A Tale of Survival chapter 3
Date: 8/27/2015,
Categories:
Love Stories,
Author: kscorn079
Jeanie worked hard and with Jan's help she bought a small two bedroom house just down the street from the cafe. She is a good employee and a best friend for Jan. Irene and Jan have tried to get Jeanie to date again as several men customers have asked. She thanks them but insists she is not ready yet. She loves her job and the little house she and Cassie share. She walks to Jan's mother's pushing Cassie in her stroller and then the two blocks back to the cafe. Two years have past. Cassie is walking and talking and Jeanie bought a new stroller saying, "The old one had at least a zillion miles on it." Cassie is delighted once a month to see Glen pull up in front in his big silver Peterbilt. Several times he has spent the night with Jeanie but always goes back on the road. Jeanie is ready to walk Cassie to the babysitter and has just started to close her door when the phone rings. She hurries back inside and checks the caller ID. Seeing it is Jan, she answers, "Good morning Jan, what's up?" "You won't think it's a good morning when I tell you what happened. Sam, our cook, got a call from his family in New York, his father had a really bad heart attack and is in intensive care. He called me and said he didn't know if - or when - he would be coming back. So you and I will have to do the cooking till I can find another cook. We have been doing so good and now this." "I'm just going out the door to take Cassie to your mom. I'll hurry and get there hun. We can handle this so don't ...
... give up the ship." Jeanie jogs, pushing the stroller, much to Cassie's delight and she walks, breathless, into the cafe ten minutes later. It is only a few minutes after six and the regular customers are already coming in. Jeanie hurries into the kitchen and takes over the big griddle, frying bacon and hash browns, putting them on the warming area at the back. Jan and Jeanie work together and barely manage to keep up while Irene is on the run handling all the waitress duties. Nine o'clock comes and the breakfast crowd is gone and the three women drop into a booth sweating and tired shaking their heads. "Jesus girls, I'm going to hire two frigging cooks." Irene laughs weakly, "Well, I think all the regulars saw that we were fighting it. I have got a lot of heavy tips and for the most part everyone was patient." They manage to make it through the day and when three o'clock comes the three women are walking out as a lone Mexican man walks up and says, "Just my luck, I'm starving and you're closing." He grins, "Is there another place to eat close around?" Jan rolls her eyes at him, "The dinner places are all downtown and out on the highway." The man sighs, "Oh well when it rains it pours, my old truck quit on me about a block back." Jeanie asks, "You live around here or passing through?" "My name is Jake Diaz, I have been working at Aurello's Restaurant in Tulsa and got hired by a restaurant in Dallas and I was just stopping for something to eat." Jan raises her eyebrows and takes a ...