![\"\"](\"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/maite-and-kepa-v3b.png\")
Suddenly a face peaked from behind the curtain separating the bar from the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere you are!\u201d barked Iratxe irritatedly. \u201cGet your ass back here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa looked around and quickly made his way through the dining room and into the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBarkatu\u2026\u201d he began as Iratxe took off the apron she had been wearing and threw it at him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDammit,\u201d she said, shaking her head. \u201cWe are already behind. The first customers will be showing up any moment. Tortilla, now!\u201d She disappeared behind the curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa pulled on the apron and grabbed three pans. He was glad he had the test run yesterday as that gave him just enough familiarity with the kitchen that he didn\u2019t have to go asking Iratxe where things were. She had already peeled and sliced a bowl full of potatoes. Not quite the way he would have done it – while Iratxe\u2019s potatoes were cut up into almost perfect cubes, he preferred very thin slices, almost like coins. He just thought they cooked better. He threw her potatoes into one of the pans after the oil got hot while he sliced up his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon, three perfect tortillas sat plated and ready to pass to the bar. Almost as soon as he had finished, the plates came back empty. He could hear the ruckus on the other side of the curtain. He had no idea how popular this place was. And here he had hoped to find a nice quiet place to work with no stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, he didn\u2019t stop making tortilla. Another cook was in the kitchen working on the various lunch items. Kepa wasn\u2019t sure if he should help her, but she didn\u2019t ask for any help and he figured he should just keep making tortilla until he was told to stop. Both he and the other cook worked silently for hours. Only once did Iratxe peak in to eye things, but saying nothing, she disappeared behind the curtain. A young man appeared, taking plates of food prepared by the other cook to the dining room. Still Kepa made his tortilla. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Iratxe walked through the curtain, her forehead glistening with sweat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re good,\u201d she said, looking at Kepa. \u201cYou can help Belen now.\u201d Iratxe gestured to the other woman in the kitchen, who barely looked up and gave Kepa a brief nod as she gestured to some pots in the sink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right, Kepa thought to himself. I get to help wash\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa had always known that working in a bar was hard, he\u2019d seen enough of his friends doing it. Particularly Maite and her parents. They were up in the earliest part of the day, getting ready, and one of them was always up way past midnight, serving drinks to the last few patrons. And he had done a few stints himself, helping out with a parttime job here and there. But this was a bit different. The enormous crush of the lunchtime crowd just overwhelmed him. He wasn\u2019t sure he could do this every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do you do it?\u201d he asked as he scrubbed a pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEh?\u201d replied Belen as she flipped a steak. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do you do this every day?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Belen shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s my job,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s what the boss pays me for.\u201d She paused before letting out a little smile. \u201cBut, today was about as rough as I\u2019ve seen. A big wedding party booked the whole bar. It won\u2019t be like this yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa looked stunned. \u201cShe could have told me!\u201d he stammered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWould you have come?\u201d asked Belen, her smile widening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe not,\u201d Kepa admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry, tomorrow will be a lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n