“What can I do for you boys?” Nicholas asked.
“I still need to find more gifts for my niece and nephew,” Ciaran said.
“The train set is still for sale if you want it,” Nicholas said.
“You know what, I’ll take it.”
“Great,” Nicholas said. “Give me some time to dismantle and package it, and you can take it home.”
“I’ll pick it up on my way out of town after the storm passes,” Ciaran said.
Ciaran picked out a fully furnished dollhouse with a family for his niece. Then he paid for everything and thanked Nicholas.
“Shall we grab lunch at Trudy’s Diner?” Geoff asked.
“Best place to eat.” Teddy smiled.
Trudy’s Diner was an old train-dining-car-turned-restaurant. There was a brick building attached to it, which was where Ciaran assumed they prepared the meals. They’d painted the car navy blue, and there was a white sign painted above the entrance in all caps, ‘TRUDY’S DINER.’
“I passed this place when I first got here, but I wasn’t hungry,” Ciaran said.
“You’re going to love it,” Teddy said.
Tables lined the sides of the wall, each with four chairs, a blue tablecloth, silverware wrapped in cloth napkins, and water glasses.
The hostess seated them and told them their server would be James before leaving them with menus and going back to her post.
“This is nice,” Ciaran said. He glanced over the menu. They served things he’d seen in diners all over. Burgers, sandwiches, soups. They had an array of pies he wanted to try.
James came to their table dressed as a ticket inspector. He filled their glasses with water and pulled out a pad and pen.
“Hello gentlemen,” James said. “I’m James, and I’ll be your server today. Do you know what you’d like, or did you need a few more minutes?”
“Do you know what you want?” Geoff asked Ciaran.
“Yes,” he said. “I’ll have the club sandwich, a garden salad with Thousand Island dressing as the side, and a bowl of French onion soup to go with my sandwich. Oh, and I’d like a root beer to drink, please.”
“Very good, sir,” James said. “And for you two?”
“I’ll have the tomato-basil soup, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a side of chips. I’ll just have a Coke to drink, please,” Teddy said.
“I’ll take a cheeseburger, well-done, with extra pickles, fries, a large order of onion rings with ranch for the table, and I’ll be drinking tea, please,” Geoff said.
“Excellent,” James said. “I’ll bring out the onion rings, drinks, and salad first, if that’s okay.”
“That’s perfect,” Geoff said.
They unrolled their silverware and placed napkins on their laps.
“What should we do this evening?” Ciaran asked.
“We could watch a movie. We have popcorn and snacks at the house,” Teddy said. “Anything you want to see?”
“What aboutTrain to Busan? I heard it’s a great film,” Ciaran said.
“I don’t think I know that one,” Teddy said.
“Oh, it’s about a zombie outbreak in South Korea,” he said.
