TNT06
DINER RECEIPT
RECEIPT NUMBER: TNT06
RECEIPT DATE: 11 8 1988
MANAGER TITLE: BALTIMORE
RECEIPT NOTES:
Mrs. Berkeley is gone. Paid in full.
Her tab, much to November’s surprise, could apparently be settled. But—ah. What a shame, isn’t it? I’m not saying I particularly enjoyed Mrs. Berkeley’s company, but to settle a tab in full, to take a customer off the books entirely—especially one as old as Mrs. Berkeley—it leaves a horribly empty seat in the Cafe, wouldn’t you agree?
Through the night, the food was over-salted and under-peppered. And when the sun rose, the cellar was empty—silent in a way that made the very foundations of Mrs. Berkeley’s hiding place creak, as though in relief. Or maybe… regret.
The Salt and Peppers are calling it a triumphant success, of course. They do love conquering the odds. But we don’t believe in their kind of victory. There was likely a better solution. One with less aggression, less finality. One where Mrs. Berkeley could’ve come back, should we have needed her.
Oh well. Mrs. Berkeley may be gone, but her memory—ironically—should stick with us. A reminder of why the Cafe is so desperately needed in the company of the S&P and others like them. Our presence has been made clear to them now. It was only a matter of time, really.
We should head back to L.A. and prepare to meet the elusive Mrs. Cass. But we must also start making preparations to deal with the S&P on a more regular basis. They’ll stop at nothing to impede and uproot our work. Like Eight said, they see themselves as white and us as black. And I suppose we are. After all, there’s simply no other way to take one’s coffee in this line of work, is there?
Yours black and burnt,
Baltimore