Her words faded away as she realized what she was about to say.
She'd nearly told him that she'd been in a women's shelter for a few weeks, waiting for the settlement from her divorce.
She'd come close to telling Missus March, but stopped short of it because she didn't want one of her favorite teachers to know that she'd failed so horribly at life.
She wanted the older woman to remember her for her funny conversations about books and the meaning behind them.
Seaton didn't like any reminders about her ex and their divorce.
She was afraid that if she told Missus March, it would disappoint her old teacher who seemed to think that she hung the moon. She wanted to have at least one person who had that opinion of her. Back then, she loved being in school because it meant that she wasn't around her mother, or the alcohol that was always present in the house. So, she wanted Miss March to 'see' her like she was back then. That wasn't too much to ask, right?
Seaton's gaze strayed to the photos on the wall again, the story of the diner in black and white.
"Hey," she grinned, "I think I see you."
Instead of just turning around to see the photo, Sam took a quick look and then picked up his chair and moved to the side of the table where she was at his left instead of across from him. "Which one?"
Seaton felt a little flustered, having him so close.
Still, she knew he was waiting for her to answer him.
She lifted her hand, choosing the one away from him, and pointed at one of the larger pictures on the wall that had been behind him. “The big one. Second from the right side.”
"Oh, that? Yeah." He gestured at the photo, and she lowered her arm down. "That's Yun on the left, the cook and owner of the Lone Star."
She nodded. "He has such a proud smile on his face."
"Yeah..."
She chanced a quick glance at him and saw that Sam's smile also had the lift of pride in it.
"The guy next to him is his son, Lincoln."
She nodded. "That's a neat name."
Sam looked at her with his eyes bright. "Like Seaton."
She was blushing now.
"Their last name is spelled ABE, but it's Japanese so it's pronounced Ah-beh. But Yun came to the US as an immigrant as a child. His parents brought them to Hawaii, and when he became a citizen, he joined the Air Force and was stationed here in San Antonio."
She nodded. "Lochlan? Or something like that?"
Sam gave her a wincing smile. "Lackland, but close. He served and when he was injured in a training crash, he had to find something else to do. He was driving past this place and saw a FOR SALE sign. The rest is the history you see on the wall."
"Wow." Her gaze roamed over the pictures again seeing the firefighters in one prominent picture and then photos of some of San Antonio's most famous people like Summer Glau from the TV SeriesFireflyand Jared Padaleki who she knew from the showSupernatural, but it looked like he was dressed in his uniform forWalker,the reboot ofWalker, Texas Ranger.
Even a few local elected officials smiled at her from boldly colored frames.
"It's amazing." She meant it. All of it.
She didn't even notice that someone was approaching the table until there was a plate set in front of her.
Seaton saw the burger with all of its juicy, meaty goodness as the top bun was set on the side against the mountain of French fries that were cut thick and hearty.
The blonde waitress tilted her head at the man who stepped up beside her. "This is Yun, or as I call him, Big Daddy."
Yun raised a salt and pepper colored brow at the waitress. "Since when have you called me that, Chloe?"
