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As Rebecca prepared the first course for the first couple, the skillet screamed and hissed. Ben continued to prep, his eyes alight with excitement. There really was nothing like being in the kitchen of a restaurant. The adrenaline was wild.
“Ben?” Rebecca couldn’t take it anymore. She had to say something.
Ben turned to catch her eye. She could feel it; something was happening between them.
“I just wanted to thank you for your friendship,” Rebecca said. “It’s been the hardest and loneliest year of my life. But I couldn’t have imagined the past few weeks without you.”
“It’s been quite a time,” Ben agreed. “I suppose it goes without saying how lonely I’ve been over the years. But right now…” He paused and looked at his chopped onions. “Right now, I don’t feel so lonely. I feel alive. And as a veteran, you don’t know how rare that feeling is.”
Rebecca was captivated by him. She was fascinated by the stories he’d already told her and the ones still to come.
But already, Chad and Shelby were in the kitchen, telling her what their new guests had ordered. Wine needed to be poured, and the beer needed to be procured from the fridge. Esme hustled about, performing these duties. Lily, Shelby, and Chad spoke with authority; they knew that how they operated the first night of The Sutton Book Restaurant would dictate how the island of Nantucket regarded the restaurant as a whole. The restaurant had to work as it would ensure revenue for the Sutton Book Club.
The kitchen was alive. Every burner was red with heat. Steam fogged up the windows. Rebecca’s children whisked in and out, carrying beautifully-plated courses. And all the while, Ben worked diligently beside her, following her lead. Esme, too, was a trooper, pouring wine like a maniac and making jokes as she went.
Only once, midway through the third and fourth courses, did Rebecca, Ben, Esme, and all of the Vance children find themselves in the kitchen at the same time. The franticness of the evening made them quick to laugh. Outside, a burning sunset was brilliant with nostalgia. Shelby giggled at something Chad said and punched him in the upper arm, as Esme reported that everything was going “great. Just great. I can’t believe we haven’t done something like this before.”
Suddenly, Rebecca felt a song coming from her heart and soul. The lyrics for “Sentimental Journey,” first sung by Doris Day, swelled from her lips.
“Mom always sings in the kitchen,” Lily said with a smile. “It’s her thing.”
“And this is one of her favorites,” Chad reported.
Esme and Ben stopped short and watched her before they, too, began to sing. Even her children knew the lyrics, and they joined in before they had to race back out to their tables and tend to the guests.
As Rebecca continued to sing and prepare the plates for the guests, Esme placed her hand on Rebecca’s shoulder. Her eyes welled with tears. “Your grandfather sang that song all the time,” she whispered.
“I remember,” Rebecca said. “I guess it’s where I got it from.”
“Doug sings it sometimes, too.” Ben was close to breaking down. “It was the song they listened to at the end of World War II. The song reminded them they would soon be home with their loved ones. That so many people at home loved them and rooted them on.”
“And here we are together,” Esme breathed. “We’re home. We’re safe. And we have all of them to thank.”
