Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
M andy was on her way to Mimi’s Place Monday morning a little before eleven when her attorney called.
“Hey, Lindsay, could you hold just a minute?”
“Sure.”
Mandy pulled into the restaurant parking lot and killed the engine. She was early and could just take the call in her car where she wouldn’t be interrupted.
“Okay, I’m all yours. Have you heard from Cory?” She felt suddenly nervous, anxious for good news.
“Yes, and he agreed to what we asked for. You’ll keep the house and will have primary custody. He’ll have the kids every other weekend and every Wednesday night.”
Mandy nodded. “Okay, that’s good.”
“And he agreed to the suggested amount for child support, paid monthly.” Lindsay had made the request based on their financial data. “In lieu of alimony or an ongoing percentage of the company, he has agreed to a lump sum.”
Mandy held her breath, and then it came rushing out in a whoosh of relief when Lindsay told her the amount that Cory had agreed to. It was an outrageous amount of money, and Mandy was shocked that Cory had agreed to it.
“I know it seems like a lot, but Cory is smart enough to know that if we pushed and went to court, he would likely have to pay more than this. We can still do that if you prefer, but I think this is a more than fair settlement, and you can avoid additional court costs and stress if you agree.”
“Okay. If I accept, what happens next?”
“We’ll file with the court, requesting a divorce hearing, which can take anywhere from three to six months, and then once we have the hearing and all parties are in agreement, it will be effective ninety days after that. By this time next year, probably sooner, you’ll be divorced.”
Mandy felt a mix of emotions ranging from sad to happy to relieved. Ultimately she wanted to get the divorce done and move on.
“Let’s move forward. Please let Cory’s lawyer know that I accept his offer.”
“I will, and congratulations, Mandy. With this settlement, you’ll be a rich woman.”
“Thank you.”
She ended the call and sat there for a moment.
It didn’t seem real that Cory’s company was worth so much and that he was giving her what seemed like such a huge amount.
The thought of the money itself didn’t excite Mandy though, other than for the security it would give her and the children.
She knew she was fortunate, but she would have felt far more fortunate if her marriage had stayed solid.
She and Cory had been happy once. And now they were both starting over.
But at least she had Mimi’s Place now too. And her sisters nearby. She’d be fine. More than fine.
Lunch was busier than usual, which Mandy was glad to see.
It was steady all afternoon, and in between seating new people, she made the rounds, checking to see how different tables were doing and chatting with many of the regular customers.
She noticed that some of their regulars were coming in more often, and they had some new repeat customers too, which was encouraging.
She also noticed that the bar had a late lunch rush and every seat was full. She went over to see if Gina needed any help.
Gina flashed her a grateful smile. “I just got buzzed that Matt’s haddock is up. Would you mind grabbing it?”
“Sure thing.” Mandy headed into the kitchen.
Stacy, one of the servers, was standing by the line, tapping her foot and looking impatient.
Mandy saw a plate of broiled haddock under the warming light. “Is that Gina’s?” she asked.
Zach nodded. “Yep.”
“Is the swordfish ready yet?” Stacy asked.
“If it was ready, you’d have it,” Zach snapped. “If you hadn’t returned it, I wouldn’t have had to start over.”
“If you had put the sauce on the side, like they asked, I wouldn’t have had to return it.” Stacy sounded just as frustrated.
Mandy picked up her plate of haddock and turned to leave. She’d only taken two steps before she heard a loud crash.
“There’s your damn fish!” Zach yelled.
Mandy turned back and saw the plate of food that Zach had slammed onto the counter.
Stacy threw a lemon garnish on it, picked it up, and ran out of the kitchen.
Mandy followed and delivered the broiled haddock to Matt, who was sitting in his usual seat at the bar.
She’d noticed that he liked to sit on the corner, which had a good view of the TV and also of the front desk.
“Here you go, Matt. Enjoy!” She set it down in front of him and went to leave.
She would have loved to chat a bit but didn’t want to interrupt his newly delivered meal.
There was an art to visiting with guests, and one thing Gary had taught them was that when food arrived, you waited a bit—to give time for them to eat and enjoy and then to raise any issues once they’d had a chance to try the food.
“Thanks, Mandy. How’ve you been? Anything new in your world?” He smiled as he squeezed the lemon over his fish.
Since he asked, she could resist sharing her news. “I’m good. Really good actually. My husband and I agreed on divorce terms, and it will be official soon.” She felt a bit lighter saying the words. It felt real now and right.
His smile grew bigger, lighting up his whole face. “Well, that is good news. Congratulations, Mandy.”
“Thank you. I’ll let you enjoy your lunch.” She knew if there were any concerns, he’d let Gina know.
The haddock looked perfectly done to her; it was flaky and dusted with buttery crumbs. It was one of her favorites on the menu.
Mandy was still smiling as she made her way back to the front desk and answered the phone. “Mimi’s Place, can I help you?” She took a reservation for that evening and wrote it on the calendar.
Gary walked up a moment later and took a peek at the reservations list for the night.
“Our reservations are up quite a bit. This is a good trend.” He looked pleased.
Two older women walked by, and Mandy overheard one muttering to the other. “This place has gone downhill lately. This is the second time in two weeks that things just aren’t as good. It’s so disappointing.”
Mandy hesitated and then went up to them. They’d just reached the door and were about to walk outside. She recognized them as the Andrews sisters, and they’d been in several times over the past month.
“I couldn’t help but overhear you. I’m so sorry that you were disappointed with your lunch today. Do you have a moment to share what the issue was?”
The two women exchanged glances and then one of them spoke.
“We’ve been coming here for years. And we’ve always loved it.
But the past few times we’ve been in, it just hasn’t been the same.
I always get scallops, and twice now, they’ve been undercooked, and I had to send them back, and then they were like rubber.
There’s nothing worse than rubbery scallops, except maybe undercooked ones.
I’m not sure I feel safe ordering them here again. ”
“I’m so sorry. We do have a new lunch chef. He’s just filling in for our regular chef for a few more weeks. Jason broke his ankle, but he’ll be back soon.”
“Jason makes excellent scallops,” the woman sniffed.
“He does. Was there anything else besides the scallops?”
Her sister nodded. “I ordered the swordfish special, and it came with a very spicy sauce. I can’t do spice, so this time, I ordered it with no sauce.
I just like my swordfish with those buttered crumbs on top.
But they forgot, and it had that awful sauce all over it.
I had to send it back. Both of us had to send our food back.
It wasn’t relaxing,” the woman said. “I know it’s not your fault, dear. ”
“Ladies, please come in for just a moment. I want to give you a gift card for your next visit to make up for today.”
“Well, that would be nice. That’s very kind of you.” The first woman was considerably less grumpy now, and Mandy quickly got them a gift card that would fully cover their next lunch.
She handed it to them and apologized again. “I do hope you’ll forgive us and come back soon.”
“Of course we will.” The ladies left happy with their gift card, and Mandy went back to the front desk where Gary was taking it all in.
“We need to talk to Paul,” he said.
Mandy agreed. When Paul arrived for the evening shift, Mandy asked him to step into Gary’s office for a moment, and she asked Gina to keep an eye on the front desk.
Once they were all in Gary’s office, Paul raised his eyebrows. “It’s Zach, isn’t it?”
Mandy nodded, and she and Gary filled him in.
“He’s rude to the waitresses,” Mandy began and told him what she’d seen that afternoon. And both she and Gary shared the customer complaints. “I know you talked to him about the importance of consistency, but he’s still making the same mistakes, like undercooking the scallops.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to him again. But if he doesn’t improve, we might have to think about finding another option.”
“Hopefully he’ll get it right this time,” Mandy said. She hated to think of firing him so soon. Maybe he just needed a little more time to do things their way.