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With that, we moved to the table, and I noticed her wince when she tried to sit down again.
“Sore?” I asked.
“It wasn’t bothering me as much when I was busy.”
“It’s always worse when you get a chance to take a break. All the adrenaline fades.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s it. It’s been nice to be so busy, though. That was always the dream when we opened the place. To see lots of faces coming in, enjoying the food, or taking it home to enjoy with their families. Food has always been such an important part of our lives,” she said as her mother hummed to herself as she straightened up behind the counter.
“Is that why the menu is so diverse?” I asked, not wanting to let her know I already knew why it was, that she and her mom had traveled. It would be beyond fucking creepy for her to figure out that we’d looked into her.
“Yes. My mom and I traveled all the time while I was growing up. We’ve tried every regional meal known to mankind, I swear. And we always used to talk about bringing those recipes my mom learned back to a restaurant one day to share it with other people who maybe aren’t fortunate enough to get to do so much travel.”
“Did you always plan on settling here?” I asked, digging into my food that was, admittedly, really fucking good. And since I was raised in a foodie family, some of whom owned restaurants, yeah, I knew a thing or two about good food.
“No. This was complete happenstance, really. My grandparents had passed, and we ended up in New York state, going through the house, cleaning it out, and then putting it up for sale.
“Afterward, we decided we kind of needed a break. Some sun, the beach, something to lift our spirits. So we ended up in Jersey. And, I don’t know, something just clicked, I guess. It felt right. We’ve always liked having all the seasons. We would drive up to New England in the fall to see the foliage, then head to Florida or California in the summers to enjoy the beach. And we’d spent many a cold winter in Vermont or Colorado, so we could enjoy the snow.”
“And you guys get a little bit of everything here. Plus the beach. It felt right. So we decided to settle down, and start working on the restaurant. And the rest…” she said, waving out an arm.
“Do you miss it?” I asked. “Traveling?”
“You know, I thought I would miss it more than I do,” she admitted. “But I think we were both kind of full up on those sorts of experiences. My mom had obviously been traveling even longer than I had. I’m sure there will be times that I am itching to see something or go somewhere. But that’s what vacations are for.
“Wow. That was a lot,” she admitted, giving me an apologetic smile.
“Not at all,” I said, shaking my head. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know.”
“Did you grow up here?”
“Oh, yeah. My family has been here for generations. Since, I believe the story goes, they came over from the Old Country. Landed in New York, and came right over here, set up shop, and the rest…” I said.
“Has anyone left?”
“No, actually,” I said, kind of impressed by that myself. “I mean, some go away to college for a few years, but everyone always comes back. I guess it feels right here for all of us too.”
“That’s nice, though. Everyone is always around for holidays, no one worrying about who is flying in, or where they are going to stay.”
“Yeah. Holidays are always easier when everyone can just head home after. And our holidays are an all-day event. Hell, birthdays and random summer barbecues are all-day events.”
“Well, that’s a lot of people to catch up with,” she said, smiling. Again, there was that hint of wistfulness.
And I almost blurted out an invite to our next event.
It was the chirp on the door that stopped me.
This time, not one of my family members.
Just a local family that heard about the shooting, and wanted to support a small business in town that they hadn’t heard about.
By the time the restaurant closed up for the day, Savannah looked fucking dead on her feet. And it seemed like there was still work to be done.
But Sunshine kept casting worried glances toward her fading daughter, clearly torn.
“How about I give her a ride home?” I asked Sunshine when her daughter was out of earshot. “Get her settled? That way, you can finish up here without worrying about her.”
“You are one good man,” she said, giving me a grateful smile. “I would appreciate that. But, Nino,” she said, dragging my attention back to her.
