The Restaurant(45)
Emma made a face. “Dating is honestly the last thing on my mind right now. I’m still trying to process what happened and how I could have been so blind.”
When Emma finished, Paul took her bowl and his and rinsed both in the kitchen sink.
“Thank you for lunch. That was a treat.”
He smiled. “Anytime.”
Emma’s phone buzzed with an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”
“Emma? This is Mary from Safe Harbor. You’re all set to come and collect Izzy today, if you like.”
“I’ll be right there.” She hung up and turned to Paul.
“Do you mind swinging by the shelter on the way back to my place? Izzy’s ready.”
“Let’s go. We can stop by the pet store and grab a carrier for her too, and whatever else you need.”
Emma picked out a pretty pink cat carrier and stocked up on wet and dry cat food, litter and a litter box. When they arrived at the shelter, she brought the carrier in. It was the soft style that unzipped and both Mary and Emma were surprised when Izzy immediately hopped down from her perch, sniffed the carrier once then strolled in, turned around and flopped down, making herself at home immediately.
“Well, look at that. Usually they fight going into the carrier,” Mary said.
Izzy looked up at both of them as if to say, “Let’s get going, already.”
Emma laughed. “She’s a smart one. She knows she’s going home.”
And ten minutes later, she said goodbye to Paul and welcomed Izzy to her new home. Jill was sitting at the kitchen table typing away on her laptop and looked up in surprise when she saw Emma and Izzy.
“Wow, you got one already!”
Emma set the carrier down in the middle of the kitchen floor and unzipped it. Izzy slowly made her way out and sniffed her way around the kitchen.
“Meet Isabella. Izzy, for short. She’s six and seems very sweet.”
“She’s gorgeous,” Jill said as her phone rang, and she turned her attention back to work.
Emma set up Izzy’s food in a corner of the kitchen and the cat box in the mud room, out of the way. She grabbed a magazine and went into the living room to curl up on the sofa. A few minutes later Izzy found her, after sniffing every corner of the living room. She jumped up on the sofa next to Emma and started giving herself a bath.
“Welcome home, Izzy.”
Chapter 19
Mandy threw herself into work and took on arranging all the changes they wanted to make. She researched vendors and, with input from the others, chose a new carpet to be installed in the dining room. She also lined up painters to come the same day the carpet was scheduled to be installed, and she reached out to local artists to see if any were interested in having their work shown on a consignment basis.
They closed the restaurant on a Monday to do the work, which was typically the slowest day of the week. Once she dropped the kids off at school, she met the painters at Mimi’s Place. At noon, the carpet guys came and she oversaw the installation of the new carpet. By the end of the day, the dining room had an overall flattering facelift. The paint dried overnight and the next day, she hung the various paintings and photographs from local artists.
The grand re-opening party was set for the following Monday night. They wanted a night that wouldn’t interfere with their busy nights but also would be good for all the local businesses, and many also took Mondays off. They invited all the local downtown businesses, especially those that were in the hospitality industry like bed and breakfasts and hotels, as they would be likely to recommend local restaurants. They also invited all of their regular customers either by emailing them, or including a note with their checks—an elegant invitation for them to stop by.
Mandy dropped the kids off that evening at Cory’s place and he agreed to bring them to school the next morning. She took extra care with her appearance, wearing one of her favorite dresses in a pretty light blue shade, and curled her hair so that it fell the way she wanted it to. It gave her a boost of confidence to look her best as the last thing she’d been feeling lately was attractive, given what had happened with Cory.
And she wasn’t looking for any attention from men, more just to feel good about herself. She was excited and nervous for everything to go well. There was a lot riding on this event. If it went the way she hoped, they’d receive a steady stream of referrals and visits from locals eager to try out the new menu.
When Mandy arrived at Mimi’s Place, the only other person there was Paul and he was busy in the kitchen getting all the food ready. A delivery from the florists arrived while Mandy was settling in and she placed the flowers around the dining room. Gary was right behind them, and a few minutes later both Jill and Emma arrived.
The plan was that the party would be like a big open house, with some food set out on stations where guests could help themselves to cheese and crackers, shrimp cocktail, various dips and chips and fresh vegetables. Servers would make the rounds with appetizers like the mini-lobster pot pies and short rib tater tots and seafood chowder. Paul had also made a seafood stuffed mushroom that he was planning to put on the menu. They were smothered in a rich cream sauce and were already one of Mandy’s favorites.
Gina manned the bar and while they’d debated doing an open bar, they decided instead to go with more food and a cash bar, thinking people would pay more attention to the food that way and would drink more responsibly if they were paying for their own drinks. They did go with a few drink specials, a discounted rate on several wines and beers which made it easier for Gina as most people took advantage of the specials and she didn’t have to make as many kinds of drinks.