Page 165 of Seasons of Love
People spill in at the usual time, gathering in their groups.
I notice a few looks in Milo’s direction.
Milo himself is trying everything not to look up. He’s filled the cutlery baskets and brought the bread out, but every time he finishes something, he doesn’t make eye contact with anyone.
Tyler rings the bell and the line builds.
Milo is between Dave and me, serving soup.
The usual whispers get louder as people approach our stations. I start to make out what they’re saying.
“I can’t believe it. If I didn’t need this food so much, I’d stop coming here.”
“That family.” The words are said with such venom that I see Milo recoil a little.
One by one people pass us, but no one picks the soup.
“I heard rumors he worked in the back but never saw him.”
“That poor little girl. Would be better off with a foster family.”
That does it for me. Whatever the hell they’re talking about, I’m not letting anyone question Milo’s parenting.
I step onto a chair and ring the bell.
“Can I have your attention, please?” Close to a hundred faces stare at me. “I’m new here, as you know, but I’ve attempted to get to know you, and I’d like to think we can talk when things get tough. I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ve been hearing a lot of words directed at Milo that no one should have to hear. Especially not when they’re working, giving up their time to make sure you have a good meal every night you come here. The reason you’re here is because you all know you can’t take anything in life for granted, but slapping the hand that feeds you is not right. That’s all. Please resume your meal.”
I step down from the chair and see the team staring at me.
Tyler looks furious, and Milo is no longer there.
I walk over to Tyler. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t listen to it anymore.”
“He’s gone out back,” he bites out, but I ignore him.
I go through the double doors, but Milo isn’t in the kitchen. There are a few other rooms through a hallway, so I try every single one until I find him sitting in a corner with his knees pulled up to hide his face.
“Milo.” I go over and kneel beside him.
“You had no right,” he says without looking up.
“I couldn’t stand there listening to what they were saying.”
He looks up, and his face is covered in tears. “It wasn’t your place to defend me. I could have finished the shift, and next time I’d be back in the kitchen, and everyone would forget they ever saw me here.”
I wipe the tears from his face. “Milo, I thought you were the most unforgettable person I’ve ever seen, and that was even before you spoke to me. I’m so sorry I did something that’s hurting you. Please tell me what’s wrong, what I did wrong, so I don’t do it again.”
“They all hate me and my family.”
“Why?”
“My dad worked at the mill in Chester Falls. He had just been promoted when there were rumors about the factory closing down. The neighborhood was like a family, so they all went to him, hoping he could convince his bosses to keep the factory open. When they didn’t, they blamed my dad. Said he didn’t try hard enough. Said that because he was a manager, he probably got a settlement while everyone else got nothing. It was all a lie. My mom told me they promoted him to use him as the go-between for the factory workers and higher management. He did the dirty work while they kept their hands clean, and he never got one cent, just like everyone else.”
I sit on the floor and pull Milo into my arms.
“You must have been a child. How can any of this be your fault?”
“I was six, Mikey was three, and my mom was pregnant. My dad tried to find another job, but it was hard. Dad traveled for hours every day because he could only get a job somewhere that no one knew about the factory or him. My dad started drinking, and there were a lot of arguments about how they could afford another child. My dad took out a life insurance policy, and then one night, he drove into a tree to make it look like an accident. He thought that when he died, we’d all be taken care of, but the coroner said there wasn’t enough alcohol in his blood to make him lose control of the car. The police investigation concluded from the weather conditions and lack of any tire marks on the road that it wasn’t an accident. Mom never got any insurance money, and then she lost the baby because of the stress and grief. She was going to have a girl.”
