“Settle down, y’all.”Jamie straightened up and scrolled a page down on his computer.“Now...let’s talk about the menu.Oh, and just to be clear...I’m moving back down here to run the diner.”
Chapter Nineteen
Everyone chipped into set up for the following day.Jamie was doing a little tidy up in the kitchen, Salzy jumping in where needed.The ladies set the dining room up.They all sat and had another beer before calling it a night.
“I could still kiss you,” Florence said, the first one ready to leave.
“Nope.”Jamie stiffened, ready to push her away.“Not happening.”
Instead, Florence hugged him close.“You’re Puckett through and through.I don’t care what you say your name is.”
“You’re too good to be true, Jamie.”Hazel hugged him tightly.
“Thank you.”Minnie hugged him quickly, again for the second time that night.
Walter wrapped Jamie into a big bear hug, forcing the air out of his lungs.
Timmy hugged him and nodded quickly before following Walter out the back door.
“You never cease to surprise me.”Dexter drew Jamie into a powerful hug.He released him.“Ya know, I had no idea of what to expect when...well, everything happened...and well, you showed up.I fully expected you to shut this ol’ place down.Ms.Mattie and Mr.Solan were always on about you bein’ some big chef up in Atlanta, and I was sure you weren’t going to want to leave that life.”Dexter shook Jamie’s hand.“Thank you, Jamie.Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Once everyone had left, Jamie closed the door behind him and Salzy.“That was good.”He said, looking at his friend.“Better than I expected to be honest.I wasn’t sure how’d they react to having their hours cut.”
“It was good.”Salzy followed Jamie up the stairs.“They’re real good people.”
“That they are.”Jamie went to the refrigerator.“Want a beer?”
“Yeah.”Salzy took the cold beer.“Want to sit out on the veranda?”
“Definitely.See if there’s a breeze.I’m gonna have to see about getting some air-conditioning.”He wiped his brow with the cold beer.“I forgot how hot it gets down here.”
“Think I might get a small window unit for my bedroom?”Salzy asked.“It does make it hard to sleep at night when it’s this hot, and it isn’t even summer yet.”
Jamie groaned.“I know.Right?”
They sat for a few minutes.The air smelled sweet like new honeysuckle.A slight breeze came and went, and crickets started their nightly song.
