I found out two weeks in that there was another "cook", if you could call us that. Rashawn told me that I get to meet Aaron. He said it with what I understood as apprehension, I've been known to misread people at times. I was anxious, but with my thick skin and ability to smoothly blend in with people in general, I was up for a challenge.

I heard Aaron at the time clock. He was a hard presence to miss. He was roughly six foot, or somewhere around there, a large man. He adorned a baby face with a scraggly beard, the kind of beard I had when I was in my twenties, the "beard" hair grew patchy, sporadic, trying to find its place on the face. He walked into the kitchen like he owned it, an older demeanor, another "old soul?"

I smiled at him and introduced myself.

"I'm A-A-ron." He said. He smirked but quickly wiped it away.

"Okay, A-A-ron?" I asked.

He laughed out loud and said, "I'm fucking with you, the name's Aaron. That was a funny ass skit from Key and Peele."

I didn't get the humor. I know Jordan Peele, for his horror, and never knew in my pathetic life he had a comedy show! (shame on me)

Aaron took over the pantry area. For those of you not in the food industry who wonder what a "pantry" is, it's a refrigerated area that contains the sandwich materials and other thawed out goods to stock for the days orders. The area is essentially the hub, and when you stood there, you had to read the orders printed on the tickets. The first ticket printed and Aaron's voice, and oh, what an auditory treat it was, shouted what he read.

Some of you reading this may know that I'm a huge fan of Breaking Bad. Maria and I even took a trip through the infested streets of Albuquerque to see places the show was filmed. Aaron's voice reminded me of Jesse Pinkman's, just replace the order being read with "bitch", after, and if you get it, you get it. I found out that Aaron had just got back from an Hawaii vacation. He travelled with his "travel partner" Katrina. She was older than Aaron, and she worked as a runner.

The kitchen dynamics were Lucky, the resident "dirty old man", Zina, a feisty, outspoken independent woman, Rashawn, a stoic who let his close friends call him Ray-Ray, A-A-ron, the baby faced twenty seven year old who sounded like Jesse Pinkman, and me, giving you the low down on the Prickly Pear Grill. I hope you're enjoying the blog. More to conclude, soon, very soon.

Join me here next week and read on. Thanks for coming along.

Tim Eagle

Find out where RV travel, exploring, DIY and writing at the Dark Nest Travels YouTube channel here: Dark Nest Travels.

Tim Eagle is an author of the novellas Stolen Seed and Krae. He lives full time, on the road, with his wife, Maria and their dog, Cocoa. He grew up in Michigan and is inspired by the dysfunction, insanity, and nepotism of rural America. His books are available on Amazon, godless and this site timeaglefiction.com Thanks for reading, tune in next week for the next chapter...