Just a Taste (28 page)

Carmen turned the truck and headed to Lake Shore Drive. With any luck, they'd get to the next stop before someone else took it. Although it wasn't required for anyone to report where they were going, it was courteous to other vendors and it helped customers know where to find the truck.

“While I'm driving, post to Facebook and Twitter about the change in plans. Then text Liam and see if he can log on to the web site and update it.” She thought about whether the web site would have an impact. She couldn't decide if it would be worth bothering Liam. Ultimately, she figured it couldn't hurt.

Within minutes, her phone rang again, so Rosa answered it. “
Hola,
Carmen's phone.”

There was a pause, then Rosa said, “She's driving. Okay.” She pressed a button and Liam came across on speakerphone.

“What's going on?”

“When we got to the Monroe location, someone else was already there.”

“They can't do that.”

“Yeah, they can, Liam. We don't own the spot.”

“It's a dick move.”

“It might be, but that's the way it goes.” She could almost hear him pacing.

“What truck was it?”

Carmen bit her lip, not liking the way he asked. “Why?”

“Because if they want to play that game, I'll make sure I win.”

“Liam, it's just business. Not a big deal.”

“The hell it's not. We've been at that spot for over a week. Our customers count on it. They're trying to poach our customer base.”

Rosa smiled and jumped in. “It's the Heavenly Buns truck.”

Carmen swung at her cousin, but Rosa had anticipated the move and scooched closer to the door.

“What the hell is Heavenly Buns? Sounds like a strip club.”

Rosa broke out in a fit of laughter. “Maybe they shake their asses and wear thongs while cooking.” She made herself laugh so hard, she started to cry.

“It's a sandwich place. They sell sandwiches on buns.” Carmen inhaled deeply. “We'll talk about this when I'm done today. I need to get to the Northside. I'll call you later.”

“Bye.” Liam didn't sound happy, but what was she supposed to do?

“Do not encourage crazy behavior,” she said to Rosa.

“What'd I do?”

Carmen shook her head. When she got to the spot on Lincoln, no other trucks were in sight. She parked and they set up. Customers began to trickle up to the truck, but business wasn't as good as she'd expected with downtown shoppers out to do gift returns and exchanges and hit after-Christmas sales.

When they returned to the restaurant, Liam was waiting for them. He helped them unload the truck and clean up, all the while grumbling about buns. Carmen tried not to laugh, but the whole thing was ridiculous. Liam couldn't understand that the food truck business was competitive. He acted like he never had to face competition.

They stood in the kitchen of the restaurant washing the remaining pans.

“It's like this,” she tried to explain, “when you worked at the restaurant, you couldn't do anything if three more restaurants popped up on your block. This is the same thing.”

“No, it's not. This is more like someone moving in to use your kitchen.”

“You're wrong. We don't own any spot. No one does.”

“Would you do this?”

Carmen thought for a minute. “Probably not, but that's because I wouldn't want a confrontation. My dad did it. It's how you establish yourself. Get good spots consistently.”

Rosa watched their interaction. “I'm with Liam. They're assholes. How do we get even?”

Carmen looked back and forth between Liam and Rosa. “You guys can't start trouble. It'll be bad for business, and with your luck”—she pointed at Rosa—“the police will be involved.”

“We'll play by the rules,” Liam responded.

Somehow, Carmen didn't believe either one of them.

As long as Liam had some time away from the truck, with Carmen's insistence he take more days, he went to visit his mom and maybe cook for her. One thing he'd noticed was that she rarely cooked for herself. She always made a full meal when any or all of the kids were there for dinner, but on days when she was alone, she thought it was a waste to cook.

Times like these made him glad Maggie was home, even if it was just for the week. Maggie provided Mom with company and someone to cook for.

Liam walked through the back door and heard the kettle whistle. He turned the knob on the stove and yelled, “Hey, Mom. It's Liam.”

“No need to holler. I'm right here.”

Without thought, he grabbed her teacup and readied her drink.

“Why aren't you at work?”

The hint of brogue in her voice let him know that she was in a bad mood. He had no idea what set her off, but she sounded ready for a fight. “Carmen is working the truck with her cousin. She wanted me to have time with you.”

“I told you all. I'm not an invalid. I don't need constant watching.”

“I know, Mom. But you scared us. We just want to make sure you're okay.”

She sniffed and pursed her lips.

He handed her the cup and said, “It was really nice of you to get Carmen a present for Christmas. I appreciate it.”

“It was your sister's idea.”

He'd already figured Moira had a hand in that, but his mother needed to know it made him happy. Running the risk of the fight he wanted to avoid, he asked, “So what did you think of Carmen? She's really great, right?”

“She was fine.”

He looked at his mother and wished he could get into her head for a few minutes. “I really care about her.”

Another sniff.

“What's the problem?”

“Your father'd be rolling in his grave. He wanted you to marry a nice Irish girl.” She sat at the table and sipped the tea.

Liam knew his father wouldn't have cared who he got involved with. And no one mentioned marriage at all. This was his mother planting her seeds of doubt and loyalty to her heritage. Rather than call her on it, he changed tactics. “Carmen is a nice girl, Mom. So what if she's not Irish.”

“She's not American either.”

He sighed. “She is American. She was born here. Her parents were immigrants, just like you and Dad.”

She didn't respond. He began to question why he thought he'd be able to talk to her about Carmen, to get her to accept Carmen as part of his life.

The remainder of Liam's week flew by in a blur. Between checking in on his mom, who was growing more irritated by the day, and preparing for Carmen's New Year's Eve party, he had little time to plot revenge against the Heavenly Buns truck. With everything set for the party, he demanded to work the truck on New Year's Eve.

Carmen had been able to grab the spot on Monroe on Tuesday, but Heavenly Buns beat her to it on both Wednesday and Thursday. When Carmen had beaten them to the location, they rode by jeering at her. Not that Carmen had told him. All of his information came from Rosa, who was developing into quite the loyal employee.

Liam was determined to be there on Friday to see what would happen. He had Carmen wait to update the web site and social media until he was already on the road. If Heavenly Buns was trying to take his spot, he planned to make it as difficult as possible.

As if warning him to behave before he left the house wasn't enough, Carmen called him just as he and Rosa were setting up. He tossed the phone to Rosa. “Talk to your cousin and tell her we're fine.”

Rosa's eyebrow lifted. “Like she's gonna believe me?”

Rosa answered his phone, and Liam stood outside the truck while the grill heated. He heard Rosa explaining that nothing had happened and that it was business as usual. Then the Heavenly Buns truck rolled up on them. It crept by, with the driver and passenger staring at Liam.

He smiled and waved. They returned the one-finger salute. Game on.

Carmen had tried to convince him it wasn't personal, but those two were making it personal.

Rosa laughed pretty hard and handed him the phone.

“Hey, Carmen.”

“What happened? Rosa's laughing like crazy.”

“Nothing much. The Buns truck isn't very happy. I want to test a theory.”

“Liam . . .”

“What's the worst location your dad ever worked?”

“I don't know.”

“Can you find out from some other trucks? There's got to be a spot that everyone avoids. Find out what it is and then let everyone know that's where we'll be this afternoon.” Liam climbed back into the truck and took off his jacket.

“Why?”

“So I can drive by and wave at Heavenly Buns as I go to our real location. If it's not personal, they won't show there. If it is, they'll have a real problem.”

“This isn't a good idea.”

“I have to go now. People are starting to show.”

“Liam.”

He hung up, knowing she'd be a little pissed, but he didn't want to discuss it. That damn truck was fucking with them, and he didn't know why. But he'd put an end to it.

In the few moments he'd spent talking with Carmen, Rosa had the rest of the truck set up, including the menu board, and she was currently chatting up customers. Liam hoped she wouldn't be like Pete—all talk and no work. But as Carmen had said, Rosa was good on the truck. She carried on conversations with customers while bagging orders. She didn't make mistakes on the order slips.

And in between customers, she wanted to help hatch a plan to get even with Heavenly Buns. He told her what he had Carmen working on. Rosa's response was that they should drive by and egg the truck.

A little juvenile, but Liam understood where she was coming from.

When they finished at the first site, Liam did a slow crawl down the deserted street that Carmen had said would be their second site. Sure enough, Heavenly Buns was already there. As he passed the truck, Liam honked and waved with a smile. He drove up to the Northside to the spot Carmen had tried earlier in the week.

He pulled in behind a cupcake truck and started the setup process all over. Rosa groused and grumbled about not doing something to Heavenly Buns.

“I promised Carmen we wouldn't do anything illegal. Sabotaging their truck would just cause problems for us. I need to find out why they're fucking with us.” He glanced at the halfway-prepared truck. “Can you handle this? I want to talk to the cupcake people and see if they know anything.”

Rosa nodded and continued setting up. Liam shrugged on his jacket and walked over to the cupcake truck. They had a small line of customers, so he stood off to the side and waited for one of the girls to acknowledge him.

“Hey, taco man, what's up?”

“I was wondering if you knew anything about Heavenly Buns.” The woman's partner turned her head and looked over her shoulder. “Mine are pretty fine, but I don't know about heavenly.” She winked at him and handed another customer a cupcake.

“Trisha, stop it.” The first woman leaned on the window and waved him closer. “What do you want to know?”

“I'm still new to this business, but that truck is screwing with us. At first, we thought it was coincidence that they would show up at the spot we'd advertised we'd be at, but I just confirmed that's not the case.” He pointed at the truck. “I don't know if you knew Gus, but he died unexpectedly, so it's not like he told us if there was a history there.”

“Yeah, we knew Gus. Good guy.” She hung her head lower. “I don't like to trash other trucks because most of us are respectful and we get along, but those people are assholes. Since the end of the summer, when they came on the scene, they've been doing this. Every few weeks, they do to a truck exactly what they're doing to you.”