We arrived at the Omaha station just as the sun was begin to light the sky to the east. As we approached the station, Kat realized that the platform would be on our side of the train and there were at least a few passengers waiting to board and likely some planning to depart, so she reached over and grabbed her t-shirt again and pulled it on.
As we thought, we were at the station for several minutes as the transfer of passengers happened. By the time the train began to roll again, it was nearly 7 o'clock. We were both getting hungry, so Kat put on a pair of shorts with her t-shirt, we put on shoes, combed our hair and then headed for the dining car. The corridor was noticeably cooler than our compartment. We passed through the sleeping cars and found our way to the dining car. The car was about half full when we got there. We were quickly shown to our table. As we passed other tables, most of the other diners seemed to be staring at Kat. I was beginning to wonder if we had been louder than we had thought or that the porter may have been talking about his early morning encounter at the linen closet.
When we got to our table, Kat sat across from me. The waitress took our drink orders and gave us a chance to look over the menu. After the waitress walked away, Kat whispered to me, "I think that maybe I should have worn a bra."
Puzzled, I mouthed, 'Why?"
She leaned back in her seat showing me that apparently the temperature of the dining car was a bit lower than I thought, because her nipples looked as though they may tear right through her shirt.
Again, I mouthed back to her, "Nipple problem?"
"It might get worse than that."
I gave her a puzzled look.
"When things get cold, the skin tends to shrink, which puts more pressure on them... Since it has been a few hours since..." she said, making a milking motion with her hand, "They are kinda full."
The waitress returned with our drinks and was ready for us to order. We both quickly chose the Railroad French Toast.
Kat sat close to the table and slightly bent forward, attempting to hide her erect nipples from public view. We sat, watching out the window as the scenery of Nebraska rolled by. As we watched, we were also listening in on the conversations around us. Kat seemed to be relieved that the conversations didn't seem to be revolving around her choice of attire. We were, however, hearing several passengers complaining about the fact that the train was now around 8 hours behind the schedule. Several of them were letting their frustrations show not only in conversation but in their treatment of the staff in the dining car.
The staff did a wonderful job of getting the orders right, getting the food to us while it was still warm and checking back with us regularly. Since we knew that so many passengers were in such foul moods and would likely tip little to nothing, we left the waitress a $20 bill as a tip and then headed back for our room.
When we got back to our room, the porter or another member of the staff had been by, turned the bed back into seats and had taken the sheets, washcloth and towel to be laundered. We chose to leave the door to our room open about halfway, to allow the cooler air of the corridor to flow into the room. Kat retrieved a book from her bag and sat down to read. I chose to retrieve the scanner and its charger from my bag and plug it in to charge, so that I could listen to the crew again later in the day.
I found my timetable to see where we were, watch for upcoming stations and try to keep track of exactly how far behind schedule we actually were. We had passed through Lincoln, Nebraska while we were eating breakfast.
As I tried to focus on the scenery going by and Kat tried to read, other passengers began to return from their visit to the dining car, many of them complaining to one another about the delays in the trip.
Kat commented to me, "If this is the way that the rest of them are going to act, I don't know that I want to go up there for lunch and dinner." referring to the dining car, as the dining area was on the upper level of its car, while the kitchen was below.
"We'll have to see what our other options are. There's the lounge car, with the sandwiches and stuff like that." I offered.
"Too bad that they don't have room service." she joked.
A minute or so later, the day shift porter appeared at the door of our room and asked if we needed anything and apologizing for the delays. I waved him inside and motioned for him to pull the door closed. After dealing with the other passengers, he was probably concerned that we might be planning to beat him up.
Trying to relieve that fear, I started with, "We have no problem with the delays. We know that it's part of railroading, and about any other transportation for that matter. I don't envy you having to deal with the complainers though. Maybe, if we're lucky they are only going to Denver."
"Luckily, a lot of them are only going as far as Denver." he volunteered.
"On a somewhat related topic, we have a question for you." I said.
"Ok?"
"Is there a dining option on the train that doesn't involve going to the dining car or the lounge and listening to them?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, no." he responded.
"Is there any way that we can get room service or delivery?" Kat asked.
"There's a possibility..." he half-answered.
"Would you be willing to get food for us and bring it to us?" Kat inquired.
"I could be convinced."
"How much of a tip would you have to have?" Kat asked.
"Oh, it's not just about money." he responded, "Would you be fully clothed when I made the delivery?"
"Have you been talking to the night shift porter? Yeah, I would have all of my clothes on." Kat said.
"Oh... then, no I can't."
"Ok?" Kat said with a puzzled tone in her voice.
"The less you have on, the less tip I would need." he offered.
Blushing and looking away and then to me, Kat smiled. She looked past the porter to make sure that the door and curtain were completely closed and then pulled her t-shirt off and tossed it to me. "How's this?" she asked.
"I'd need a ten dollar tip for each delivery."
"Wow! That's kinda steep." Kat said.
"Make a counter offer, then." the porter said.
Remembering that she was wearing the leopard print thong, Kat unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts and let them drop to the floor, where she kicked them over to my feet. Then, she made a full turn for him before saying, "How about now?"
The porter's eyes scanned up and down Kat's body until he finally locked eyes with her and he uttered, "Complimentary."
"What about the other passengers?" I asked.
He looked through his paperwork and said, "Once we get to Denver, there won't be anyone else in this end of the car, all the way to Emeryville. Until then, let's do this... When I come down here with your meal, I will knock on the door and let you know that it's me. You just reach over and unlock the door. I will be able to hear it unlock. I will wait until it is clear before opening the door and coming in. Will that work?"
"Works for me." Kat replied and I nodded my head in agreement.
"Ok, I'll bring you a menu from both the dining car and the lounge car in a few minutes and then I'll come back a little before noon to see what you would like for lunch."
"Ok, sounds good. Who's on duty tonight and what time do you switch?" Kat asked.
Without needing to look at his paperwork he responded, "It will be Peter again tonight. He's the one that you met early this morning. Our shifts run 7 to 7."
"Ok. Thanks." Kat said in reply.
He looked her up and down one more time, nodded and said, "No problem." and then slid the door open to make sure that the corridor was clear and then stepped out and closed the door behind him. Kat reached over and locked the door and then walked over and sat down in the seat across from me, still only wearing her thong.
I must have had a strange look on my face, because she looked back at me and said, "What? I don't see any reason in putting that stuff back on. I'm much more comfortable like this."
Of course, I had no problem with that idea.
She picked up her book again and began to read again, occasionally looking up at me or out at the scenery.