Page 13 of Windward Hearts

Normally, Jared would have taken such praise in stride. That was precisely the kind of place he’d wanted to build when he moved back here, after all. But something about hearing it said while Hope smiled at him made him feel bashful.

“Oh, Miriam, that’s too kind,” he demurred.

“Nonsense,” she said, brushing off his concerns with an airy hand. “You know it’s true; I know it’s true; the whole town knows it’s true. What you might not know is that Hope here was the best darn waiter in the best darn restaurant in Boston until it closed recently.”

Now, it was Hope’s turn to look bashful. “Mimi,” she protested. She rolled her eyes affectionately and shook her head at Jared. “I don’t know about me being the best, but I did wait tables at a place called Sharp’s Fish Fillet in Boston for about the past ten years.”

Jared blinked. “Wait, Sharp’s is closing? But they can’t be going out of business!”

His refusal wasn’t just because, as a restauranteur himself, he didn’t like to hear of other places closing, although he did feel that too. It felt like a bad omen. But he’d been to Sharp’s. It seemed impossible that a place that good, and with such a consistent, loyal clientele, could go under.

“Oh, well, not really,” Hope said vaguely. “The owner is looking to retire, so she’s selling the place. So I am, alas, out of a job.”

She sounded like she was trying to hide bitterness in her tone, but it snuck through the cracks. Miriam reached out and rubbed her granddaughter’s arm affectionately. Jared frowned in commiseration.

“And you didn’t want to find another place?” he said. He hoped that she could tell that he understood. For people like them, people who stayed in the food industry long-term, moving to a new restaurant wasn’t as easy as just finding someone hiring. Restaurants could become your home away from home. The staff there could become a kind of family.

“Not that easy,” Hope confessed, and he gave her a commiserative look.

“Yeah, I get that,” he said.

Miriam sprang back into ‘proud grandmother’ mode. “It is their loss, though, because Hope was the greatest waitress this side of Canada, if you ask me.”

“Mimi, oh my goodness,” Hope mumbled, her face in her hands.

“Oh, stop it,” Miriam said, swatting at her granddaughter. “I’m allowed to brag about you. Grandmother’s prerogative. Anyway,” she said, turning back to Jared, “you should have her around that restaurant of yours. I’m sure she could teach your staff a thing or two.”

“Oh my gosh,” Hope muttered to herself. “I’m having a bad dream, probably. I’m sure I’ll wake up soon.”

Jared grinned, even if he felt a little bad being so entertained by her embarrassment. She was just so adorable, though; he couldn’t help it.

“Oh, hush, Hope,” Miriam said. She winked at Jared, which made it obvious that she was riling up her granddaughter on purpose. “I am an old woman. Let me have my fun.”

“You are not that old,” Hope chided, peeking out from between her fingers.

“Feeble,” Miriam corrected, putting a hand to her forehead dramatically.

“You’re a menace,” Hope said, but she was smiling now.

Jared was charmed by them both. In different ways, sure, but definitely charmed by them both.

“We would love to see you around the restaurant sometime,” Jared said. “And not just because your grandmother here bullied me into it.”

He smiled at Miriam to show that he was teasing, but in true Miriam Landers form, she sent him a shocked look anyway, as though he’d been intentionally rude. The sparkle in her eye made it clear that she didn’t mean that either.

“You know,” Hope said, giving him a crooked little smile, “I might just do that. Since this one is apparently determined to drive me completely nuts.” She jerked her thumb at her grandmother, the love practically pouring out of her.

“Who me?” Miriam asked innocently.

“Yes, you,” Hope chided, starting to usher her grandmother along. “Now, let’s let Jared get back to what he was doing. Jared, it’s really nice to officially meet you.”

“You too,” he called. Hope turned to wave at him over her shoulder.

As they walked away, he heard Miriam ask, “What do you mean officially? What have you been up to around here, Hope Landers?”

Jared watched them walking away longer than maybe he should have done, wearing a smile that was probably bigger than what the brief exchange warranted. It was nice, though. The whole thing had been nice. It made him hope that he would see Hope again before she left town… and then it made him laugh at his own inadvertent mental pun.

He grabbed a few more things, including some cuts of beef from a farm in Western Massachusetts that reminded him why he fell in love with food in the first place, with their rich red marbled with thick swirls of white fat that would sear to perfection. He brought his full cart to check out, marveling at how much more affordable things were in small towns compared to big cities.