Chapter Fifty-Eight
Joesph sat, looking at his email, a glass of iced tea in one hand. Jamie was also looking at his computer, searching local farmers’ markets. His idea was to see about doing regional and seasonal vegetables for the diner. It was his hope that he could work directly with the farmers themselves.
“What did you get up to today? Other than getting a sound system for the diner and eventually yourself? You and Salzy were gone most of the day?”
“I told you most of it.” Jamie closed his laptop. “That pizza wasn’t as good as usual.”
Joesph looked over the top of his screen. “No. It wasn’t.” He sighed. “I have to admit, I agree with Salzy about getting the diner back open. Right now, I could really go for a piece of apple pie with some of your vanilla ice cream. I’ve gotten very spoiled.”
“Listen, I know you’ve put in a lot of work on this... project. You’ve pulled my bacon out of the fire.”
Joesph waved his hand at Jamie. “Haven’t we been over this?” He rolled his eyes before taking a sip of his tea.
“Yes, we have, but I wanted to do something special for you, so I got you a little present.” Jamie handed over a white letter-sized envelope.
“Oh, I do like a good present.” Joesph opened the envelope and extracted a glossy cardstock piece of paper. “Oh. My. God.” Joesph jumped up, ran over to Jamie and gave him a big hug. “You are the bestest of friends!”
Jamie laughed. “Good. I’m glad you like it. Salzy and I drove over there to check it out. You know, to make sure it would be something you’d like.”
“Was it far? How was it? Will I like it?” Joesph was practically vibrating with excitement.
“It’s not very far. It was very, very nice. And yes, I think you’ll love it.”
“Was it terribly expensive?”
Jamie pointed to the card Joesph held. “That was a little pricey, but it was for the full-house treatment, as you can see. There are other ‘treatments’ you can get,” he said, using air quotes. “Or you can just get a massage, manicure, or a pedicure. They have a whole menu to pick and choose from.”
“Wonderful.” Joesph looked like he was thinking of something. “I wonder if Terry would go with me?” He looked over at Jamie. “She’s been a veritable fountain of information, and I’d like to do something nice for her. What do you think?”
“Hey, I don’t know, but you can always ask. She has been a big help.”
Joesph looked down at the card again. “I think I’ll ask her tomorrow.”
“If she says yes, let me know and I’ll pay for it. You’re right, she’s been a huge help.”
“What’s the schedule like for the next few days?”
“Well, as you know, the kitchen equipment arrives tomorrow. That will fill up your day, I think.”
“Yeah, it will. Also, Christine is coming down tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see her and the new baby. You’re so lucky to have convinced her to move down here.”
“I know it. I hope that she likes the house. The biggest issue for her is going to be finding a babysitter.”
“You know who you should ask? Flo. I bet she knows just about anyone worth knowing here.”
“That’s a great idea.” Jamie pulled the small notebook close and wrote a note to himself. “I’ll text her in the morning. What do you have on tomorrow?”
“The painters are coming back to do the dining room of the diner. I hope you liked what they did in the kitchen. It’s just what you asked for.
Nothing but bright white. I think it looks like an operating room.
” Joesph looked at his own notebook. “The color in the dining room is a creamy version of eggshell white. Simple and clean.”
“That sounds perfect.” Jamie looked over his water glass at Joesph. “Will they put up a sheet of plastic between the two rooms?”
“They did already.” Joesph looked at his notes. “They’ll also have a crew to start prepping the exterior. Then the outside will be painted the day after.”
Jamie wrote that down. “Signs?”
Joesph harrumphed. “Why don’t I just email you the schedule so you can quit asking me?”
Jamie laughed. “You should have done that sooner. I can add that to my spreadsheet.”
“Do you have a spreadsheet for everything?” Joesph asked as he typed away. “There. Sent.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ll see that I have calculated it so that the entire renovation is done before the staff come back. Not doing the apartment exterior has helped with the timeline.”
Jamie opened his computer. “Got it. I’ll be able to keep up now, I think.”
“I went and saw Terry this morning. I asked her for some referrals for the new building and the apartment plans.”
“What did she say?” Jamie closed his laptop.
“She said that she knew someone who could do the new build, and she’s already sent me that information. I didn’t get any info from her about the apartment, though.”
Jamie sat for a moment. “Maybe we should hold off on that then.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Joesph said, nodding. “My idea is to get the new build done, with an apartment upstairs. That way you’d have a place to live while the apartment here is being redone.”
“Oh, now that’s a good idea. I mean, if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course it is.” Joesph looked down, his hands folded on his lap. “I also have a bit of news. Big news.”
“Okay, what?” Jamie sat back and sipped his ice water, the condensation wetting his hand.
“The office called me today after I got back from the hardware store. They demanded I come back to work next Monday.”
“Well... that was bound to happen. With the schedule you sent me, I think I can manage on my own. If not, I can always call you.”
Joesph looked up. “I quit.”
“Do what?” Jamie sat up straight.
“I told them I wasn’t coming back. I sent an email to follow that up, saying I was resigning, effective immediately.”
Jamie couldn’t hold his smile back. “That’s great news!”
“I have to admit, it felt good. Right even. And then I... well, I’m a little scared. Striking out on my own, not knowing anyone here and... I’m just scared shitless to be honest.”
“You need to have a little more faith in yourself. I felt the same way when I first decided I was moving back and taking over the diner. Then the pieces just started falling together.” Jamie leaned in further, closer to the table. “It’s going to be alright.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“What did your boss say?”
Joesph laughed. “I’ve never heard her use such language before. I had two clients who were not quite finished, but not a lot more to do. She blasted me good over that. I think she was more pissed off that I’d already collected all the commission I was going to get from them.”
“What about your apartment?”
“I’ll give notice tomorrow and figure out a move-out date. I’m thinking that I should get a storage locker and move it all down here.” Joesph opened his computer again. “I’ll search for a place close by.”
Jamie sat back in his chair. “Can you believe all this is happening. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
“This afternoon, I thought I was going to crap my pants or throw up. I get it now about how you felt when you said things were going too fast. It kind of makes my head spin.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
Jamie’s phone started chirping. He looked at the screen. “It’s Mike.”
“Go on then.” Joesph smiled. “Answer him. I’m going to take a shower.”
Jamie waited until Joesph was halfway to his bedroom before he answered. “Hello?”
* * * * *
Mike waited for Jamie to answer, feeling a lot more confident and comfortable with his plan.
“Hello?” Jamie answered.
“Hi, it’s Mike.”
Jamie laughed. “I know who you are. It’s on my caller ID.”
Mike chuckled. “Of course it is. Anyway, how was your day?”
“It was good. Got a stereo system for the diner and I also got Joesph a thank you gift for all the work he’s done.”
“That was nice of you. I’m glad you got the stereo system situated.”
“Yeah, it was a lot easier than I had expected. How was your day?”
“Hmm... My day was hectic, and tonight was boring as hell.” Mike cleared his throat. “Sometimes these get-togethers with older soldiers is nothing more than a reason for them to get wasted.”
“That’s not good. I hope they weren’t driving.” Jamie walked out onto the veranda, smelling the new grass that was shooting up in the field behind the diner.
“No, they had a car driving them around. Quite a few of them were from out of town. Those Washington, D.C. men can sure put away the booze.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Jamie sat down in his grandfather’s rocking chair. “So, what do I owe the own the honour of this phone call?”
“I would like to ask you over to my place for dinner tomorrow night?”
Jamie froze. He couldn’t think.
“Hello? You still there?” Mike asked. “Did you hear me?”
“Uh... yeah, I heard you?”
“Well?”
“Um, okay? I guess that... would be okay. Nice.”
“Don’t go getting all excited now.”
“No.” Jamie cleared his throat, which seemed to want to close up. “I’d like that.”
“I’m going to cook for you.”
That grabbed Jamie’s attention. “You’re cooking for me?”
“Yes. Don’t sound so surprised. I can cook some things.” Mike paused. “Very few things, but I can manage to feed myself.”
“Didn’t you once say that you were a terrible cook?”
“Well... I may have, but I can manage.”
“And you’re going to cook me something you can manage?”
“Yep. I am.”
“Now I’m intrigued. What time and can I bring something?” Jamie leaned forward in the chair, a slight smile on his face. This is going to be very interesting.
“How about seven-ish? And you don’t have to bring anything.”
“Okey-dokey then, I’ll see you about seven.”
“Good.” Mike paused. “And Jamie, I’m looking forward to it. I hope you know I plan on kissing you again.”
That brought Jamie upright, sitting straight in the chair. “Um... okay.”
“See you tomorrow then. Good night.”
“’Night,” Jamie said before disconnecting the call. “Well, crap.”