became steadily busy.
The diner was a wonderfully warm place that Alexa had decorated with ideas from years of dining with her father. She’d adopted a fifty’s theme with all the memorabilia she could find (and afford). There were bright red seats in each booth, swivel rotating bar stools at the long bar that encompassed nearly the whole length of the diner, reserving some space along the end of the counter for two more booths. There was a life sized cardboard cutout of Elvis at the end of the bar, rusty weathered gas station signs and photos of groups like The Platters and The Everly Brothers on any walls that weren’t windows. Large picture window’s opened to a quiet little town with quiet little streets, nestled right up against the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest. The peace and quiet was absolute, and she loved it. She loved everything about it; her diner, the small town, the rain and the forests. She’d named the diner appropriately ‘Alexa’s’, and she smiled with pride as she watched customers file through the doors.
She was happy to have the customers on these rainy days. She’d purchased the small diner a year ago when she’d come to Startup after reading about it in an ad from a real estate brokerage. It sounded perfect for what she was looking for; a quiet little out of the way place with one stop light and nice people who enjoyed good old fashioned hometown cooking. A name like Startup, was also perfect for her new beginning. With Thomas and Billy trading off in the kitchen and Tahleah helping with the tables, she had what she needed with the lowest possible overhead.
Alexa paid for the diner with the last of her life insurance money from her father. Not a huge policy, but enough to allow her to become her own boss, and that was her number one priority. Her last boss had turned into her lover, then her fiance, and then, two days before their wedding, he’d become her father’s killer. She vowed never to take another lover, and never to have another boss.
Alexa had been depleted of all emotional strength with the death of her father. The trial and incarceration of her fiance only served to cement that weakness into place, and she felt she’d never again be the independent woman she’d once been. Her father had taught her to be strong and she’d learned a lot of it just by watching him. Now, however, that was all tucked away somewhere inside her and despite her best efforts, she couldn’t find it. Her determination to stay single, alone and free of ‘upper management’ was the only thing that kept her going.
The one hitch in her plan came into play when the diner purchase came down to talking money. She was twenty thousand dollars short. Twenty thousand dollars and it may as well have been a million, because it didn’t matter how she scraped, what loan she applied for, who she talked to, she was still short twenty thousand dollars.
However, mysteriously, two hours after she figured the deal was off, the money showed up at the escrow office with no name on it, except hers. She had no idea who it was from or how it got to the Escrow office. Even the receptionist was unaware. She’d walked some paperwork to back the offices and when she returned to her desk there was an envelope lying there with “Deliver to Alexa Menetti” scribbled across it. The whole incident left her feeling a bit uncomfortable…well, a lot uncomfortable. However, the joy of having her own place and being her own boss completely superseded the discomfort.
Yes, the small, out of the way diner was the perfect place for her to hide, to mend her emotional wounds. It was perfection, and as far as she was concerned, made just for her. It was here in this wonderful place she hoped to heal from the devastating death of her father who was also her best friend in the world. She tried not to put her father’s killer into the loss equation, but sometimes she couldn’t help it. Hidden from the world, it remained separate, painful and still raw. This loss was filled with misplaced love, extreme anger and unbelievable hatred, making it all but impossible to move on. Still, it was her father’s death she felt more keenly than any of the other losses.
Her father’s name was Max, short for Maxwell and in Alexa’s thinking it suited him perfectly. Tall, gray haired and lean, he was a handsome man, and she was very proud of that. Oh, she’d have loved him no differently if he’d been a potbellied, balding office worker, but he wasn’t. He was an imposing personality, commanding respect every time he entered a room. She was proud of her dad, and she trusted him implicitly.
Alexa and her father did everything together; hiking, camping, fishing, movies, you name it. But their last outing, just before his death, was different. On this occasion they had chosen a nice rocky point to have a picnic and examine some interesting rocks they’d found on a previous hike. Before sitting down to their picnic, she’d wanted to get a picture of him in his hiking garb. They were having a great time, laughing, teasing, just the usual fun. Then, suddenly, it all stopped and he said they were done. He just quit. He quickly started putting things in bags and hurried her to the car.
It was so unlike her dad. It was a piece she’d never been able to figure out, why the sudden end to the day with no explanation, no warning. He absolutely would not talk about it. He just kept telling her it was nothing; that he was just ready to head home, but for the first time in her life, she didn’t believe him. If she hadn’t known better, she would think her father was afraid, but he was afraid of nothing, so her perception was obviously wrong.
All of which brought Alexa back to the same spot every time; standing in her diner in Startup, Washington, waiting on customers and wondering why her father had shut down their fun all of a sudden and then never spoke of it again.
She also found herself wondering who her benefactor was that stepped up to close the deal on the diner. She knew no one with that kind of money, and even if she did, how would anyone have known she was buying this place? She had no friends she’d confided in about moving to the Northwest or her plans once she got here. She just packed up and left. So, who was it?
She continued her rounds of the tables and booths, taking orders from drippy customers, making small talk with the regulars. She brought their food out quickly and smiled as she placed it on their tables. Her favorite regular was Keith.
Keith was an elderly man who often couldn’t pay for his meal. He was kindly, and so encouraging of her new business venture. It was hard for her to see him order the least expensive thing on the menu, never ordering dessert or extra helpings. Often the only thing he’d order was a cup of coffee. Always, with that cup of coffee she would bring a plate of food, hot and steaming, fresh from the kitchen. He’d eat what he could and ask for a box, which she would fill herself. However, when she brought him his leftovers, there was always plenty more than what he’d left, including a ‘day old’ piece of pie or a take home bowl of chowder. She would ‘forget’ to give him a bill, or forget what he ordered, or how much it was. He never took advantage of her generosity, though. When he could pay, he insisted on paying and when he couldn’t pay, he always repaid her kindness with some small repair she needed done at the diner.
Keith was in his late seventies, gray haired, with soft wrinkled skin. He had blue eyes that twinkled when he teased her and filled with concern when he worried over her. He was average height, maybe a bit heavy for his build, but that only served to make him seem more cheerful. He lived alone after the death of his wife a few years prior to Alexa moving to town. He was the first to befriend her when she was new in town and he reminded her of her dad in a lot of ways. Maybe that’s why they’d formed the friendship they had. Today he was sitting in his usual spot, the booth far to the back where no one else liked to sit because it was by the kitchen.
“Hey Keith,” she said as she approached his table with a big smile. “How’re you liking the weather?”
“Oh, I like it just fine,” he said smiling back at her. “Now what’s a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?”
“Hey!” she teased back, “this happens to be
They laughed at the old joke and she took his order. Spaghetti this time and she’d add a little extra meat sauce. He knew she would, but he’d act surprised every time she set the plate down.
She picked up the water pitcher and refilled his glass. She smiled at him and setting the filled glass in front of him said she’d be back with his order in a jiffy. Glancing at the window she caught a glimpse of a man staring back at her through the wet pane. She let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand, dropping the nearly empty pitcher. The noise of the shattering pitcher filled the room as all heads turned in her direction.
“What is it? Alexa?” Keith struggled to his feet as fast as he could. “What’s wrong?”
She turned her head to answer him and when she turned back to the window the man was gone. She quickly dropped to the floor and began picking up the larger pieces of broken glass. Her face was pale and strained.
“It…it was…it was my dad,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “He was there for just a second,
