“How’s Natalie?” Jill asked as she set down Abby’s change. She rarely saw Abby without her young daughter.
“She’s great. She’s with my mom tonight, so I could have an adult night out. My mom would love to see you guys. She’s having her big holiday open house next Sunday. You should all stop by. It will go all afternoon.”
“Thanks. I’d love to, and I’ll mention it to the others.”
“Great. See you soon.” Abby wandered off, carefully holding her three drinks and Jill turned her attention to the next person in line. The bar was three deep with people wanting drinks. She took a deep breath and smiled. “What can I get for you?”
Usually the restaurant emptied out by ten thirty on weekends, but it was a little past eleven by the time the last customer left. The staff that didn’t have to rush home gathered at the bar for an after-work drink. Usually if there was more than one bartender working, they split all the tips that came in equally, but before the others arrived at the bar, Jill told Gina it was all hers. Gina protested. “That doesn’t seem right. You did as much as I did.”
Jill smiled. “And I’m an owner, so it’s all good. You worked hard and deserve it.”
Gina still looked unsure but nodded. “Okay, well thank you. People were very generous tonight.”
“What are you drinking?” Jill asked as she poured herself a glass of Josh cabernet.
“I’ll have a chardonnay, the Bread and Butter. Thanks.” Once their wines were poured, they brought their glasses to the other side of the bar and sat. As Mandy, Billy and the others made their way over, Jill and Gina took turns jumping up to make their drinks. Jill noticed with interest that the new guy in the kitchen, Jared, took the seat next to Gina.
Mandy lifted her glass in a toast. “To our best night, ever. We set a new record.”
“That’s awesome!” Jill knew it seemed busy but she didn’t realize the night had been that good.
“More than half of the guests ordered Paul’s Prix Fixe menu,” Emma said proudly.
Paul looked pleased too. “That was a nice surprise. We might want to think of offering that more often, maybe on a regular basis. The profit margins are higher and it made things go more smoothly in the kitchen too.”
“And people like it because they get a better deal than buying everything separately,” Mandy said. “I got a lot of positive feedback from the hotels and bed and breakfasts when I sent the flyers out, but I really didn’t know it would do so well.”
“Except for the screaming baby on table two, things went great in the dining room too,” Emma said.
Jill laughed. “I could hear that baby from here. The poor mother.”
Mandy looked sympathetic. “I’ve been in her shoes. It’s not always easy taking small children to restaurants. We didn’t do it very often when the kids were that little. It’s too stressful wondering if they are going to have a meltdown and then embarrassing when they do.”
“You were always good though,” Emma said. “You’d take them right outside until they calmed down. Some parents don’t do that.”
“I don’t know how they can just ignore it,” Jill said. “It seems like they just scream louder until the parent finally pays attention to them. And you wonder why I’m not in a hurry to have kids,” she joked. But when she glanced Billy’s way, he wasn’t laughing.
“It’s different when it’s your own,” Mandy assured her. “You find your own rhythm. Some kids are better about going out than others. Finding a good baby-sitter is a blessing.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Did you see the Hodges sisters? Kate and Abby stopped at the bar to get some drinks and invited us all to their mom’s open house. It’s next Sunday at the Beach Plum Cove Inn and we’re all invited.
Mandy smiled. “I didn’t make it last year, but when she’s had her open houses in prior years, I’ve often stopped in. Lisa Hodges knows how to throw a party. The food is always really good.”
Chapter 6
“Are you sure you don’t mind that I’m going out with Matt tonight? He said you two are welcome to join us. I wish you would.” Mandy felt like a terrible hostess abandoning her houseguest and sister to go out for a romantic dinner.
But Jill laughed. “Don’t be silly. I insist. We’ll have plenty of time to see Matt too, and we don’t have to do everything together. You guys need a date night, with just the two of you.”
“Okay, well there’s plenty of food in the fridge or you can always get takeout.”
“Billy will probably want pizza. We have pizza at least twice a week. But I like it too, so it works for us.”
Matt arrived a little before seven, and they headed off to one of their favorite Monday night restaurants, Crosswinds at the airport. It was a favorite spot for locals, had a cozy pub feel and the menu featured good comfort food. Matt ordered his usual local beer, Cisco’s Shark Tracker, and Mandy had a glass of Bread and Butter cabernet, which was her new favorite. Matt got the meatloaf, and Mandy went for the roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. She rarely ordered chicken at restaurants, but she liked how they did it here and it was so cold and raw outside that it sounded good.
The restaurant was busy but not too crowded. Monday nights typically were one of the slowest and many restaurants took it as a day off and closed completely. But Crosswinds never closed. Mandy guessed it was partly because they were at the airport and people would need somewhere to go while waiting for flights. She was glad they were open. It was a cheery and welcoming place and they were decorated for Christmas too with a tree in the corner and garlands and lights pinned around the room.
Nancy, the older waitress that often served them and always remembered their order, brought a basket of rolls out and not too long after, delivered their meals, which were delicious, as usual.
As they ate, Matt told her that as long as the weather stayed cold, he was planning on taking Billy ice-fishing on Sunday.
“There’s a group of us going. It should be a good time.”
“Ice-fishing. So you’ll literally stand over a hole in the ice hoping to catch a fish?” It did not sound at all fun to Mandy.
But Matt seemed excited about it. “Yes, pretty much. We’ll have a cooler of beer and food, so it will be a good time.”
She smiled. “I’m sure Billy will love it.”
“He’ll fit right in.”
“Hi, Matt! I thought that was you.”
Mandy and Matt looked up to see a bubbly blonde woman approach their table. She was wearing a snug, low-cut sweater that showed off her ample cleavage and jeans that looked poured onto her. She was also wearing leather boots with ridiculously high heels. Mandy wondered how she could walk in them—they looked painful. Her hair was a chin-length mass of fluffy layers and her lipstick was very red.
“Amy, nice to see you. Do you know my girlfriend, Mandy Lawson? Mandy, Amy works next door to my office.”
Amy glanced her way and nodded. “Nice to meet you. I’m the building office manager.” She turned to Matt. “Did you like the present I left for you?”