back there.

"You know, Nico, I don't think we need to reorder nuts for a while," the young woman stated as she stepped over the lip of the walk-in freezer. Nico was nowhere to be seen, though the patty and onions were black and smoking. She removed them quickly and followed the loud voices out to the customer area.

"Didn't forget us, huh?" The Greek, portly man good-naturedly patted the man next to him on the back. Of course, his version of a pat usually led to people loosing their balance. Such was the case now. The taller man stumbled and caught himself on a swiveling stool at the counter. It turned and he braced himself on the Formica with a nervous laugh.

"Z?"

Later on she would curse herself for blurting his nickname out. Josie would wish she was witty and had just the right line for her entrance. It served its purpose; his head shot up and their eyes connected.

This was the part of conversation after people say their greetings where they remark how wonderful the other person looks. Josie tried not to lie when she could (which was rarely).

Noel Zachary's appearance brought quickly to mind the fecal matter of some horribly sickened animal, to put it eloquently.

His face was pinched; there were heavy-duty trash bags under both his eyes and stubble. The latter was the only part of the whole unkempt thing he was pulling off-somewhat.

"I-wow," he finally sputtered. Nico looked on, curious.

"You know Red?" he asked, to which her former teacher simply nodded. Josie found herself grinning, strangely enough, then wishing she could sink into the laminate floor because meeting back up with Z, in her mind, always involved her reunion or a library or her college. Not while she was sweaty and at her job in a fifty year old apron.

"Yeah," Z said with a laugh. And for some reason, Josie found her face get even redder.