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“Hopefully I’m not overestimating the interest we’ll have for this.”
“I think we’ll have at least this many.” She put the bags she carried down on the table he’d set up against the wall. “And if we don’t, we’ll have to recruit aggressively so we have enough people to help out.”
They discussed what the committee had decided as far as the count for tables.
“We should have at least one server per table. Maybe even two,” Janessa said. “So we’ll probably need more than ten.”
“Are you and I supposed to serve as well?” Will asked, watching as Janessa set out the drinks she’d brought.
“I’m willing to, but only if it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Hopefully I remember how to do it. It’s been a few years since I last served.”
“Yeah. Me, too. I did have a part-time waitress job for a while during college, so at least my experience is a bit more recent than the dinners I served at here.”
Will nodded. “I helped at pretty much any church banquet. Christmas. Valentine’s Couples Dinner. Fall Dinner. So, I have done it, but it’s definitely been awhile.”
“Maybe it’s like riding a bike. You never forget how.”
Serving at a church banquet wasn’t the most difficult thing, but they still wanted those who volunteered to be able to do it gracefully and without dumping food or water on people.
When people began to show up, they arrived in groups, but that wasn’t very surprising, considering they were mainly teens. He knew from his job at the high school that most teens travelled in packs.
“Hi, Mr. Kennedy,” one of the girls said as she walked in with her friends.
“Hi, Melody. Thanks for coming.”
“Sure thing. I think it’ll be fun.”
That was a great attitude, and he hoped she continued to have it, even if the reality turned out to be different from her initial expectation.
The chairs filled up quickly, and soon, Will was setting up more chairs with the help of a couple of the teens boys he knew from his classes.
“Thanks,” he told them once they had a few more chairs set up.
When seven o’clock arrived, Janessa asked those who were still standing to find their seats. Will stood at the front of the room with her, but leaned against the wall, giving Janessa centerstage.
“Thank you for showing up,” she said. “Will—or Mr. Kennedy, as he’s known to many of you—and I have been tasked with organizing people to serve at the Fall Dinner. If you’re here tonight, you are offering your time and skills to serve the people who have reserved seats at the dinner. If you thought this meeting was about something else, now’s your chance to leave.”
Janessa stopped talking and looked around the room. No one moved, and most sat with smiles on their faces.
“Wonderful! This is a great turn-out, and we’re thrilled that you decided to come.” She glanced over at Will, as if she was expecting him to contribute, but this was her department. So instead of saying anything, he gave her two thumbs up. She laughed, as did the other people in the room. “Okay. Let’s talk a bit about expectations, and then we’ll answer questions.”
Will leaned back against the wall as Janessa launched into the stuff they’d talked about during the week, along with suggestions made at the previous committee meetings. She was really good at presenting everything, keeping the group laughing and engaged through little quips and jokes interspersed with the more dull stuff.
She would have made a great teacher. Any subject she taught would have been interesting to the kids. He didn’t think he was a bad teacher, but he taught a subject that wasn’t given to much humor and lighthearted interactions. Few in his class were passionate about math the way Will was. So even if he made math-oriented jokes, usually they would go over the heads of most the kids.
As they moved into the questions, Will admired the way Janessa interacted with each person. When one of the girls raised her hands, Janessa nodded at her. “What’s your question, Sarah?”
“Are you and Mr. Kennedy dating?”
Will’s body locked up, and even Janessa seemed to freeze for a moment. She glanced over her shoulder at him before she answered.
“Your question is not relevant to the topic at hand,” she said. “But since not answering it would just feed into your curiosity, I’ll tell you the truth.”
She hesitated for a moment, then walked over to Sarah and bent over to whisper in her ear. The teen rolled her eyes and gave a huff.
“Would you like to share the answer with the class?” Janessa asked as she took up her position once again.
