Joe's Diner Read online

  For the first time since he met her, she was quiet. At first, he found the lack of conversation a welcome change; but as time went on and the silence dragged, the mood in the car became more and more somber. He found himself rolling over worst-case scenarios in his mind, instead of more hopeful thoughts of Joe having a quick and easy recovery.

  The more he thought about what had happened and what could happen, the more depressed he became, until he found he wanted to hear Chantelle’s cheerful babbling to give him some hope that all could really be well once again. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what to say to get her started, so he said nothing.

  No one said a word as they parked the car and made their way into the emergency ward. As soon as they identified themselves and asked a few questions, a nurse escorted them to ICU, where they found Ellen in a chair in a small waiting area.

  Mark stood back with Chantelle to let his parents talk to Ellen. They had allowed her to see her husband, but only for five minutes. She was now forced to wait for more news as they continued to monitor his condition.

  Mark didn’t know what he should do, so he walked to the nurse’s station and identified himself to see if they would give him an update. Chantelle had followed him, although she remained silent. In addition to being so worried about Joe, Mark wondered if he should also begin to worry about Chantelle being silent so long.

  The nurse laid her pencil on the desk and picked up a clipboard. “Mark Daniels and Chantelle Dubois? Normally we wouldn’t allow anyone in except for immediate family, but Mr. Dubois has been asking for both of you. He’s been quite adamant about it. The doctor has decided it would be better for him to be allowed to see you and say what he wants to say so he can calm down. Please keep your visit to five minutes, then I’m going to ask you both to leave.”

  Mark’s chest tightened as he followed the nurse into Joe’s room.

  He knew what to expect; but when he actually saw Joe hooked up to all the tubes and wires and monitors, Mark’s stomach did a nosedive into his shoes. Behind all the medical accessories and equipment, Joe’s complexion was pasty, his eyes were sunken, and his hair lay askew on the pillow, emphasizing his bald spot, which he always tried to keep hidden.

  Mark tried clearing his throat, but his voice still wouldn’t work.

  “Hi, Uncle Joe! You look great!” Chantelle chirped quietly beside him. She shuffled closer and lowered her voice. “Well, maybe not great, but you look better than the last time I saw you.”

  To give her some credit, Joe opened his eyes and smiled behind the tubes and tape on his face.

  Chantelle shuffled closer, grasped the railing, and leaned forward toward him. “How are you feeling? Tell me the truth now.”

  Joe’s voice came out low, scratchy, and barely understandable. “Better than I look, I hear.”

  “That nice nurse said you wanted to talk to us. You have to make it quick because in four minutes and twelve seconds, they’re going to kick us out.”

  “What am I going to do about the diner?” he choked out, then swallowed hard. “Ellen can’t run it. She’s never done anything in the diner. Her arthritis. Susan’s never worked for the diner, either.”

  Chantelle reached over to touch his hand. “That’s not true. Aunt Ellen makes gallons of that wonderful sauce your burgers are famous for every week.”

  Joe cleared his throat. “Chantelle, I need you. I know you’ve been working hard, but I need you to do more. I want you to take over everything that I do. The hosting and the scheduling. I don’t want anyone working more than eight hours and killing themselves by working too hard while I’m gone. That means you, too. You understand me?”

  Chantelle nodded so fast her hair flopped in her face. “Yes, Uncle Joe. Don’t worry.”

  Joe winced and cleared his throat again. “Mark, I need you to look after things in the kitchen tomorrow until I can figure out what to do there. Jack’s still under so much medication, he won’t be able to help with any planning.”

  Mark gulped, knowing the gravity of Joe’s request. By asking for him sight unseen earlier, Joe had known Mark wouldn’t have left town. “No problem. I can stay a day or two.”

  Joe smiled slightly, then winced. “Are you sure?”

  Mark could well imagine his boss’s reaction. As of yet, Sean thought he was once again working through the weekend, when he’d done the exact opposite—he’d left early Friday. At the time, Mark knew that by doing so, he would be making the company miss a number of deadlines on Monday; he’d been willing to accept that responsibility. In fact, Mark had selected clients who wouldn’t mind that they were a couple of days late, as justification to take on the students who were coming Monday, whether he was there or not.

  In addition to purposely missing deadlines, now he was going to be missing a couple more days without having made prior arrangements and without advance notice.

  Mark looked down at Joe. Joe and Uncle Jack always had a plan for the diner that took into consideration the possibility of one of them being gone, but there was no provision for both of them being away at the same time. Possibly, the current staff could have struggled to make an alternate plan, but not without the computer and their entire records system. They’d struggled through the last three days even with Joe there. No one really knew what stock they had on hand, short of going into the storage locker and freezer and physically counting every item by hand.

  He didn’t know what to suggest.

  Mark checked his watch. He could still catch the next flight out. But, if he stayed, within a couple of days, he could have a new computer purchased, all data re-entered, and proper backups made.

  If he worked hard, he could be back home and to his job on the third day. Two days off was not going to kill the company, and they couldn’t fire him over a few unscheduled days off. However, it probably was going to jeopardize the standing he’d worked so hard to build.

  Mark stiffened and forced himself to smile. “No problem. I could use a few days off.” Although he could hardly count working two eighteen-hour days for the diner as a vacation.

  Joe smiled weakly, showing Mark he’d done the right thing.

  The nurse arrived precisely five minutes after they entered the room. “I’m sorry, it’s time for you to leave.”

  Joe closed his eyes. His head sagged back, and he relaxed from head to toe. “Thank you,” he muttered. “Nurse, I only need one more thing.”

  “And what’s that, Mr. Dubois?”

  “Wheel me down a couple floors to Jack’s room. Tonight is our Scrabble night.”

  “I don’t think so, Mr. Dubois.” She turned to Mark and Chantelle. “Your time is up. Mr. Dubois needs to rest.”

  As soon as they left the room and the door closed behind them, Chantelle latched onto Mark’s arm.

  “He’s going to be okay. Did you hear him? He’s already joking around about going to see Jack. I wonder if they can move the two of them into the same room. Can you imagine what they’d be like together?”

  Mark stared down at her hand, causing her to release her grip. “This is the cardiac ward. Uncle Jack is in postop, and he’s still heavily sedated. They wouldn’t put them together. And if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to hear someone from the medical profession pronounce Joe’s long-term prognosis.” Mark hurried his step. “Excuse me. Nurse? How is he? Is he going to be okay?”

  “I can’t tell you that, but the doctor can. He’s speaking to Mrs. Dubois right now. Please have a seat.”

  Mark didn’t really want to sit down, but he had no choice. As he sat, he noticed that his parents were missing from the small waiting area, so he had to assume that they were with Ellen and the doctor.

  As soon as the nurse left, Chantelle immediately started talking.

  “That’s great that you’re going to stay a couple of days. You’ve made Uncle Joe feel so much better. Once you’ve got everything in order, I’m sure we can keep things going. I don’t imagine it’s hard to smile at people and show them to their tabl
es. It might even be fun. The thing that’s going to be scary is the ordering. We should be able to tell how much food to order from looking at the old purchase orders. Do you think you can help me find some old purchase orders to use as examples?”

  Mark sighed. This was exactly the type of situation he’d had in mind when he’d thought of preparing a database out of the diner’s past records. However, it would never have occurred to him that they’d need it immediately. “Everything I need is in the box at the airport. I’ll go by and pick it up sometime tomorrow. Until then, I don’t know if the current staff would know how to do the ordering. Between Joe and Uncle Jack, they do it all, and they were both very possessive about it. I doubt anything has changed.”

  “What are we going to do? I don’t think they’re going to let either one of them out of the hospital by Wednesday to do the week’s purchases.”

  “I can probably get away with staying until late Tuesday night. I should have everything entered in the computer by then. If not, I think I could make an accurate estimate by looking at the present stock. Years ago, Uncle Jack showed me how to estimate quantities and order supplies and do stock when he and Aunt Susan went on vacation. That was also before he put everything on the computer, so we should be okay if I can remember everything. I only did it once. I’ll buy a new computer, and I should have it configured and most of the data re-entered before I have to go home.”

  “That would be great. I’ve worked in offices all my life and I’ve done a lot of work on computers. I know I can figure out how to do the payroll. I only wish I knew how long it’s going to take, because that will take time from my hosting and serving. The staff’s hours are already tight, and now we’re going to be a full-time person short. More than a full-time person. Both Jack and Uncle Joe worked more than eight hours a day, sometimes six days a week. I hope the part-time people will be willing to increase their hours. Otherwise, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m not exactly sure what Uncle Joe is asking me.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do fine. It sounds like Joe trusts you.” Since Chantelle had worked at the restaurant only three days without previous food service experience, Mark wasn’t sure that was a wise decision. However, just as he was family to Uncle Jack, she was Joe’s family and had only the best interests of the restaurant in mind. That alone would carry her a long way.

  Once again, Chantelle’s hand found its way to his forearm. “Look! There’s the doctor and everyone else.” She scrambled to her feet before Mark had a chance to take a breath.

  “What did he say? What did he say?” she rattled off as she sprinted toward them.

  Mark rose and hurried to join the rest of his family, although he didn’t run.

  Ellen smiled, immediately easing some of his worry. “It’s still too early to tell, but the doctor says that things look very promising. Mark’s quick action prevented the damage from being much worse. The doctor said not to worry about Joe’s broken rib. He’s going to be lying in one spot for a long time, and it’s not going to bother him that much. He’ll be on lots of painkillers for awhile. But with sufficient rest, losing some weight, and starting an exercise program, the doctor says he can make a full recovery.”

  Mark sagged in relief. “That’s great,” he said with a sigh.

  Chantelle clasped her hands in front of her and did a little hop. “Praise God!” she chimed.

  “What do we do now?” Mark asked.

  His father stepped forward. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do. The doctor said Joe has to rest, but Ellen wants to stay for a bit and see him again later. We’ve called Marella. She’s on her way, and we can leave as soon as she gets here.”

  “But what about the car?” Chantelle asked. “It’s still at the airport.”

  “I never thought of that. I guess we can take you to the airport and you can drive it home.”

  Chantelle shook her head. “I don’t want to leave Aunt Ellen without the car. But if I leave it at their house, then I won’t have a way to get home.” She paused. One eye closed, she raised her fist to her chin and tapped her finger to her cheek. “I know! How about if we all go to your house and drop you and Leslie at home, then Mark can drive me to the airport. He can even pick up his luggage while we’re there. If we both drive back to Aunt Ellen’s house, I can drop off the car, and Mark can drive me home, then he can go back to your place for the night.”

  His parents simply stared at her. Ellen stared blankly at the wall.

  Mark blinked a few times and recounted the stages Chantelle outlined. “It’s a lot of driving,” he said, “but it will work.”

  His father shook his head. “As long as you say so. There’s Marella.”

  Six

  “Mom! What happened? How’s Dad? Can I see him?”

  Chantelle stood back as Marella gave her mom a big, tearful hug. At her daughter’s touch, Aunt Ellen’s tears once more began to flow. “They’re still watching him, although they say the danger appears to be over. They’re going to observe him for twenty-four hours, then they’ve got a bunch of tests to run while he rests and heals. They didn’t tell me how long he’s going to be here; but after that, when he gets home, he’s got to rest some more and get back on his feet slowly and under supervision.”

  “So he’s going to be okay?”

  “Yes. Praise God, he’s going to be okay.”

  They all exchanged hugs of relief and said their good-byes. Leaving Marella with Aunt Ellen, they began the first leg of their journey, which was the trip to Mark’s parents’ house.

  Now that she knew Uncle Joe would get better, Chantelle allowed herself to relax. Instead of dwelling on the daunting task of trying to organize things at the restaurant, she kept conversation on insignificant things, mostly on the weather and the upcoming baseball game.

  “We’re home,” Leslie said as they pulled into the driveway. “Would you like to come in for a few minutes? I can put on a pot of coffee. It’s been quite a day, and you might want to relax for a bit before doing all that driving. It will only take a few minutes.”

  Mark nodded. “Great idea. I’d love one.”

  Chantelle shook her head. “I’d better not. We’re going to be driving and driving, with nowhere to stop for a long time, if you know what I mean.”

  Mark smirked. “Oh. I never thought of that. Chantelle is right. We do have a lot of miles to make, and it’s already getting late. You’d better give me the key. It will be late by the time I get back, and I don’t want to disturb you.”

  “That’s true. Just leave the key on the kitchen table when you get home. What should we do about cars tomorrow? Your mother and I need both cars to get to work. It’s getting too late to phone someone else to hitch a ride.”

  Chantelle leaned forward and stuck her head in the space between the two front seats. “Don’t worry. I can come by and pick Mark up in the morning on my way to the diner.” She leaned back in the seat, turning to face Mark. “That is, if you don’t mind being early. We open at six-thirty, so I have to be there at six-fifteen to get the coffee started.”

  “I hope you have a key for the restaurant.”

  She patted her purse. “Actually, I do. Uncle Joe said sometimes I might get there before him and he didn’t want me waiting outside all alone.”

  “That sounds like Joe.”

  As soon as Mark got the house key from his parents, they were on their way.

  As Mark drove, Chantelle filled him in on everything she’d been able to absorb in her three days of working at the diner, which she didn’t think was very much. She listened intently when he told her what he remembered from his years of working in the kitchen. They shared a laugh and a few smiles, seeing that not much had changed in the years since Mark had been away, including Brittany, Mark’s distant cousin.

  They pulled into the airport parking lot, and Mark stopped in front of the baggage claim area so he could run in and get his suitcase and the box of receipts.

  “This should only take a minute. I�
��ll do my best to hurry,” Mark said before he slammed the door shut.

  While he ran inside, Chantelle slid into the driver’s seat and kept the car idling in the loading zone. She started to get nervous when several minutes had passed and Mark had still not reappeared. At last, he came, empty-handed, through the automatic doors.

  “They don’t know where my luggage is.” His voice sounded more like a growl as he slid into the passenger seat and shut the door. “Doesn’t that take the cake? The agent assured me, though, that it has to be somewhere in the airport. They said I could wait while they located it, or they’d call me as soon as it was found. I’m too bushed to stick around any longer. I’ll come back when they phone to say it’s in hand.”

  “Are you sure?” Chantelle couldn’t tell by looking at him if he was just being polite and leaving on her account. “I don’t mind waiting.”

  “I’m sure. I’ve had my fill of airports for today. Let’s go get Joe’s car. Where is it?”

  Chantelle pointed to a lamppost on the far side of the lot. “It was much busier than this at suppertime. Do you know this is the third time in three days that I’ve been here?”

  “Me, too, Chantelle.”

  “Oh. That’s right.” Chantelle shook her head. “But that’s different. It doesn’t count when you’re getting off or on a plane.”

  “I didn’t get back on. Remember?”

  “Never mind. I’ll see you back at Uncle Joe’s house. Do you remember how to get there from here?”

  “I should, but it’s been a number of years since I’ve lived here, and it’s now dark out. I’d better follow you. Drive carefully, and no speeding.”

  Fortunately, the ever-darkening evening light kept Mark from seeing her blush. She didn’t usually speed, but she’d just gotten a ticket a couple of weeks ago because she had been late leaving for a job interview and foolishly tried to make up the time by driving too fast. In the end, she didn’t get the job, which added insult to injury. However, now she was glad she didn’t, because now she was available to help Uncle Joe when he needed it.