Chapter Seventeen
It took a couple of weeks for her and Pauline to find their rhythm at the restaurant.
However, once they had, Susannah was excited to see the restaurant take off.
The inn was fully booked with guests, some in town for business, some newly arrived with nowhere to stay, and some visiting friends who had no room to house them.
Susannah was glad that they had plenty of customers.
It meant that Pauline and Clark could pay her for the job that she was doing.
That was half the reason she had taken up the job in the restaurant, after all.
The other half was that it would give her something to do during the day while she waited for Wesley to finish his work at the courthouse.
All that mattered to her was finding a place to belong.
She had never felt that she belonged in Washington, D.C.
, but she was starting to believe that she could belong here in Bakersfield.
She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that her relationship with Wesley was a large part of why she felt that she could finally belong somewhere.
It all took a back seat today, though, because Pauline was in the kitchen with her, making sure everything was running on track.
“Do you need a second person in here, Susannah?” Pauline asked.
“It couldn’t hurt, but I can handle the kitchen on my own. Perhaps someone to run the orders out to the customers would be more helpful,” she suggested. “But it’s your restaurant. If you want me to run the orders to the customers, I’m willing to do that, too.”
“I think you’re better suited to the kitchen, and it would seem that you agree,” Pauline said. “Well, since I have nothing else to do, why don’t I run the orders for today? You’ve done so much to help that it only feels right to offer you some help in the kitchen, too.”
“Thank you, Pauline. But when Wesley comes in…”
“I know, I know. That’s when you’re going to end your shift. Honestly, he comes in late enough that I don’t mind,” Pauline said as she put her apron on. “Now, where do these orders that you’re cooking up have to go? Who ordered what? And did anyone else feel like they were going to order more?”
“Well, these orders are all for that family of five staying in the inn right now,” Susannah said.
“No one has yet ordered more, but I’m sure that’s partially because they all know that only one person is working back here.
If we had more people back here, we could handle more dishes being cooked at once.
I’m not a short-order chef, you know. There’s only so much I can do. ”
Pauline nodded.
“Well, I appreciate everything you’re doing,” she said.
“There’s nothing here that I could be doing better than you.
The kitchen is not my strong suit, as much as my parents wished it was.
They were both well-known for their cooking, my dad for his work at the bakery, and my mom for her hosting and for making sure everything she served was homemade.
I came out here to escape their legacy because I didn’t inherit their skills in the kitchen. ”
Susannah smiled.
“Well, at least you’ve got something here that you’re good at.
You may not have inherited her cooking abilities, but I do believe that you’ve inherited your mother’s hostess skills, if anything.
You have a way of making everyone feel welcome,” Susannah said.
“Now, before any of this food burns, let me plate it up, and you can run it out to the family. They’re sitting at the largest table.
We didn’t have any of the other large tables available when they came in. ”
“All right. I can manage that delivery,” Pauline said. “How are things going with you and Wes, anyway? Do you think he’s going to propose marriage soon? Ask for your hand? Do you think you know what you’ll say if he does?”
Susannah wasn’t sure what to say to Pauline. There were plenty of answers to those questions, and while she wanted to speculate, Susannah also wanted to respect Wesley. If he wasn’t ready to propose marriage, then he wasn’t ready to propose to her. But how did she say that to Pauline?
“Well, if he proposes, then I’ll say yes,” she finally said. “Though I don’t know when that might be. I’ve been hoping he’ll do it for a while now, but we only wrote to each other for six months before he sent me the money to come here. He might be taking his time getting to know me.”
“If that’s the case, then he’s got a level head,” Pauline said.
“I know many men who would have just started courting you and proposed by now if they were impressed enough. I think he wants to be sure that you’re compatible because he’s spent all this money on you.
I can see that he likes you well enough, though. ”
“I see,” Susannah said. “Have you seen that often enough?”
“Yes, and Clark proposed to me two weeks after I arrived here,” Pauline said. “I’ve lived it, Susannah. If you don’t think you want to stay without him proposing, then tell him. Wesley’s a nice enough man. I’m sure he’ll understand if you’re honest with him. Open, you know?”
She nodded as she plated up the orders and sent them out with Pauline.
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind.”