“His wife doesn’t cook?”Salzy asked before munching down on a French fry.
“No,” Jamie laughed.“Sarah can’t cook a thing.Even Mamaw tried to teach her and gave up.”
“These oysters are delicious,” Joesph commented.
Jamie put a French fry in his mouth, chewed, and paused.“Okay, I know that look.What’s wrong with the fries?”Mike asked, studying Jamie.
“Undercooked, lack of seasoning,” he answered.“Needed a full two more minutes in the fryer.I’d say the oil temperature dropped before they were put in.”
“That’s amazing that you can tell that from just one bite,” Salzy said, munching down on an onion ring.“These are good.”
After they polished off dinner, sat for a few minutes, enjoying the breeze that came with twilight, they decided it was time to check out the new signs for the diner.Salzy was given the task to flip the breaker for the new signs while the others waited outside.
When the signs were lit, Jamie’s jaw dropped.“Well?”Joesph asked.
Jamie turned his head towards Joesph.“You’ve outdone yourself.Again.”
“They look so good,” Mike commented, then draped his arm across Jamie’s shoulders.
“Oh, wow,” Salzy said when he came outside.“Those are fantastic!”
A horn blew behind them, and a man leaned out of the car window.“Is the diner open?”He asked.
Jamie turned.“Oh, hi, Mr.Westler.No, just looking at the new signs.We’ll be open on Saturday for lunch, then back to the regular schedule.”
“Howdy, Jamie.Good to know.I’ll spread the word.Looking forward to having some biscuits and gravy.The signs look really good.Your grandparents would be proud.”
“Thanks, Mr.Westler.That means a lot to me.Hope to see you Saturday.”
“You can plan on it.Have a good night.”He waved and drove away.
“You know, you’re going to have a house full when you open up, don’t you?”Mike said, smiling.“I need to make a reservation, if I can?”
“You don’t need a reservation,” Jamie said, chuckling.
“I do if I’m bringing my crew.”
“What?How many are in your crew?”
“We’re small.One of the smallest specialized groups.Not big enough to call a platoon or squadron.We do specialty work, so there are only ten of us,” Mike answered proudly.“I’ve got some of the best-skilled guys there are.”
“Yeah, that Hasha guy is very talented.I wish he had his own shop.I’d use him a lot,” Joesph said.He looked over at Mike.“You can tell him that, too.Andhe’s quite handsome.”
Jamie scratched his head.“Wow, ten.What time?”
“How ’bout around six thirty?That okay?”Mike asked.
“Yeah.Remind me so I can write it down somewhere.”Jamie looked back towards the diner.“It all looks so good.”
