He Bet $10,000 the Black Waitress Couldn’t Speak German — Unaware She Was a Court Interpreter!
Chapter 2
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Victor wrote the amount slowly, turning the check so the people beside him could see. Nia did not reach for it."You're making a joke about me.""I'm offering you an opportunity.""Then say clearly what you're offering."His smile tightened. "You speak with Marta. If she says you understand her properly, the money is yours."Marta looked at Nia. She spoke at her normal pace in German. Nia answered her.Marta's expression changed. "Nia Brooks... where did you learn German, Nia?"Victor tapped the table."At home," Nia started. "Later, I studied languages. Then interpreting.""Well, is she getting any of it?" Victor asked.Marta ignored him. "What kind of interpreting?"Nia hesitated."Do you possess legal qualifications?" Marta asked."She is just a server here, Marta," Victor interjected.The woman beside Victor lowered her phone."Court interpreting," Nia said.Marta leaned forward. "For how long?""For six years.""In German?""Yes."Victor laughed again, but this time he was alone. "A court interpreter. Carrying soup."Nia turned toward him. "People can have more than one thing happen to them."Nobody spoke.Marta asked another question in German. Nia answered. They talked about regional expressions, about the difficulty of carrying someone's meaning without adding your own, and about how fear could make a person forget words in their own language.By the time they stopped, Victor had put his checkbook away.Marta held out her hand. "The check.""Come on. It was entertainment.""No," Marta said. "The entertainment was your idea. The money was your promise."Across the room, Owen finally moved toward them. "Everything all right?"Nia looked at him. "That depends. Does a promise count at this table?"Owen's face reddened. "Victor, you made the offer."Victor tore out the check and laid it beside an untouched bread roll. "Congratulations."Nia picked it up. "Thank you for paying what you owe."She turned to leave. Behind her, Victor said, softly enough that only the nearest people heard, "Let's see how long that confidence lasts."In the kitchen, Nia stood beside the walk-in refrigerator and stared at the check: $10,000. Her mother's overdue care payments. The rent. Lily's broken glasses. The small, ordinary emergencies that had been gathering around her like people waiting in a line.Her hands began to shake.Ruth, the head cook, took the tray from her. "Sit.""I have three tables—""—and you have two knees. Both of them are about to quit."Nia sat on an overturned crate. Ruth read the amount and whistled. "Did you sell him the building?""He thought I couldn't speak German." Nia laughed, and then covered her mouth because the laugh nearly became something else."Well, I can't. Ask him what that's worth."Owen came through the kitchen doors. "You handled yourself well." He stopped."You watched for a long time," Nia said.