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“You’re going to do great,” Will added. “And you all have a big role in how successful this evening will be, so thank you for being willing to serve.”
After explaining when they’d be eating their meal that evening, Will and Janessa assigned tables to the teens, then set them to work putting pitchers of water and juice on the tables. People started to arrive, each one being greeted by Evelyn, who stood at the podium at the door.
As the evening progressed, Will and Janessa kept the servers on track and focused. Will thought that he and Janessa worked well as a team, just like the teens were also working well together.
They managed to serve the plates of food without spilling anything. Each team of two servers was responsible for a couple of tables, and once all the food had been served, one of the team went to eat while the other kept an eye on their assigned tables.
Janessa went to eat with the first group, then Will ate with the second one. They didn’t linger over their meals, and soon they were all available to clear the tables and serve dessert, coffee, and tea.
The program started as they were serving dessert, and Will was so glad that Evelyn had chosen a couple of other people to emcee. They did a much better job than he would have ever done. Janessa probably could have done fine, but not with him.
“I think that went pretty well,” Janessa said once the program was over, and they were helping to clean up.
“It went very well,” Will agreed, relieved that the most stressful part was now over.
They helped the servers clear off the tables, then, once most of the guests had left, they began to break them down. There were people helping wash dishes in the kitchen, so all that was left for the servers was to put the tables and chairs back into the storage room. A handful of men were also helping with that, so it didn’t take too long.
Though the emcees had thanked the servers for their work, Will gathered them together again once the room was put back to normal.
“I want to thank each of you for your hard work today,” he said. “I’m sure that there were any number of things you could have been doing that would have been more fun. So, thank you for being generous with your time. You were an essential part of how well this evening unfolded.”
“You all made this very easy for me and Will,” Janessa added. “We really appreciate that.”
After a few of the teens shared their thoughts on the evening, they filtered out of the basement.
“I was trying to keep a positive outlook on this evening, but that actually went better than I thought it would,” Janessa said as she watched the teens leave.
Will chuckled. “Me too. I was hoping for the best, but kinda prepared for the worst.”
Janessa smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “I would never have been able to tell that from how you dealt with everything.”
“I think it comes from being a teacher. Every time I hand out a test, I tell the kids they’re going to do great, but honestly, I know there are at least five who are going to fail.”
Before Janessa could reply, Evelyn approached them, a relaxed smile on her face.
“That went so smoothly,” she said. “Thank you very much for being in charge of the servers. I feel like the evening surpassed all expectations.”
“I think the food was some of the best we’ve ever had,” Will said. “It was amazing.”
“It was excellent,” Evelyn agreed. “And your serving team did a superb job. We couldn’t have managed without them.”
“I’m just glad that you switched us to organizing the servers instead of hosting the program,” Janessa said.
Evelyn chuckled. “I think we can agree that everyone ended up where they should be for this event.”
“Yep. I would agree with that,” Will said.
“Hopefully, our next dinner goes as well.” Evelyn smiled at them. “Can I count on you two?”
Janessa looked at Will with lifted brows, clearly expecting him to respond to that.
“Well, it would depend a lot on when we’re talking about,” Will said, unwilling to commit himself without more details.
“It will probably be Christmas. I think there is talk of a Christmas banquet.”
“I make no promises,” Will said. “But I’ll consider it, depending on the date.”
“Me too.”
