by SUE FINEMAN
“Are you kidding?” She sighed. “All I’ve ever dared to dream is to have enough money to pay the bills.”
She spoke so softly he barely heard her words, but he knew how she felt. He and his mother had struggled for years. Now they didn’t have to. Laura didn’t have to struggle either, if she’d let him help her.
“When my mother won all that money, we sat down together and planned out how to spend it. We paid off all our bills, including my student loans, and bought new cars, but we had a lot of money left over. Mom had enough to build her dream house and buy anything she ever wanted, but she didn’t want much for herself. She helped her friends, sent their kids to college, and made anonymous donations to several worthy causes.
“Someone called and asked Mom if she’d be interested in helping her with a rundown diner she’d just bought. She offered to give Mom a piece of the business in exchange for financial help in getting started. I’d just graduated from Florida State with a degree in business, so we formed a corporation. I did the research and everything checked out with that woman’s business. It was the first one we invested in, but that was just the beginning.”
“So you do this full time?”
He nodded. “It’s the perfect job for me. I’d hate sitting behind a desk all the time. The corporation pays me a salary and benefits, like any other corporate job. That’s another thing for you to consider. With the corporation owning a portion of your business, you and your employees would be eligible for health care, dental, investment plan, workers’ comp – the whole works.”
“Health care? Who’s ever had health care?”
“Think about it, Laura. I know it’s tempting to do it all yourself, but do you really want to work yourself to death like your mother?”
“Not especially.” She slid off the seat of his pickup. “I’ll give it some thought. Thanks for the pizza and the loan.”
“You’re welcome. Buy more paint. I have to work for Earl in the morning, but I’ll be back for lunch and we’ll finish the painting.”
Laura watched him drive away. She didn’t especially want a partner, but if one of those banks didn’t come through, she wouldn’t have much choice. She wouldn’t get the same satisfaction as she would doing it by herself, but she didn’t want to end up surly and miserable like Queenie.
She walked into her apartment, remembering a scene from the past.
A month after Marv Walker’s wife passed away, Marv and Charley Fenderman came in for lunch. The two men looked like the odd couple. Marv was a meek little man, while Charley was big and boisterous. Good men, both of them. They ordered Queenie’s special hamburger and Charley teased Laura about something silly. She took her time with the order, giving them special attention. Charley’s teasing and Laura’s laughter finally coaxed a smile from Marv. And then Laura took the order back to the kitchen.
To Queenie.
“What do you think you’re doing in there?” The tone of Queenie’s voice burned Laura’s ears, and the muted conversation from the dining area stopped. Charley and Marv were listening.
“You’re turning into a slut, always showing off for the men who come in here.”
Trying her best to ignore Queenie’s unwarranted attack, Laura threw two hamburgers on the grill and blinked back the tears that stung her eyes.
“One of these days, you’ll flirt with the wrong man, and you know what will happen?”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Laura said through clenched teeth. She felt like screaming, but she didn’t want to scream while there were customers in the café.
Queenie’s harangue lasted several minutes, until Laura took the order out to her customers. “Your lunch, gentlemen. I’m sorry about the side show.”
Charley said, “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
“You didn’t.”
The two men were the only lunch customers. As soon as they left, Laura walked out of the café. Queenie hated her, but then Queenie hated everyone.
Queenie yelled after her. “You’re not finished in the kitchen.”
Laura wanted to yell back at her, to tell her if she kept chasing the customers out, she wouldn’t need help with anything. But she kept her mouth closed.
She shook away her memories. It did no good to dwell on the past.
Maybe Dad would know what to do about the motel and the partnership Luke offered. She went inside and called him. “Dad, how are things going there?”
“Okay, I guess. What’s happening there?”
“Frank Fosdick refused to even consider a loan, so I applied at a couple banks in Melbourne.”
“Frank is a jerk.”
“He sure is. He tried to push me into selling.”
“If you sell, go through Carmen Messina. Frank will cheat you.”
“I know. I told him I’d take my business elsewhere.”
Laura walked around the counter with the phone in her hand. “There’s someone who approached me about a partnership. He suggested turning the motel into one-bedroom apartments. If I agree to the partnership, he’d also give me money to fix up the café. What do you think?”
“About the partnership or the apartments?”
“Both.”
“The apartments might not be a bad idea. I’d have to know more about the partnership deal. Who is it?”
“Luke Windsor. His mother is the one who won all that money in the lottery four years ago. She ran a little place like Queenie’s when he was growing up, so now they invest in other businesses.”
“I heard about their corporation. Who would have control, you or the corporation?”
“I don’t know yet.” She leaned on the counter and twisted the phone cord around her finger. “He said we’d need an estimate on the remodel costs and an appraisal.”
“That makes sense. It might not be a bad idea under the right conditions. You can’t compete with the motel chains. You could pour money into the motel and still not compete with the chains.”
As if she had money to pour into anything.
“Luke is the silent partner in Bernie’s Place in West Palm Beach. We went there for lunch the other day. It’s a really nice place, Dad. Luke and Bernie designed it together. He seems to know what he’s doing.”
“See if he’ll give you other references. Call around and check him out.”
“Okay.” Laura sank into the chair behind the counter. “I really wanted to do it myself, but I don’t know.”
“You can’t do it all yourself, Laura. You’ll work yourself to death and end up hating it there as much as I did.”
She’d never known her father to be happy, but she thought that would change when he left Kingston. But he still didn’t sound happy. “Is everything all right there?”
He didn’t answer right away, and when he did, his, “Sure,” didn’t sound very convincing.
Were he and Florence getting along, or was it something else?
<>
The next afternoon, Luke arrived with a little boom box and a stack of old cassettes. Laura was surprised a wealthy man like Luke would keep anything so outdated.
Ivy found several Elvis tapes in the stack. She wrinkled her nose. “You guys really listen to this stuff? Isn’t this from like back in the dark ages, like the fifties and sixties?”
Luke glanced at Laura. “She wanted music and now she’s complaining.”
Ivy started a tape and the three of them went to work. They finished the first coat of paint on the walls and put the second coat on the ceiling. That evening, Laura and Luke rolled the rest of the second coat on the walls while Ivy washed their dinner dishes.
Laura sighed and stretched. “This is more work than cooking, but it sure looks better in here.” The walls looked so much better, it made the furniture look more shabby.
The windows were bare. Queenie’s old curtains had gone into the trash on cleaning day. They were faded and rotted from the hot sun. The woven blinds Luke had shown her would look great in here. The pastel colors w
oven into the natural wood blinds would coordinate with the new carpet, and they’d be perfect with the wall paint she’d chosen.
She wanted a whole new look, but that would take new furniture, outside paint, a new roof, and a new parking lot, none of which she could afford. She couldn’t even afford the new flooring. She wished she hadn’t let Luke talk her into it.
After Ivy returned to her room, Laura turned to Luke. “I called my father last night to get his opinion on this partnership thing.”
Luke propped his hands on his hips. “What did he say?”
“He suggested I get references, names of other business owners you’ve worked with.”
“I’ll bring a list tomorrow, and I’ll take you out for dinner this weekend. This time, we’ll go to Titusville.”
Laura’s face warmed. He’d be taking her to one of his restaurants, so it was business, not a date. Still, she was going out to eat with a handsome guy.
Queenie wouldn’t like it, but Queenie wouldn’t like the partnership idea either. She’d expect Laura to do it all by herself, and then she’d complain it wasn’t good enough.
Nothing had ever been good enough to please Queenie.
<>
A man from Windsor Floors scraped off the old floors in the café. Luke helped. Watching the men work, Laura was glad she hadn’t attempted the job herself. It was messy, sweaty, hard work.
The new vinyl floors were installed two days later, and the new carpet went in the next day. While the men worked, Laura made new menus and a list of supplies. Luke handed her eight hundred dollars in cash. “You need money to stock the kitchen. It’s a personal loan.”
“Thank you. I promise, I’ll pay back every penny.”
“I know you will. I’ll send a contractor over to get some idea what the motel remodel will cost. When we get the figures back, we’ll sit down and discuss business.”
“All right.” She still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Luke seemed like a nice enough guy, but she didn’t want to give control of her business to anyone. She didn’t want someone else making decisions and telling her what to do.
She’d had enough of that with Queenie.
Chapter Five
Saturday evening, Luke took Laura to Chubby’s, in Titusville. The parking lot was nearly full. It didn’t look fancy like Bernie’s Place, but it wasn’t like Queenie’s either. It was noisy, for one thing. Laughter, country music, and wonderful smells filled the air. Barbecue. Luke watched Laura’s face and knew she liked it.
“It sure smells good in here,” she said, smiling.
Someone called, “Luke!”
They both turned to see a man with a huge pot belly coming toward them. “Hey, Chubby. How’s it going?”
“Great. Business just keeps getting better. Who’s this pretty lady?”
“This is Laura. She owns a little café in Kingston.”
“Another competitor? Aw, Luke, don’t do this to me.” Chubby waved at the room. “Find yourself a table. Two specials coming up, on the house.”
Luke found a table in the back corner, where it was a little more quiet. He brought her here to talk business, and he didn’t want to have to shout to be heard. “Well, Laura, what do you think?”
“It’s definitely not like Bernie’s Place. What was this before, a barn?”
“An expensive steak house. Too formal for the neighborhood. There are plenty of places like that along the beach and overlooking the river. They couldn’t compete.”
“This place doesn’t draw the same people as a steak house.”
“That’s right. Now you’re thinking like a businesswoman. Opening just any restaurant won’t work. You have to consider what’s in the area. What do the customers want? What can they afford to pay? Are there other restaurants in the area? What do they serve? How are their prices? What’s their business like?”
“I see what you mean. There’s no other place to eat in Kingston except the pizza place, so I have no real competition.”
“As long as you keep your prices affordable, the service good, and the food decent, you can’t help but make a profit.”
Laura tinkered with the salt and pepper shakers. “Queenie never did very well, but I think that’s because nobody liked her.”
If Queenie’s surly personality was the reason the café didn’t do well before, Laura couldn’t help but bring in more business. A friendly atmosphere impressed customers almost as much as cleanliness and the quality of the food.
“Once you get established, you’ll have people coming in on a regular basis. People won’t want to drive twenty or thirty minutes to find a place to eat when Queenie’s is nearby.”
Laura grew quiet. She probably didn’t know the first thing about the principles of economics, but she had good instincts. This young woman had a lot on the ball. With a little help, she could build a very successful business.
Chubby brought a tray loaded with food. Laura’s eyes grew. “That can’t all be for us.”
“Aw, c’mon,” said Chubby. “I want you to taste everything.” Chubby leaned down close to Laura. “Don’t tell anyone, but the sauce is Luke’s mother’s recipe.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Is that right? Is it good?”
“I wouldn’t serve it if it wasn’t good.”
“How long have you been in business?”
“Six months. Can you believe it? If we get any busier, we’ll have to add on.”
Someone called, “Chubby, we need you in the kitchen.”
He grinned and wiped his hands on his apron. “I’m being summoned. Enjoy your meal.”
Laura tasted the barbecue beans. “Mmm, this is good. I love this place.”
“Barbecue is good, but it’s like pizza. People don’t want pizza all the time. They don’t want barbecue all the time, either.”
“Queenie’s offers a variety,” said Laura, licking her fingers. “This stuff is messy.”
Luke smiled and picked up a rib. “Makes it taste better.”
She finished her rib before asking, “How much of this place do you own?”
“A big piece. All Chubby had was the building and an idea.”
“Like Queenie’s?”
“More like the motel. Queenie’s doesn’t need the kind of work this place did. We completely redid the interior. It was too formal, too stuffy.”
Luke was incredibly proud of his restaurants. He’d like to think it was his perception and expert business skill that made them successful, although his partners added hard work and enthusiasm to the mix. Without exception, they were all doing well.
They ate quietly for several minutes before she asked, “Who makes the decisions here?”
“Chubby makes the day to day decisions. We work out the big issues together.”
She swallowed a bite of beans before asking, “What happens when you don’t agree?”
“We don’t make any major changes unless we agree.”
She didn’t say anything, but he knew what she was thinking. She didn’t want anyone telling her what to do. He couldn’t blame her for that, but he didn’t want a part of her business without having a say in major decisions, like that sunroom addition she talked about. “There has to be a level of understanding and cooperation or a partnership won’t work. No matter how profitable Queenie’s is, I don’t want a part of it without having something to say about major expenditures. Look at it this way, Laura. If Chubby decided he wanted to change the menu, go with something else entirely, get rid of the juke box, and require reservations, do you think this place would be as successful?”
“No.”
“If I owned a piece of your business and you decided you wanted to turn it into a health food store, don’t you think I should have a say in that?”
“Well, sure, but—”
“Look, I don’t want to take over your business. I want to help you be successful, take my profit, and go help someone else. Bernie’s profits and Chubby’s profits will go into my next project, whether it’s Q
ueenie’s or someplace else. That’s the way it works. If I buy into your business, I’d expect to help decide about the sunroom, about how the new sign should look, and the kind of food you serve.”
She wiped her mouth and pushed her plate aside. “What if we don’t agree?”
“We’d have to compromise on some things. That’s true in any partnership.”
“What if we can’t work together?”
“You don’t think you can work with me?”
She didn’t reply, and he did a slow burn. Why was he wasting his time on a girl who didn’t want his help? “Are you finished?”
“Yes.”
Luke didn’t speak again until they were halfway home, when Laura asked, “Are you mad at me?”
“You obviously don’t want or need my help.”
She didn’t deny it. She didn’t say another word until he pulled into the parking lot at the motel. “Thanks for dinner.” She slid off the seat and slammed the door.
Luke sat in his truck, gripping the wheel so hard his fingers hurt. What was with her anyway? Was it him? No banker would give her money on this dump, not without a detailed business plan. And Laura Whitfield wouldn’t know the first thing about writing a damn business plan.
<>
Sunday, Laura put signs in the windows that she was opening Tuesday morning at six. She went to the grocery store for some last-minute things and told everyone she saw that Queenie’s would be open for business Tuesday morning.
Patty, an old high school friend and the clerk who checked her out, said, “I’ll spread the word, Laura.” Patty loved to talk, and Laura couldn’t buy that kind of advertising at any price.
Laura drove back to the café and unlocked the door. Except for the old furniture in the dining area, it didn’t look like Queenie’s now. It smelled new and fresh and clean. She hugged her arms, then flung them out and spun around. This was her business. Not Queenie’s. Not her father’s. Hers!
As she put her purchases away and ran the dishes through the dishwasher again, the time flew by. She glanced at Luke’s boom box sitting on the counter and thought about Queenie’s Elvis tape, but she couldn’t worry about it now. She had too many things to do.