The Heavenly Grille Café

by J. T. Livingston

  Officer Hall smiled and nodded at the pretty blonde. “We’ve actually had a couple of tips on his whereabouts, but so far he’s managed to stay one step ahead of us. The last tip we received was that he might somewhere in Georgia. We just have to be patient. His luck will run out sooner than later... it always does.”

  The officer’s rugged good looks had not gone unnoticed by Amanda, but she had a feeling that Officer Hall held more than a professional interest in her friend, Kris. “Well, personally, I don’t really care if you find him or not, just as long as he stays far, far away from Kris and the baby. By the way, I’m on my way over to her place now to watch Lifetime movies and pig out on pizza. If you’re not busy later… or married… you should stop by and say hi. I bet she would really enjoy seeing you again.”

  “Well,” Dean grinned at her easy directness. “I can’t say that I’m a real big fan of Lifetime and, unfortunately, I’m working a double shift today. Do you think maybe I can get a rain check on that offer?”

  Amanda laughed. “Well then, I guess that means you’re not married either, huh?”

  Dean shook his head. “Nope, not married.”

  “Well okay then…that rain check is definitely on the table. Maybe next Sunday we can order another pizza and watch baseball or racing or something more macho than Lifetime. Although, I gotta say, you don’t know what you’re missing; you can learn an awful lot from those Lifetime movies.”

  Dean’s deep laugh was genuine and contagious. “Yes, Ma’am, that sounds like a good plan; maybe we can all get together next Sunday. I’ve got some rounds to make. Drive careful now, and… be sure and tell Miss Devone... Kris... I said hello.”

  “Oh, you bet I will,” Amanda grinned. “I definitely will do that. Don’t you work too hard now!”

  Amanda’s matchmaking thoughts were still swirling inside her head when she pulled into Kris’ driveway five minutes later. Kris was outside watering her collection of household plants. She wore white cut-off jeans and a red, form-fitting camisole top that barely contained her womanly attributes. Amanda looked down at her own small chest, void of any cleavage, and shrugged. She waved to Kris as she got out of the Trooper.

  Kris raised the hose in welcome, offering an unintentional dousing in Amanda’s direction. “Oops! Sorry ‘bout that!” she laughed.

  Amanda squeezed water out of her ponytail and laughed back. It felt so good to hear laughter coming from Kris that she couldn’t get upset about a little water. “Good thing you’re pregnant or I’d be chasing you around the yard for some big-time payback! Just for that, I get to order my favorite pizza today.”

  Kris held her belly with her free hand. “We’re so hungry we could eat the box right now. What do you mean order your favorite pizza? I thought the plan was for you to bring it with you! We could be eating now instead of waiting another forty-five minutes.”

  Amanda blew out her cheeks and shrugged. “That was the plan, wasn’t it? Yep…that was the plan…but I sort of got a little side-tracked back there in town. I ran into that cute officer, you know the one who took your statement about Mr. Wonderful? Well, he’s just so darn cute... he has a great smile by the way... that he made me forget all about the pizza. I know this is a small town, but the pizza joints do deliver, don’t they? If not, I’ll go back in a bit and pick one up. Do you think one is going to be enough or is this gonna be a two-pizza affair today?”

  “Well, one’s enough for me,” Kris joked back. “So... you said you ran into Officer Hall?” She put the hose down and ran her hands through her thick red curls.

  Amanda stared at her pregnant friend. It was hard to tell which was bigger… Kris’ breasts or her belly. “Yes, I did,” she nodded. “As a matter of fact, I even invited him over to watch Lifetime movies with us and eat pizza.”

  The shocked expression on Kris’ face was priceless and made it hard for Amanda to keep a straight face. It wasn’t easy to shock Kris Devone, but Amanda had to pat herself on the back because she had managed to do just that.

  “Oh my, God! You didn’t!” shrieked Kris. She looked down at her ragged shorts and bare feet. She ran her hands nervously through her hair again. “I’m a mess…”

  “Calm down, Missy,” Amanda giggled. “Besides, he can’t come. He’s working a double shift today, but… he did tell me that I should tell you hello and that, maybe, if the invitation is still open... that next Sunday he could come hang out with us. We’ve got to promise to watch baseball or something besides Lifetime, though…”

  Amanda watched Kris’ strained effort to bend over, without toppling over, and retrieve the hose. She shook her head in protest, knowing instantly what was coming, and laughed as she backed away slowly from Kris’ weapon of choice. She threw her hands up in mock defense. “What! Hey, I thought you’d be happy!” She wiped away the first flooding of water from her face and laughed again. “Plus, you might be glad to know that he’s S-I-N-G-L-E!”

  The second dousing left Amanda totally drenched and doubled over with laughter. She hadn’t laughed this hard since before her father’s illness had been diagnosed. She had forgotten how good it felt, how cleansing it was to the soul. Laughter really was the best medicine.

  Kris shut off the water and turned to enter the small, well-maintained duplex. “Make mine a double pepperoni with the thickest crust they have... and... double cheese!”

  Amanda got back into her car and yelled after the woman who was quickly becoming a best friend, a sister she never had. “Some people have absolutely no sense of humor!”

  CHAPTER 14

  Andrew and Amos Brown

  August was usually a slow month at the Heavenly Grille Café, with parents getting ready for back-to-school requirements, and the fact that it was just too darn hot to do much of anything that required extensive movement. It was typical weather for summer in the south, for sure; it was no wonder that the infamous snowbirds made their way back to their respective northern quarters during the South’s torrid summer season. The weather was undeniably hot and what little air that did manage to circulate, without air conditioning, was humid, muggy, and just down right miserable. The summer of 2011 was proving to be one of the wettest since the mid-1940s; however, the rain did little to cool things off, and the attitudes and temperament of the customers routinely fell in line with the day’s forecast.

  Northern Florida towns, especially small towns like Monticello, do not routinely depend on tourism for their survival. Most of the customers visiting the café during Florida’s hurricane season, running from June through November, consisted of locals and long-distance truckers who had passed information and directions to the café via word of mouth. However, even the locals opted to stay inside their own air-conditioned homes throughout the month of August, which often proved to be the hottest and most uncomfortable month of the year.

  It was the last Monday in August, around two-thirty in the afternoon, and dark clouds once again offered a brief respite and cover from the summer’s scorching sun. Thunder and lightning joined forces occasionally but, so far, no rain had fallen. Twin brothers Amos and Andrew Brown, two regular customers, sat on their regular stools at the counter eating generous servings of Max’s buttermilk cake. Amos chased his dessert with hot, black coffee, while his brother preferred a cold glass of milk - real milk, not the watered-down, healthier, fat-free version. After all, if one was going to indulge in Max’s buttermilk cake, saving a few calories on a glass of milk seemed a bit ridiculous.

  Amos and Andrew were two of Bertie’s favorite customers and she placed a hand on each of their shoulders as she came up behind them. “How are we doing here, fellas? Y’all managing to stay cool enough in this wretched heat?”

  Amos was the older of the brothers, by two minutes, and he never let Andrew forget it. His almost toothless grin widened as he closed his eyes. “Lawd, Miss Bertie, you know fo’ sure that it’s hotter than a goat’s butt in a pepper patch outside, but this here cake...”

  Bertie smiled when he ope
ned his eyes and grinned with what she called his “summer” teeth - meaning some are here and some are there. “Looks like you’re about ready for another cup of coffee, Amos. I can guarantee you that it’s already been saucered and blowed, just the way you like it.”

  Amos nodded and sighed. “Why, I thanks you…that would be mighty nice of you, Miss Bertie. And you be sure to tell Mr. Max that his cake is even gooder’n his grits, if that’s even possible.”

  Bertie patted the old man on the back again and looked over at his twin. “You’re kinda quiet today, Andrew. Are you feeling okay?”

  Andrew swallowed a bite of cake and licked his generous lips. “Well, to tell ya the truth, Miss Bertie, I was feelin’ a bit poorly when I first came in here... like I’d been chewed up and spit out, if you know what I mean. But this here cake is enough to make a cow want to suck on its own utters… pardon the expression, Ma’am…”

  Bertie smiled and hugged them both between her widespread arms. “I know exactly what you mean, Andrew, but as long as you feel better when you leave than you did when you came through that door, well, then… life is good, ain’t it?”

  Andrew covered his mouth trying to suppress the congested cough that inflamed his cancer-ridden lungs. Bertie knew he didn’t have much time left and she knew that Andrew knew it, too. “I’ll bring you another glass of milk, Andrew. I’d never say it to Max, but sometimes that cake can be a little on the dry side.”

  Andrew shook his head. “Oh, no, Ma’am... I loves this cake. It’s the best cake I’ve ever tasted in my life. Sure wish Mr. Max would share his recipe.”

  Bertie turned and grinned at the old black man, who she suspected would be meeting their Heavenly Father before the year was out. “Now you know that will never happen, Andrew. Y’all sit tight. I’ll be right back with your drinks and some more of that cake. It’s hard to eat just one slice!”

  Mondays were Amanda’s regular day off, but she and Kris shared a booth... the same booth they shared the first time Amanda brought Kris to the café. They had watched and listened to Bertie’s interaction with the two old men while they downed their own generous portions of buttermilk cake.

  Kris shivered. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how she can stand to touch them. They just look so... dirty.”

  Amanda was getting use to Kris’ occasional bouts of rudeness and lack of compassion, but they still managed to shock her at times. She had to remind herself that the two of them had experienced very different upbringings and, as a result, had totally opposite outlooks on life in general. Amanda always saw the glass as being half full, so it was no surprise to her that Kris usually took the opposite view. She had seen a softening of Kris’ demeanor over the past few weeks, but sometimes, like today, she would make comments that reminded Amanda of their vast differences in personality. Amanda had grown to love Amos and Andrew and it hurt her that Kris would be so obviously repulsed by them.

  “They’re not dirty, Kris... they’re just poor.”

  “Poor? Hell, I’m poor, but I still manage to brush my teeth every day. Have you seen their teeth?” Kris grimaced. “Gross!”

  Amanda shook her head and smiled at her new best friend. “Well, the way I look at it, they don’t really need a lot of teeth now, do they, to enjoy this delicious buttermilk cake.” She filled her own mouth with a large chunk, partially to keep herself from saying something that might hurt her friend’s feelings.

  “Yeah, yeah… whatever…” Kris mumbled.

  Amanda watched as Kris fidgeted in her seat. “Are you okay?”

  Kris exhaled and grimaced. “I don’t know. It’s my damn back. I can’t seem to get comfortable the past few days. It hurts to stand, hurts to sit. Not pain really… just… hell, I don’t know.” She exhaled again, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and smiled at her friend’s concerned expression. “It’s probably just indigestion. I get it just breathing in air these days. It feels a little better now.” She swallowed another bite of cake. “This really is the best cake I’ve ever tasted. So… have you given any thought to what we talked about over the weekend?”

  Amanda smiled. “You mean Dean’s suggestion that I move in with you?”

  Kris stirred the ice in her Pepsi and took a long sip. “Yeah… I mean... the more I think about it, the more sense it actually makes. I wasn’t really looking for a roommate, but you did say that you were just living here temporarily, until you could afford your own place. And Dean doesn’t think I need to be alone these next few weeks, you know, so close to the baby’s birth and all. It would definitely help us both out if we could share expenses. It makes perfect sense if you think about it.”

  “You and Dean are getting pretty cozy, aren’t you?” Amanda smiled again. She had wanted to discuss this situation with Doug again before she made up her mind, but she hadn’t been able to get him alone long enough to do that.

  Kris shrugged. “You’re changing the subject. Besides… look at me, will you? I look, and feel, like a beached whale. What man in his right mind would even want to get cozy with me right now?”

  “Well, beached whale or not, you know I’m right, Kris. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but I can tell. That man, as my Daddy would say, is pretty smitten with you.”

  “Sure he is,” Kris snickered as she rubbed her huge belly. “I’m sure he’s just dying to jump on this band wagon.” She planted her hands atop her belly and looked at Amanda. “He, or any man for that matter, would be crazy to want to get involved with me.”

  “So…” Amanda teased back. “Maybe the man is crazy!”

  “Like I said… you’re changing the subject, Amanda. So tell me. Have you, or have you not, thought about moving in with me? Or do you have to run it by Pretty Boy first?”

  Amanda turned in her seat so that her back pressed against the window frame. She stretched her legs out across the bench and sighed. “If you’re referring to Doug as being Pretty Boy, which he is, by the way, then... yes, I was hoping to talk to him about it.”

  “Do you two have something going on?” Kris asked.

  Amanda almost choked on her drink. “Oh, God! No! Shoot, he’s like... well, he’s like the big brother I always wished I had, you know. He’s so easy to talk to and when we do talk, it’s always like the answers to all my problems just sort of materialize; everything sort of falls into place and makes better sense after talking to Doug.”

  “Uh-huh… so now he’s not only pretty, he’s a magician, too?”

  “Well,” Amanda nodded, “I don’t know about him being a magician, but good things do seem to happen whenever he’s around. You should see him whenever these big, burly truckers start to get out of hand. Just when you’d think they would mop the floor up with him, all he has to do is go to them, put his hand on their shoulder, and... POOF, they become, I don’t know… nice guys! Bertie said the truckers were really a handful before Doug started working here.”

  The door chimes jingled as the café door opened and in walked the purported magician. The rain had finally made its way to the Heavenly Grille and Doug shook the water out of his thick, dark hair at the same time he wiped his feet on the huge welcome mat just inside the door. He nodded to Amanda and Kris who were sitting in the first booth to the right of the door, and he waved at the Brown brothers sitting at the counter. He took a quick inventory of the rest of the café and noticed that the only other customers were a couple sitting at the far end, their heads bent toward each other, apparently deep in conversation. Doug watched them for a moment and shivered involuntarily. Something felt off about the couple but he couldn’t get a quick grasp on what it might be. He was glad when the uneasy feeling dissipated almost as quickly as it had appeared.

  “Well,” Kris yelled out in welcome, “Speak of the devil!”

  Doug waved to Max and Bertie who stood in the kitchen, their own heads bent toward each other in conversation. They both turned to him at the same time and waved back. He was quick to notice that t
heir expressions appeared serious, in contrast to their normal, happy demeanors. He also noticed the worried look they shared with him when they glanced back at the couple sharing the table at the far end of the café. Doug wondered if they had the same uneasy feeling he had when he first saw the couple. He tried to read their thoughts but got nothing. That same involuntary shiver coursed through him again, but once again, he managed to shake it off quickly. Doug smiled at Kris. “Devil? Not me, not by a long shot! How are you ladies doing?”

  Kris scooted over and motioned for him to sit beside her since Amanda was still stretched out on the other bench seat. “Actually, we were just discussing you.”

  Doug’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “I’m afraid to ask; good, bad, or otherwise?”

  Amanda laughed and drew her knees up to her chest. “Oh, it was good! Always good, Doug.”

  Doug took the offered spot next to Kris and stole another quick glance at Max and Bertie. They were both still staring at the couple in the corner, who were now positioned at Doug’s back. He didn’t want to be too obvious by turning around and staring at them, too.

  “Amanda has something she wants to ask you, don’t you, Amanda?” Kris grinned.

  There was that involuntary shiver again. It ran from the base of Doug’s neck down to his toes in a millisecond. He somehow fought the urge to turn around and look at the couple; instead, he turned his attention to Amanda who was, uncharacteristically, quiet. “Is that right? Well… I’m listening, Princess...”

  When Amanda either didn’t, or couldn’t, say anything, Kris was quick to jump in. She wasn’t going to let Amanda put off the discussion any longer. “Doug, Amanda wants your opinion on something.”

  Doug nodded toward Amanda while watching Bertie out of the corner of his eye, as she approached their table with a hot, steaming cup of black coffee – Doug’s favorite choice of drink. “What is it, Amanda?”