The Restaurant(35)

Jill thought for a moment. “I suppose you’ve already done the touristy things like the whaling museum?”

“No, actually. I’ve never gone there. Is it worth going to?” The whaling museum was near the pier and was one of Jill’s favorite places to bring people when they visited Nantucket.

“You really should go. I take everyone that visits there and they always love it.”

“Maybe I’ll do that, then. What other restaurants would you recommend while I’m here?”

Jill didn’t have to think about it. “Definitely Millie’s if you’re in the mood for something sort of casual, but really good. It’s fresh California-style Mexican. Great fish tacos. And for breakfast, Black-Eyed Susan’s is always good. Those are my two favorites.”

She set his check down when he finished his dessert. “Here you go.”

Mac fished his wallet out of his back pocket and threw a credit card down. She picked it up and returned a minute later with his credit card slip and card.

“It was really nice to see you again. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.”

Mac looked thoughtful as he picked up the pen, quickly scrawled his signature on the charge slip and added a very generous tip.

“I don’t know what your schedule is like, but is there any chance you might want to show me around the whaling museum tomorrow and grab a bite at Millie’s after?”

Jill was surprised and pleased by the invitation. She thought about her schedule. She wasn’t working the next night and could finish up her recruiting work a little early.

“Sure, I’d love to. I’m off tomorrow night, but I do have my consulting work during the day. I could finish that up by around three or so.”

“Great. Let me know your number and I’ll touch base with you tomorrow afternoon.”

They exchanged cell phone numbers and as Jill watched Mac leave, she realized she was still smiling and very much looking forward to playing tourist with him.





The next afternoon, Jill was rushing to finish up early when her phone rang and it was Billy. She glanced at the clock and it was almost two-thirty. She’d talked to Mac an hour earlier when he called to confirm and they made plans to meet in front of the whaling museum at three. It was about a ten-minute walk from Grams’ place, and Mac was staying nearby at the Jared Coffin House.

“Hi, Billy. What’s up?”

“Nothing in particular, just calling to check in and hear your voice. How’s your day going?” Jill could picture Billy in his office, leaning way back in his chair with his feet on his desk.

“It’s good, busy. I talked to a few good candidates this morning and already got two interviews set up for the new search.”

“Nice! You sound busy. Am I interrupting anything?”

Jill glanced at the clock again. She had about ten minutes before she needed to leave and she wanted to freshen up a little, add some lipstick and brush her hair and teeth.

“No, not really. I’m just heading out shortly so I can’t talk long.”

“Oh, where are you off to? Got a hot date?” She smiled at the teasing laughter in his voice.

“Actually, I do. You know that consultant I told you about that came into the restaurant a few times and wrote up a report for us on ways to improve? Well, he came in again last night. We got to talking and I’m going to play tourist with him and show him the whaling museum.”

“Oh! He doesn’t live on Nantucket?”

“No, he’s just here for the rest of the week on vacation.”

“So, you probably won’t see him again after that then?” Billy sounded pleased that Mac wasn’t going to be around much longer.

“Probably not. But he does live in Manhattan, so you never know.”

“No kidding?” Billy was quiet for a moment before adding, “Well, have fun then. Say, we need to firm up a date for me to come out there. I’m still thinking maybe next weekend, if that works for you? Or the weekend after?”

“Next weekend works. Why don’t you come Thursday night? We can work from here Friday and then you can fly back Sunday night.”

“Perfect. Well, I better let you go get ready for your big date. Talk to you later.”

“Bye, Billy.”

As Jill hung up the phone she smiled thinking about how surprised Billy sounded to hear she had a date. She really hadn’t dated in a long time, so it was understandable. She was glad they’d set a date for his visit. It would be fun to play tourist with him, too, and she knew her sisters would be glad to see him.





Mac was waiting for her outside the whaling museum and smiled when she walked up.

“Thanks for agreeing to do this with me. You’ve probably been to the museum a million times.”

Jill grinned. “I haven’t been yet this year. And it’s always more fun when I’m going with someone that has never been before.”

They went in and spent the next hour and a half roaming the several floors of the museum. Mac was suitably impressed.

“I have to admit, this was better than I expected. There’s a lot to see here.” The museum was full of interesting history and replicas of ships, whales, scrimshaw and so much more.

It was just after five when they finished up and walked outside.