“Not an arm and a leg,” he smiled. “But it’ll be a good project for me and they have a lot of friends, so, hopefully, it’ll lead to other orders.”
“Sounds like you’re off to a good start. I’m glad.”
“Me too. So, how’ve you been?”
“Fine. Busy. You know how it is.”
He placed another two-seater next to the first table, lining them up, then pulling out a tape measure to make certain there was sixteen inches between the tables. Some restaurants put their tables twelve, even ten inches apart, but I like to give my customers a little breathing room.
“How are ticket sales going for the Dogmother’s Ball?”
“Good,” I said. “Sold sixty so far. I was worried at first—new event and all, you never know how it’ll go until you do. But Bob designed these cute flyers—”
“Bob?”
“Bob Smith, Alex’s cross-country coach and advisor. He also teaches tech. Not only did he design the flyers and posters, he got some of his students to make a website for us where people can buy tickets online. Saved us all kinds of headaches doing it that way and the kids got extra credit—everybody wins.”
“Bob sounds like a good guy.”
“He’s a good coach too. Alex shaved a full minute off his 5K this season. And Bob drops him off at the house after practice, which is a big help. Saves me a trip at my busiest time of day. It’s good for Alex too. Bob’s a good influence.”
While I’d been talking, Luke added two more tables to the lineup under the windows. Now he crossed the room and started repeating the process on the long wall, near the gas fireplace I’d installed over the winter.
There’s something so romantic about dining in front of a fire. We’d already had three proposals in front of that fireplace. In fact, the wedding I was catering later in the month was for the first couple to become engaged in the glow of that fireplace.
That was the really good part about my job, the part I truly loved. Running a restaurant was more work than I could ever have imagined, but it was worth it because I got to be part of my customers’ lives. When I did my job right, my restaurant was more than a restaurant—it was the place memories were made, happy ones. I couldn’t think of a better reason to go to work every day.
Luke put the final two small tables in place.
“Thank you. It all looks so beautiful.”
“Thank you for being my first order.”
He pulled up a chair and sat down, puffing a little. It was a lot of work for one person. If I’d had more energy, I’d have insisted on helping. But I woke up at six and hadn’t stopped since. In another hour, we’d open for dinner. I needed a break.
“So how’s everybody else?” he asked. “Support group still going strong?”
“Oh, yes. Everybody’s good. Nan will get her sling off just in time for the ball. She was a little annoyed to be immobilized for the spring gardening season, but Malcolm rototilled the vegetable patch and helped harvest the asparagus. Crisis averted.
“We met at Grace’s condo last week, first time ever. You wouldn’t believe what she’s done with the place—and for practically nothing. Well . . . five hundred dollars. It’s still pretty impressive.
“But, you probably don’t want to hear about that,” I said, remembering what Grace had told me about Luke showing up with flowers on the day she’d been fired, how she’d shut down his not-so-subtle hint about getting together again. “I’m sorry about the whole matchmaker thing. I just thought you two might hit it off. You might have if the circumstances had been different. But in retrospect it was kind of a dumb idea.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I really am too pushy,” I said, my mind flitting to Dr. Dreamboat, who I would probably never hear from again. “I’ve really got to work on that. Hey, were you able to find a partner for your dance class?”
He shook his head. “Maybe someday. They run new sessions every couple of months. I’m busy, so it’s probably just as well. But tell me about Grace’s place,” he said, shifting his weight forward and putting one elbow on the table. “Why’d she suddenly decide to dive into redecorating?”
I told him all about what had happened after he’d called to give me the heads-up about Grace needing a friend on the day she’d been fired. I told him about the cannoli and our very frank conversation. I told him about what a wreck her place had been before my visit and the complete transformation Grace had wrought in just a few days and that it seemed to extend to Grace herself.
“See?” Luke said. “Sometimes it’s good to be pushy. Sometimes that’s what friends do.”
“Well, if that’s true, then I’m the best friend on the planet. But I really think it’s helping her deal with her grief. That and the quilt—the one she’s making from Jamie’s old clothes.”
“Grace makes quilts?”
“Among other things. Grace is super crafty. Remember that dress she was wearing when you met her?”
“The one with those crazy flamingos?” Luke asked, smiling curiously.
“Made it herself,” I informed him. “Once upon a time, Grace sewed all her own clothes. But wait, I haven’t even told you the best part yet. She dug out her old machine and some fabric that she brought from Minnesota—I bet she has sixty or seventy yards, when it comes to fabric she’s practically a hoarder—and made a brand-new dress for a homeless girl who lives in the neighborhood.”
“You’re kidding. That was really nice of her. Probably good for her, too, therapeutic. But you said she only had two months of severance, right? Has she started looking for a job yet?”
“Yup, as of this morning, she has two.”
“Two?”
I was about to launch into the story when the door to the kitchen swung open and Ben stuck his head
