“Okay, that’s just stupid.”Jamie glanced over at Salzy and then back at the road.“You’re stupid.No.Can’t be.”
“I think so.”Salzy snickered.“And the way you look at him?Man, it’s like he’s an all-you-can-eat buffet and he’s the main course.I saw the way you were looking at his butt!”
“Shut the hell up.”Jamie’s voice sounded forced, even to himself.“No way.”
“I say, yes, way.”
Jamie pulled into the parking lot of the major grocery store.When he turned the car off, he turned to Salzy.“I don’t think so.I think you’re crazy and that’s all I’m gonna say on the matter.Consider it closed.”
“Yeah...we’ll see.”
The two men got out of the car, Salzy whistling “Love Is In The Air.”Jamie gave him a nasty look and hurried into the store.
Joesph was coming down the stairs as Jamie and Salzy returned to the diner.
“Morning.”Joesph yawned.“You two were up early.”
Jamie held out the bags he was carrying.“I had to get supplies for brunch.There’s literally nothing in the diner to cook.”
“I have to say, I’m not all surprised.This place is a lot busier than I thought it would be.The place was packed alldayyesterday.”
Jamie struggled with the keys to get the back door open.Joesph took the keys from him and got it unlocked and then took two bags from Jamie.
“Walter and I both said it was the busiest it’s ever been, and that’s saying something.”
“Have you considered expanding the dining room?”Joesph put the two bags on the bench Jamie made biscuits on.
Jamie stopped.“Uh, no.”He shook his head.“I don’t think I’d even want to do that.”
“Why not?”Salzy asked as he put the bags on the stainless-steel bench top.
“It would mean having to expand the kitchen, and I really don’t want to do that.”He sighed.“I’ve been thinking a lot about that and the only thing that I might consider is utilizing that space back there.It’s been nothing but a dumping ground for years.”
He pointed to the back wall where the small windows were.The only thing against that wall was shelving that held old pots that they almost never used and that one small table and a broken-down freezer that needs to go the scrap heap.
“And do what?”Salzy asked as he took out the three dozen eggs and set them down.“You want these in the walk-in?”
“No, I’m going to use them.”He walked around the bench, the shelves next to it and the waffle station, that hadn’t been used in a long time.“I was thinking...”He pointed again.“I was thinking of a pastry station.”
“Pastry?”Salzy’s mouth hung slack.“Like what?”
Jamie moved back to the table and unpacked the bags.“I was looking back at the books the other day and noticed that we regularly run out of pies and cakes, and for certain, biscuits.If there was a bigger, more dedicated place to make all that stuff, we wouldn’t run out.”
Joesph walked towards the wall.“I can see that.”He turned back towards the front of the dinner.“Could you push back your...what do you call it?Station?Where you are now?”
“Uh, yeah.”Jamie looked.“It could go back two feet, I’d say.That would still leave enough room for someone to walk by, and I wouldn’t have to move.”
“What do you need to make that happen?”Joesph waved his hand at the area.
“Well, I’d need a stainless-steel type table, much like this one, but half again as big.Some shelves for pans and mixing bowls.Maybe a big stand mixer.”He considered it a moment longer.“And an oven.”He pointed to the stand-alone oven that he baked biscuits in, and Dexter used sometimes for meat loaf if the other oven was being used.
“I have an idea.”Joesph pulled out a notepad from his back pocket.“If I have the dimensions...”He looked up and smiled.“I’ll work on getting that done now, unless you need me to do something else.”
Jamie shook his head.“Just remember, please, that all this stuff costs money.At the rate things are going, I’m not sure there’s enough to do everything.”
Joesph nodded.“I know.I’m doing what I can to keep the costs down.”
“Thanks for that.”
