Chapter 30
AVERY
I’m still trying to figure out what happened to Max after his phone call, and it’s been bothering me since last night.
I don’t know why it matters so much, but my brain keeps going through the motions of what I need to do today while also trying to pinpoint what the changing factor in his behavior was.
He still smiled and enjoyed the night while we all joked and told stories in a larger group, but it was like he had withdrawn himself somewhat.
I guess the bigger question is how in the world I know this already about him. I’m not sure what it is, but I feel like I can see his moods change, even the slightest, these days. That means I’ve been paying too much attention to him.
What if his phone call was because he needs to head back to New York soon?
My stomach twists at the thought, and I realize I’m in a whole lot deeper than I thought.
I do my best to push Max Luca out of my mind and focus on the short line of customers in front of me.
We have our typical neighbors from next door, as well as several newbies from the gathering last night.
I’m ashamed of how many people didn’t know I’d opened a coffee shop.
It’s a popular beverage, but it still needs marketing.
I’m not completely convinced social media is the route we need to go right now, but Sarah gets so excited about it every time I ask her.
I’ll have to create a master marketing plan after this weekend.
We get through the few hours that we planned to be open, and then it’s almost lunch. One of the activities for this test-run weekend is to try out a new restaurant down the road. It makes me think of Max when he asked me to have dinner with him. Was it supposed to be there?
Sarah and I get things cleaned up before we walk down to Marco’s, a new Italian place. Lila and Ashley are already there talking to Aiden and a few other people they met last night.
When I reach the group, I look at Aiden and say, “Where’s Max?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him. I figured he’d be at the coffee shop for as much as he visits your establishment.” His pointed gaze causes my cheeks to flare.
“I haven’t seen him today.”
The line is long for this restaurant, and I’m wondering if it’s worth it to wait. Maybe this is something to visit later in the afternoon, when the crowd has died down some. But the open window is only until four p.m., and I’m already hungry now at noon.
“I don’t believe I’ve met your friend Avery,” Aiden says.
I turn to see Sarah at my side and can’t believe I forgot to introduce them. “This is Sarah. She is a master of balloon arches and of all things design.”
Sarah grins at me and says, “Thank you, boss.”
Aiden gives her a small smile and turns to look back at the line. “Do we know what kind of food they’ll be serving here?”
Lila and Ashley look at each other as if one of them has the answer.
The two are practically connected at the hip these days.
I can’t complain, though, because I wanted someone steady for Lila to hang out with.
And the fact that they want to stay with us means a lot.
When Lila was good friends with Kylie, I never saw them.
Sarah leans forward, squinting at the building. “Italian.”
“That would be nice,” Aiden says. “A little more variety in this town would make it perfection personified.”
The four of us laugh, and he gives us a small smile before looking behind us. “Look, there’s Max now.”
Why did my stomach have to do that lame fluttering thing at the mention of Max?
I wait a second, hoping to manage my expression a bit, so I don’t look too anxious to see him again.
I’m not sure whether his phone conversation last night was good or bad because of how it tempered his mood, but I don’t want to go jumping to any conclusions, and I need to keep my heart from galloping away with me.
“Where have you been?” Aiden asks, slapping Max on the back as he comes to stand next to us.
“I was actually helping the movers with the furniture.”
I turn to look at him in surprise. “What furniture?”
Max gives me a little smile. “The furniture for the flat I’m staying in.”
I grin at him. “So, no more air mattress?”
“No. I stayed at Aiden’s place to save my back for a few nights, but I’m not sure the bed they delivered is going to be comfortable. He looks hesitant, and his smile isn’t quite as bright as it was two seconds before. “To be honest, I’m not sure about any of the furniture.”
“What do you mean?” Aiden asks.
I turn to see Lila and Ashley chattering away in front of us with a few other friends from school. “What is it you’re not sure about?” I ask, trying to understand the situation.
“Well, I hired someone, a recommendation of Gina’s. She’s a local designer in the town just north of here. She had this form for me to fill out, and then I got a confirmation email of the purchases. She ordered a bunch of furniture to fill the apartment now that it’s finally done.”
“And?” I say, making a circling motion with my hand in front of me to help him keep the story going.
“And I tried to sit on the couch, and it was the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Aiden chuckles. “What about the bed?”
Max shakes his head. “It looks just as bad.”
“Then why did you let them deliver it?” I’m more than curious now.
“Because what was I supposed to do with all of it, just leave it outside?” Max asks.
“What did you tell the designer?” Sarah asks, fully into this conversation.
“I told her I wanted something that would fill a beachside apartment that would look sleek and modern.”
Sarah and I snap our fingers at the same time and turn to look at each other with a laugh.
“What was that for?” Max asks.
I wait for a few seconds for my laughing to die down before I can say, “Sleek and modern are not something that would go well with the beach.”
“What do I do with the furniture?”
“Is there not a return policy?” Sarah asks.
He frowns. “I’m not sure. I didn’t ask that part.”
“He’s not used to that part of life,” Aiden says with another slap on his back.
The look Max sends him makes me curious about the comment. Maybe this is Max’s first time ordering furniture at all.
We inch up farther in the line, and I’m curious what’s taking so long. Then again, it’s not like I’ve had to make people wait in line very often.
Max seems to understand the irritation I’m feeling and looks at the line in front of us. “How long have you guys been waiting here?”
“About fifteen minutes,” Aiden says, checking his watch.
Max takes off up the line and toward the front door. I watch him disappear into the restaurant, and the rest of us look at one another, confused.
“He’s not the most patient person in the world,” Aiden says. “More proactive. A doer, if you will.”
I can’t worry about Max anymore, so I turn my attention to Aiden. “Have you seen Talia today? I wonder why she’s not here.”
“She’s probably working,” Aiden says, fidgeting with his collar.
I don’t know why, but I like to watch him squirm while teasing him about Talia.
“Where did Max go?” Sarah asks.
I open the app and click to create a new message, finding him in my contacts. But I don’t even get a chance to type anything because Aiden responds.
“It looks like Max is inside, running point.”
I blink a few times. “What do you mean by that?”
Aiden chuckles. “Well, he went in and started helping in the back.”
“Where they’re cooking food?” I ask, surprised. Maybe he’s a really good cook, and we haven’t seen it because he hasn’t had a kitchen available.
Aiden lifts his phone to show us the screen. “He just texted me back and said the process wasn’t serving the restaurant and that he would join us once we get inside.”
Something inside me twists at the thought that this new restaurant might not get a fair shake if we don’t help them fix things quickly.
“I’m going to see if I can help as well.”
“You’re just going to leave us here?” Lila asks, finally noticing I’m behind her again.
“You’ll be fine,” I say, “but if we can help move things along, then we’ll all get to eat sooner, right?”
Aiden and Sarah look like they want to say something, but I hurry and head into the restaurant. It’s dark compared to the outside.
I glance around and don’t see Max anywhere, so I walk over to each of the curtains and make sure to pull them up enough that the sun isn’t in anyone’s eyes.
The hostess looks flustered and is writing things on her hand.
“Do you need some help?” I ask, trying to look her in the eye.
She looks to be about eighteen and blows out a long breath before she says, “I would appreciate that. Obviously, this is the first day on the job, and we don’t have all the supplies in yet.”
“Okay, what did they tell you to do?” I ask, giving her a reassuring smile.
I was a hostess before I was a server, and one of my favorite restaurants helped get me through my first year of college before I was able to get a job on campus. I learned a lot about people and about customer service in that time.
The hostess responds with, “I’m just supposed to guide people to their tables, so I put a bunch right here against the windows,” she says, pointing to the one section of tables.
I hold up my hand to stop her. “Okay, how many servers do you have right now?”
“Maybe four?”
“How many tables total do we have in here?”
She doesn’t know, and so I go about counting. For what looks like a small space, there is a good amount of seating in here.
“Okay, so the first thing we want to do is find a piece of paper, any kind of paper right now, and a pen, so we can make a chart to keep track. I’ll start working on the people coming in, and we’ll get things in order.”
The hostess hurries into the back room, and I turn to look at the group of people waiting at the door.
“Hello and welcome. Thank you for trying out this restaurant for its first run. How many people are in your party?”
The hostess returns after I’ve gotten numbers on the first three groups, and I start writing them down.
I point to the room. “We have one big group and a couple of smaller groups, but you want to space them out in the room so not everyone is in the same area. We’ll also make sections of these tables,” I say, drawing many squares on the paper she brought back, “and give them to each of the servers. That way, it’ll break it up a bit, and it won’t be chaos when they need to take a break. ”
She gives me a wide-eyed stare and shrugs.
“I’ll let you work on these three groups. I’m going to go check on the servers and make sure they have what they need.”
She gives me a grateful look and turns to look at the man in front of the group.
I walk over and push through the kitchen doors, trying to get a sense of what’s going on and what the hierarchy is here. Instead, I’m surprised to see Max in an apron, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he looks comfortable with a knife. Not in a killer way, but chopping vegetables.
Maybe we’ll be able to get some things working smoothly to keep this business running.
When I told Max to pay it forward, it seems like he took it very seriously. I can’t complain about a man like that in my life.