CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO #2
"So the restaurant’s going good, huh?” Griffin asks, sawing at his pork chop.
“Extremely well,” Kru confirms.
“You’re probably gonna need to expand your footprint.” Griff has a hard glint in his eye as he takes a sip of water. “Might want more tables, a bigger kitchen, stuff like that. Since it’s going so well.”
“I’m not ready to think about that,” Kru says with a laugh. “I’m just on week two.”
“Still, it might make sense someday to want to…grow the dining room,” Griffin goes on. I dip my chin, staring hard at him. I know where he’s going with this.
“I’m really happy with the size,” Kru says. “I think too many more tables would diminish the intimate environment I created.”
Griffin deflates slightly.
“So why’d you rope Piper into that reality TV stuff?” Dane asks before he sips at his water. “Are they gonna make her look bad when it airs?”
“You guys, I explained all of this already,” I mutter, immediately annoyed.
“I don’t think they could make her look bad,” Kru says with a laugh. “Have you seen her shop? It’s like something out of a movie. Piper is the picture-perfect definition of cute neighborhood business owner.”
“You’re very sweet,” I inform Kru. To my brothers, I say, “And I can tell none of you learned listening comprehension skills at any point in your lives.”
“It’s a valid question,” Dane insists. “Reality TV shows hinge on drama. I just want to make sure there won’t be any pitchforks coming for you once it airs.”
“This was a really tame reality TV show,” Kru says affably. He tastes the mashed potatoes, then nods. “These are amazing, Piper. I can tell you did the cayenne trick.”
“Cayenne trick?” Jett arches a brow.
“Just chef secrets,” I say with a grin before scooping some mashed potatoes into my mouth.
“So you’ll be sticking around Bayshore for a while then,” Mom says, reaching out to pat Kru’s wrist. He smiles warmly at her.
“That’s the plan. Bayshore feels like home now,” he confirms.
“So you think you’re a pretty smart businessman then?” Asher asks.
I sigh, pressing two fingers to the middle of my forehead. “ Asher .”
“I’m just curious about his business plan,” Asher says. “Solvency. Longevity. Things like that.”
“I don’t know if I’m the smartest one out there, but I think I have a pretty solid plan,” Kru says with a laugh, ripping off a piece of bread. “Honestly it’s been great to swap ideas with your sister. She’s really smart.”
“Yeah, I bet you used her smarts to get ahead of her in the Best of Bayshore competition,” Griffin mutters.
This time, I can’t keep my groan inside. “ Griffin .”
“My sons are a bit, well…” Mom begins.
“Rude,” I supply for her.
“You’re the rude one,” Griffin shoots back under his breath.
“Kids,” Mom says, in the same voice she used when we were in elementary school. “We have a guest. Let’s behave.”
“She’s saying that to all of you.” I gesture with my fork at all four of my brothers.
Silverware clinks against plates for a few tense moments as we continue eating. Finally, Mom turns to Kru. “So tell me again where you’re living.”
“Right behind Griffin,” Kru says.
“Oh! How convenient,” Mom enthuses.
“Not convenient,” Griffin mutters.
“So you already bought a home here in Bayshore,” Mom says.
“No, it’s short-term rental. I’m in the middle of renovating the space above the restaurant and plan to move in there.” Kru pauses, and I can almost feel the doubt creep through him before he continues. “Where Piper used to live.”
The words take a few moments to settle, and each passing second feels like an hour. Griffin knows the truth about what happened there, but I don’t know if he’s spilled the beans to the rest of the family yet. Curious glances bounce around the table. My entire body is tense.
“So you decided to renovate the apartment after Piper moved in with Griffin?” Asher asks.
Kru glances between me and Asher, like checking with me on how to move forward. But I have no idea how to move forward. I just need us to move through it, and be done with it.
“No, I uh…well, my plans for the business included me living above it and so I, uh…” Kru’s throat bobs and he sets his silverware down. “I had to ask her to move out.”
The silverware stops clinking. Now all eyes are on me again.
“You kicked her out?” Jett asks.
Kru pauses. “Not kicked —”
“So that’s why you moved in with Griffin!” Jett says it with an ah-ha tone.
“Yes, that’s why I moved in with Griffin,” I say, trying to keep my voice neutral. But really, my limbs are buzzing and I feel caught somehow.
“And you seriously brought him here for dinner?” Dane asks.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” I concede, “but not one that Kru designed to hurt me or anything.”
“I didn’t know she was my neighbor when I bought the building,” Kru adds.
“Did you know about this?” Asher asks Griff.
He nods glumly. “Sure did.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Asher asks.
“She asked me not to,” Griff explains.
“Okay, can we talk about something else?” I move my hands through the air like expelling a bad smell. “Please. Anything else. Kru, what should we talk about?”
“Have you told them about the progress—?” He stops short at the same time I see the realization flash through his eyes.
He’s trying. I’ll give him that. I deflate slightly as I cut off another bite of pork. The questions are immediate.
“What progress?” Griffin asks.
Kru grimaces. “Maybe we should talk about something else—”
“ What progress ?” Griffin repeats.
“No progress,” Kru says, waving it off. I know he’s trying to backpedal for my sake. He probably didn’t mean to bring it up. But we’re in this mess because of me. My secrecy. I’m ready to jump headfirst into the hullabaloo.
“You can tell them,” I say softly.
“Yeah. Tell them ,” Asher urges Kru.
“There's a barn on the same property as our businesses,” Kru supplies coolly. But I can tell he’s straining at the edges. “Piper’s been gung-ho on cleaning it up and getting it ready for her business expansion.”
“Expansion?” Asher asks carefully, his gaze sliding toward me. “Is this what you were talking about the other night in the hospital?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” I clear my throat, picking at invisible fibers on my leggings. “I’m moving forward with it.”
Jett lets out a low whistle.
“Oh my god,” Griffin mutters, stabbing his food with his fork.
“What is this idea you’re moving forward with, honey?” Mom asks.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot you were in a coma when I brought it up.” I clear my throat, readying myself to dive into this again.
“How could you forget mom was in a coma?” Griffin snaps. I can tell he’s agitated, which just exhausts me further.
“I didn’t—ugh, never mind. Long story short, Mom, I’ve been wanting to expand my business for a while and now I’m finally going to do it. Even though every male at this table thinks it’s a bad idea. Except for you, Kru.”
“I didn’t realize you were talking about a barn . That’s a horrible idea,” Asher says ominously. “The renovation costs alone are going to kill you. Do you want to jump head first into a money pit?”
His words land like a spear to the chest. “It’s not going to kill me,” I say, but then the frustration overwhelms me and I snap. “Listen, I’m not talking about the barn after all. Can we talk about something else altogether? Something that isn’t about me or my business.”
“Fine. Let’s talk about Kru.” Asher’s smile goes thin, and I know this isn’t the right direction either.
“Have we convinced you yet that we’re a normal family?” I say dryly, looking over at Kru.
He offers a smile but it doesn’t last long.
“What sort of cuisine do you serve?” Dane asks.
“American.”
“So you never learned about other types of cuisine other than our own?” Dane goes on. “Like, French food or something?”
“I learned about them,” Kru replies. “But I had a particular vision I wanted to bring to life.” He swallows his bite then glances over at me as though saying here we go . “And speaking of French food, do you know why the French like snails?”
My brothers all share concerned looks.
“Uh…” Dane says.
Kru grins. “Because they hate fast food.”
Silence settles over the table like a punishment. Griffin blinks. Asher furrows his brow. My mom covers her mouth with her napkin as she politely titters.
Not even a fucking consolation laugh from my brothers.
“I don’t think they liked my food joke,” Kru whispers to me.
“It was a good one,” I reassure him, patting his forearm.
“Are you looking into franchising?” Asher asks, blowing past the failed joke entirely.
Kru laughs softly and shakes his head. Maybe now he understands what I’m dealing with here. “I don’t know about franchising. But there’s definitely a market for expansion in other ways.”
“Like what ways?” Asher asks, sounding like he might actually be simply curious, instead of calculating.
"Well, I've actually had some interest from investors," Kru says, cutting into his pork chop.
"There's a group in Columbus that's been following me from the reality show.
They think my concept would translate well to a bigger market.
One of the investors came to eat at my restaurant the other night and asked me to call him.
We had a pretty long talk about his offer. "
My fork freezes halfway to my mouth. Columbus. He's never mentioned Columbus before…or this investor. “You got an offer?”
"Columbus is a great market," Dane cuts in, perking up with interest. "Lots of young professionals, good restaurant scene."
"That's what they tell me," Kru agrees, ignoring my question. "They want to meet next week to discuss possibilities."
"Next week?" The question comes out sharper than I intended, and everyone looks at me.
"Tuesday," Kru says, his eyes flicking to mine briefly before looking away. "I'd drive down Monday night and meet with them Tuesday morning to look at a space."
"And you're just mentioning this now?" I can't keep the hurt out of my voice. Going to Columbus to look at a new space for a restaurant is huge .