“Anything special on the menu today?”
“Chicken Fried Steak,” Richie said.
“Ohhh, my favorite,” Cristie said.
“Yep. It’s popular. We usually sell out early,” Richie said.
“He’s not working you too hard, is he?” Cristie asked Remi.
Remi continued cooking and didn’t answer.
“Remi?” she asked.
Remi looked toward her.
“I asked if he was working you too hard,” Cristie said.
“Oh. Sorry. No, not at all. It’s a refreshing difference from being on top of a roof all day long.”
“When the spring time is in full swing, you’ll be looking for a work crew to join,” Cristie said with a smile.
“Maybe. We’ll see,” Remi said, turning his attention back to the grill.
Cristie stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, then pushed her hands into her pockets and shrugged. “Well, I guess I’ll be on my way, then.”
Remi took off the clear plastic gloves he wore while preparing food for their customers and walked over to the coffee station. He took a disposable plastic quart bottle from between the two filled coffee pots, then headed back toward Cristie, stopping at the warming lights to take a brown paper bag from under the lights, then stopped right in front of her. “Don’t forget to eat. You have busy days,” he said, holding out the quart of coffee and the paper bag of food toward her.
“What’s this?” she asked, feigning ignorance.
“Your favorite sandwich, a hash brown patty, and a quart of coffee with enough sugar to kill an elephant.”
She took the quart of coffee and the bag of food and held them both to her chest, as she looked at him. “Thank you, Remi. I really appreciate this.”
“You’re welcome.” He turned away from her and went back to his place at the grill, reaching for a fresh set of gloves to wear. He looked up at the clock on the wall above his work station. “About time to get lunch started, Richie,” he said, dismissing Cristie by switching his attention from her to his job.
She watched him working for a few seconds more, then walked toward the door to leave the kitchen. She stopped and turned back to Remi and Richie both focused on their jobs. “Remi, I was thinking that if you have some extra time this evening after work, maybe we could go get some shopping done. I remembered that you haven't had a chance to personalize your place and thought I might help.”
He looked up at her, his hands going still for the first time since she’d arrived. “You want to take me shopping?” he asked.
“Yeah. I mean, I’d like to, if you wanted to get some done, I could take you and help you pick out a few things here and there.”
He looked at Richie. “You think I need something in my house?”
“Yeah. It still looks like it’s a guest house. No personality, just sufficing. Make it yours,” Richie said.
Remi thought about it. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”
“It’ll be fun,” Cristie said.
Remi cut his eyes disbelievingly toward her.
“Oh, come on. It will be fun.”
“Alright. We can go pick out a few things I guess. I just don’t really know what to buy. It’s already got everything I need.”
“But it’s decorated like all the other guest homes. It’s generic. I’ll help you make it special.”
“Okay, I guess.”
