“I’d do anything to keep you in my life.Convincing Porter to allow this and transforming this into what you wanted, it was all worth it, baby.Now, I get you for the rest of my life.”
“It will be a pretty amazing life,” she nips at my thumb as I brush it across her bottom lip.
“Yeah, it will.Give me an hour to finish in here, then we can pick up some takeout on the way home and spend the rest of the night relaxing.”
Chapter 26
Dixie
“Areyoureadytosee this?”I ask Artie when we pull onto the street that will lead us to the café.
“Yeah, I'm more than ready to see it.”He smiles softly and stares out the window.
It’s been a little over six weeks since the fire.The guys have been working like crazy and fixed everything in record time.I love the way the café turned out, but Artie hasn’t seen it yet.
I'm a ball of nerves as we get closer and closer.I want him to like it.I'm hoping and praying it’s what Jenni always dreamed of it being.I feel like I’ll be letting him down if it’s not everything he ever imagined.
Since the fire, Artie’s been having a harder and harder time.His lungs took a beating and they’re not recovering the way everyone hoped they would.He’s on oxygen all the time and he isn't happy about it.
Storm squeezes my hand as we pull into a parking spot in front of the café.He knows how nervous I am and I'm thankful he’s here for this.
We help Artie out of the backseat and he holds on tightly to my hand while Storm carries his oxygen for him.I push open the front door and let him enter first.
Chopper, Jasper, Morris, Oakley, Roxy, and Dad are standing behind the long counter with smiles on their faces.They all wanted to be here when Artie saw the finished product.They know what a big deal this is to Artie and myself.It’s been such a stressful time, but I'm thrilled with how it turned out.
Artie slowly takes in the place.He walks closer to the counter and examines the pictures hanging behind the counter.I made sure to put black and white photos of his wedding picture with Jenni.I found a copy in the office the day before the fire.I took it to get framed to surprise him.If I hadn’t taken it, the photo probably wouldn’t have survived the fire.
Next to the photo of Jenni and Artie, I have my parents’ wedding picture and I left a space for my own wedding photo.I want this café to celebrate the people who helped build it.I don’t want any of them to be forgotten.
Jasper and Morris did an amazing job with painting the walls.The lower half is a bright orange with black chair molding above it.The rest of the wall is white, but they added some green grass along the molding and painted some foxes playing in the grass.It’s fun and whimsical.I absolutely love it.
“What do you think, Artie?”Storm prompts after a few minutes.
Artie slowly drags out a chair and drops into it.He takes a few deep breaths and my heart breaks for him.He’s been through so much in his life.I hate how I'm the reason he’s struggling with his health.If I had never shown up in his life, the Reapers wouldn’t have had a reason to go after his restaurant.
But I'm also helping him bring Jenni’s dream to life.I know he wouldn’t have been able to do it himself… I don’t know if I accomplished it though.
“Jenni would love this,” he whispers as he picks up an empty napkin holder that’s shaped like a fox.I don’t know where Storm found them, but I cried when he gave me them.
“Well, don’t go saying that yet,” Dad teases.“My little girl promised us a little taste testing.I think you should make her really wow you before you give her any sort of praise.”Dad winks at me as he takes the seat next to Artie and pats the man on the back.
He’s been visiting Artie every day.He says Artie doesn’t have a lot of time left and he needs to be surrounded by people who love him.I never thought I’d see Dad helping take care of a virtual stranger, but he does it with a smile on his face.
“These are the final menus.Take a look at them before I send them to the printers tomorrow.I can't change anything after we send them in.”Storm places a menu in front of each of them.
“Jenni’s pumpkin pie… Artie’s artichoke dip… Storm’s stuffed peppers… Chopper’s cob salad… Porter’s pot pie… Oakley’s loaded fries… Roxy’s roasted veggies… I love this, Dixie.You did an amazing job.”Artie swipes under his eyes.
“Hey, why do I get a cob salad?Do I look like a man who eats salad?”Chopper folds his arms across his chest and glares at me.
“At least you made the menu,” Jasper mutters under his breath.
“There’s Jasper’s juice and the Morris mocktail.”I roll my eyes and the boys grin like they just won something huge instead of having something named after them on a menu.
“What exactly is Jasper’s juice?”Jasper asks slowly.
“It’s orange juice.”I smirk, making Morris crack up laughing.“The Morris mocktail is an alcohol-free bloody Mary.”
“Ew, I hate bloody Mary’s,” Morris grumbles.
