He paused. “What situation?”
“It’s become so popular and crowded, I’m wondering if maybe we need another restaurant.”
“No.”
“Then maybe we could expand the building.”
“It’s fine the way it is.”
She sighed inwardly. “Mal, sometimes it takes twenty minutes to get a table. People are getting frustrated. We need to come up with a solution. Why are you so opposed?”
“If you want to open a new place, go ahead, but don’t expect me to clap. This town has always had only one place to eat and one place is all we need.”
She sat back. “Really? That’s your answer?”
“Rock and I worked hard to build that place up.”
“With my help,” she reminded him gently. The place had been a hot mess of a dump when she purchased the town and she’d sunk good money into the rehab.
His jaw tightened. “With your help.”
“Look, I’m not trying to close the place.”
“Then let’s talk about putting in more tables.”
“Where? It’s at maximum occupancy now. There’s no room for more tables.” She’d been hoping this conversation wouldn’t blow up in her face but it seemed well on the way. This wasn’t what she wanted so she tried a different tack. “Will you at least consider enlarging the place?”
“The Dog is fine the way it is.”
She countered in a reasonable tone, “No, babe, it isn’t. Can you tell me why you won’t even talk about this with me?” She was doing her best to try and understand his resistance, but so far, he’d given her nothing tangible.
His silent, tight-faced response showed he wasn’t budging, either. “Okay,” she said, “I’ll go ahead and make my decision without your input.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means, I’m going to consider bringing in another restaurant, probably for fine dining.”
“I thought we were a team?”
“We are.”
“Not if you’re going behind my back.”
“I’m not going behind your back. Why do you think I asked for your opinion in the first place?”
“Why ask if you’d already made up your mind?”
She fought hard to rein in her rising temper. “Look, Mal.”
He cut her off. “No, you look. Since this is obviously your way or the highway, do what you want.”
“Mal?” She was stunned at how quickly this had gone sideways. Was he that afraid of change? “A new place won’t close down the Dog. That’s not what this is about.”
He responded by pushing back from the table. “I just remembered there’s something else I was supposed to do this evening.”
Rather than say something that would pour more gasoline on the fire she remained silent.
He glared. She kept her reaction passive.
He left.
Outdone, she sat in the silence and wondered, what the hell just happened?
Crystal came into the house on the heels of his exit. “What’s OG so mad about? Just saw him tearing out of the subdivision like—” She stopped and took in Bernadine’s face. “Did you two have a fight?”
Bernadine drained the last of her wine. “I think so.”
“Over what? Or am I being too nosy?”
“You’re not. I asked him what he thought about bringing in a new restaurant because of how crowded the Dog is getting.”
“And he wasn’t feeling it, I take it?”
“No.” And she wanted to rant about him being stubborn and hardheaded but instead asked, “You work there. What do you think?”
Crystal shrugged. “I like the money I’m bringing in from the extra hours we’re working, but it’s crowded twenty-four seven and it’s running the staff raggedy. Have you talked to Rocky?”
“Not yet, she’s next on my list.”
“How about we just make it bigger?”
“Mal wasn’t feeling that, either.”
“He’s got issues.”
She agreed. As Trent mentioned earlier, the Dog was Mal’s baby. She understood that. No way was she trying to undermine his interests, or how much the diner meant to him personally, but the crowding and wait times were a problem that needed to be addressed.
“Maybe he’ll come around,” Crystal said.
“I hope so.” Although, knowing Mal, it wouldn’t be soon. She sensed this was going to test their relationship in ways nothing had before and that made her sad. “So how was your day? Did Gemma say anything about her class?”
“Only that the prof seemed nice and she was the oldest person in the room.”
“I think it’s wonderful that she’s going back to school.”
“Me, too. The kids were good while I was over there. W.W. said Jaz wants a chess set and Lucas needs a skateboard.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of it. And the rest of your day?”
“Pretty good,” she said, taking a seat. “Have my classes picked out for the fall term. Helped Eli register online for his. Can’t wait to get the keys to my new place.”
“You’ll be able to move in this weekend.”
“Yes!” she said throwing a fist pump, then caught herself. “Not that I’m in a hurry to leave you, Mom.”
“Uh-huh.” Although she was amused, the idea of Crystal moving on with her life was something else that made her sad. Even though she’d still be living in town, they’d no longer be under the same roof and that was going to be a big adjustment on her part. “We’ve come a long way, these past what, five years?”
“Yep. Back when I had a bad attitude and blonde weave to match. I look at the pictures of me back then and wonder why you didn’t just shave my head. That thing was awful.”
“True, but it was your pride and joy. You would’ve never forgiven me had I done that.”
Crystal quieted for a few moments and Bernadine could tell she was thinking. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. “No telling where I’d be if it weren’t for you. Probably dead someplace.”
“Maybe not.”
“I certainly wouldn’t be an artist or a fashionista, or have visited places like Paris and Madrid. Thank you for adopting me.”
“You’ve been a blessing.”
“Not all the time.”
“No, but I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
Concern filled Crystal’s eyes. “Are you going to be okay with me moving out?”
“I’ll get used to it. It’ll be practice for when you really leave Henry Adams, and I only get to text or talk to you by phone.” Bernadine paused. “Do you think you’re ready for wheels?”
A smile beamed from her daughter’s face like the sun in June. “Yeah.”
“Then sometime this week, we’ll go over to the dealership in Franklin and see about a used car. With Eli leaving for good you’re going to need a way to get around. And since you already know how to drive, you shouldn’t have a problem taking the driving test.”
Crystal threw herself on Bernadine in joy. “Thank you!”
Bernadine held her and thought about how different this grown-up version of Crystal was compared to the child who once slept on her bedroom floor to keep from messing up the décor. “You’re welcome.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you more.”
Later, upstairs in her bedroom, Bernadine’s thoughts returned to Mal. To try and smooth things over, she’d sent him a text. He’d yet to respond. In their two years together they’d never run into a situation they hadn’t been able to work out. It made her wonder if his refusal to consider her suggestion meant there was something going on beneath the surface that he didn’t want to share. She knew the place was tied to his sobriety but his responses sounded off to her, almost as if they were tied to something else entirely. Their relationship had put such joy in her personal life. Finding love with him had all but banished the anger and bitterness Leo’s perfidy had left in her heart. Mal wasn’t perfect and neither was she, but
together they’d built something special. Now, she wasn’t sure where they stood. Standing in front of her vanity’s mirror, she removed the promise necklace he’d given her from around her neck and set it beside the bangles and earrings she’d picked out for the next day, and crawled into bed. Her worry over their future was still on her mind when she finally slid into sleep.
Chapter 8
Tamar walked into the kitchen for breakfast and found her son, Malachi, seated at the table sipping coffee. Knowing his devotion to the diner, she asked, “Did the Dog burn down overnight?”
He shook his head. “Took the morning off.”
Deciding something must be very wrong for him to be with her and not at his post, she left the why of it for a moment to take a skillet down from the cupboard and set it on the stove. Opening the refrigerator, she took out some bacon and two eggs. Because he still hadn’t offered a reason for his visit, she remarked, “I have many superpowers, Mal, but mind-reading isn’t one, at least not this early in the day, so how about you tell me why you’re here?”
“I’ve decided I hate change.”
“Join the crowd.” He was her only child, a product of her brief relationship with Joel Newton and, to be honest, she’d resented him at first. As a result, they didn’t begin life together with the typical mother and son bond until her mother pointedly reminded her that he hadn’t asked to be born. After getting over herself when he was about six months old, she came to love him fiercely but that love was tested when he came back from Nam and gave his life over to alcohol. She put a couple strips of bacon in the now hot skillet and poured herself a cup of coffee. Studying his face, she saw sadness and the stubbornness that lay beneath the surface. “You and Bernadine fighting?”
“Yeah.”
Tamar thought Bernadine Brown to be the best thing to ever come into her son’s life. Before her arrival, he’d chased women young enough to be his granddaughters and been proud of it. She on the other hand found it pitiful. That his initial interest in Bernadine didn’t make Bernadine instantly swoon at his feet had puzzled him but Tamar cheered. He’d had to grow up to step to Bernadine. “So, what was the fight about?”
“The Dog. She wants to bring in another restaurant.”
“Good. Folks can stop waiting for hell to freeze over to be seated.”
He cut her a look that she ignored in favor of tending to the bacon frying.
“But we’re making a record profit.”
“At the expense of what?”
He didn’t answer.
“I’m having issues with change, too,” she admitted. “And waiting to eat at the Dog is one of them.”
“You’re no help.”
“You knew the job was dangerous when you sat down at my table.” She removed the cooked bacon from the skillet and placed the strips onto a paper-towel-covered plate. “Have you eaten?”
He nodded.
She cracked the two eggs into the skillet. Once they were over easy the way she liked them, she took a seat and joined him.
He asked, “Besides waiting to be seated, what else is on your list?”
For a moment, she debated whether to be truthful or not and finally settled on the former. “Wondering if I’ve outlived my usefulness.”
“You haven’t. This town would crack wide open without you steering the ship.”
“That’s Bernadine’s job.”
“And she doesn’t care who knows it. I tried to tell her to bring in more tables, but that’s not what she wants to do.”
“Where are you going to put more tables, on the ceiling?”
“You’re supposed to be taking my side.”
“Not if your side’s illogical.”
“So now you’re Mr. Spock?”
“Could be worse, I could be agreeing with you.”
He sighed. “I want everything to stay the same.”
“As much as I hate to say it, the town needs change, so don’t let your July stubbornness mess up what you have with Bernadine.”
“She’s so in charge, sometimes.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Remember where we were before she got here?”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
“Do you remember where you were before she got here?”
He didn’t respond.
“You survived Nam, you beat alcohol, you’ll survive another restaurant opening. You may not survive not having her in your life, though.”
“I’ll survive that, too.”
She knew he was wrong, but he’d been charting his own path since he learned to say the word no, so she held her tongue. The love Mal and Bernadine shared kept them both balanced, but stubbornness was in the July DNA, which is why their ancestor Teresa July Nance wound up serving time in a territorial penitentiary. She mulishly stuck to the family’s outlaw ways in defiance of Judge Parker’s gavel and the changing times.
He stood. “I’ll see you later.”
She nodded.
When he left, she took out her phone and called Bernadine to see if she had time for Tamar to pay her a visit.
Later that morning, Tamar set out for town. She was still weighing Mal’s visit and therefore not paying attention to the speedometer when she and Olivia hit the curve at eighty. She did pay attention to the siren and flashing bubble on top of the brown county sheriff car that pulled out onto the road behind her. Dammit!
“Morning, Ms. July.”
Fuming, Tamar responded to Deputy Ransom’s greeting by holding out her hand.
Ransom placed the speeding ticket on her palm. “Have a good day, ma’am.” She touched her hat respectfully, walked back to her vehicle, and drove off.
With lightning sparking from her eyes, Tamar drove off in the opposite direction. At warp speed.
She was still simmering when she arrived at Bernadine’s office.
“Are you okay?” Bernadine asked.
“No. Will’s new deputy gave me another speeding ticket and if you say I drive too fast too, I will take off my belt.”
Bernadine held up her hands defensively, “No, ma’am. My lips are sealed.”
“Good. Now, talk to me about this new restaurant.”
“Are you against it, too?”
“Of course not. I think it’s a great idea. Mal doesn’t but he’s not the one having to stand in line.”
“Did he tell you we argued?”
“Yes.”
“I sent him a text last night hoping we could iron things out, but he still hasn’t responded. I don’t want to fight with him, Tamar.”
“I understand. I love my son, but the Julys don’t do well with change, never have. So, tell me what you have in mind.”
“I’m not real sure at this point. Maybe a fine dining place with white tablecloths and candles, but Mal has me wanting to be the owner just so I can stick out my tongue and go, nah nah nah nah nah.”
“Not the most mature response but an understandable one. If you do decide to build, I think it should be called The Three Spinsters.”
Seeing the confusion on Bernadine’s face, Tamar explained. “They were three unmarried ladies who helped found Henry Adams. Daisy Miller, secretary for the first AME church; Rachel Eddings, telegraph clerk and one of the town’s surveyors; and town milliner Lucretia Potter. They were known as the Three Spinsters. Per the stories, they were highly educated and opinionated.”
“That’s fascinating and the Three Spinsters is a perfect name.”
“Be a nice way to honor them and keep their memory alive.”
“I agree. Do you have any pictures of them?”
“I doubt it but I will look.”
“Let me know.”
“Will do and don’t worry about Mal, at least not enough to keep you from going forward. A fancy new place will be nice.”
“Thanks for the support. Now, I just need to speak with Rocky. Mal’s already mad at me, I’m hoping she won’t be, too.”
“Let’s hope.” Tamar stood. “I’m going to head to the rec. How are o
ur new children?”
“They’re okay. I’m dealing with a mystery surrounding their parents’ estate, though.” And she explained.
After hearing her out, Tamar said, “That is strange. Let me know if you find anything.”
“Promise.”
Feeling much better about her day, Tamar made her exit.
Once alone, Bernadine sat at her desk and mulled over the idea of the new restaurant and the more she thought about it, the more she liked it. Tamar’s suggested name was perfect. Granted Bernadine knew nothing about the ins and outs of a restaurant, but more than a few of her sisters in the Bottom Women’s group were owners of restaurant chains, and they’d give her all the help she’d need. Mal was going to throw a tantrum if she did decide to make herself a principal in the operation but that couldn’t be helped. A knock on her door broke her from her musings and she looked up to see Rocky standing in the doorway.
“Hey, Bernadine. Do you have a minute?”
“I do, come on in. I was planning to call you.”
“Is it about this restaurant that has Mal’s drawers in a knot?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think whoever builds it will want an investor?”
Bernadine was puzzled.
“No?”
She shook herself free. “You want to be an investor?”
“If I can. My tax lady says I need to invest some of the settlement I won from my sexual harassment suit at the truck place I was working. So, what do you think?”
“I’m thinking I want to be the owner and having you on board would be a dream come true.”
Rocky grinned. “Then I’m in, and if Mal has a fit, so be it.”
Bernadine didn’t want to give her honey fits and knew the news would put a further strain on their relationship, but the train seemed to be leaving the station and she couldn’t think of a better conductor than Rochelle Dancer.
“So, what do we do first?” Rocky asked.
“No idea, but let me make a few calls and I’ll get back with you as soon as possible.”
Rocky stood. “Okay, and thanks, Bernadine.”
“Can I ask why you want to do this besides the tax implications?”
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