Joe's Diner by Gail Sattler

Author:Gail Sattler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-06-26T04:00:00+00:00

Nine

Chantelle seated a couple of people who had just made the most awful joke. She forced herself to smile as she bid her leave, even though it almost hurt.

She didn’t know if it was because she was so tired or if it was because of all the stress of the day. To the customers, she could be nice, but to Mark, she’d almost said something she surely would have regretted.

So far, she considered herself to have been patient and understanding with Mark. He had been thrust into a new situation very unexpectedly, even more so than she had. He’d been uprooted from his job and his home. The only bright side was, instead of living alone, he was staying with his parents, who fed him and probably didn’t expect him to do any of the housework while he was there—at least not yet.

Just as she reached the counter leading to the kitchen, she heard the office door close with an abrupt bang.

Chantelle gritted her teeth. She knew what he was thinking, and it hurt.

It was obvious that Mark didn’t think much of her abilities as a waitress. Despite the fact that he was right and that she didn’t particularly like waitressing, it still stung. He hadn’t said anything directly, but Chantelle wasn’t stupid. She could see the underlying thread of impatience in him. She certainly heard the sarcasm in his voice. She may not be very good, but she was doing the job to the best of her obviously limited abilities. All she wanted was to hear that there was hope. That they really could pull together and run the diner. . .and most of all, that tomorrow things would be easier.

He hadn’t given her the chance.

“Chantelle? Table twenty-two is asking if we have soy burgers. Do we?”

Chantelle spun around to face Sandra. Her first management question and she didn’t know the answer. But since she didn’t know, she had to assume the answer was no.

“Tell them we’re sorry, we don’t have anything not on the menu. If they don’t want beef, suggest a chicken burger; if they’re looking for a diet or meatless meal, suggest a fresh garden salad. I know that we do have some kind of fat-free dressing. I just don’t know what flavor it is.”

Sandra smiled and nodded. “Great. I’ll do that.”

Chantelle made a mental note to study the menu and options better.

She didn’t want to start doubting herself, but she wondered what Uncle Joe would have told her to say. Then, since she didn’t have Uncle Joe to ask, she wondered what Mark would have said.

Chantelle shook her head. Mark wasn’t here. He was in the office with the door closed, shut away from everything and everybody, having a stress attack all by himself.

All she wanted was a little bit of encouragement from him. She would readily have done the same for him if it looked like he needed it. Right now, she thought he did. However, instead of making himself accessible, he pushed everyone away, including her.

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