Rest in Pizza (3 page)
Authors: Chris Cavender
“Congratulations,” I said, and I saw Jason and Phil begin another celebratory whoop when the older woman iced them with one glance.
“Thank you. I apologize for the disturbance, and we’ll do our best to keep it down. Now, are our pizzas ready?”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t realize that you’ve been here long enough to order,” I said, confused by her question.
“We called yesterday to let you know we were coming.”
I shook my head. “You didn’t speak with me.” Since Josh hadn’t worked yesterday, they must have either talked to Maddy or Greg.
“Either one of you take an order for Fox yesterday?” I asked them.
They both denied it, and I turned back to the lady. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but there seems to be some confusion.”
“Please, my name is Louise.” She looked down the table and spotted a middle-aged woman dressed a little too nicely for my pizza place. “Michelle, are you certain you called yesterday?”
“Of course I did, Mother,” she said, sounding for an instant like the teenager she must have been at one point in her life.
“You called A Slice of Delight?” Louise asked.
“I’ve got the number stored right here on my phone,” Michelle said, and then recited seven numbers. They did indeed make up a telephone number. Just not mine.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not our number.”
Louise’s gaze narrowed. “Michelle? To whom did you speak?”
“I got a recording, so I left a message.”
I shook my head. “We didn’t get it, since it wasn’t our phone number. If you have half an hour, we’d be glad to make something special for you.”
“We’ll wait,” Louise said.
“Give Maddy your order, and I’ll be glad to get busy making it,” I said. “Thanks for coming to A Slice of Delight.”
“You’re most welcome.”
I went back into the kitchen, and less than a minute later, Maddy came in with their order. As I got busy making pizzas, Maddy lingered and asked, “Is it just me, or did that woman remind you of Principal Jeffries?”
I laughed as I worked. “It gave me the willies,” I admitted. “She had to be a principal at one point in her life.”
“Or a teacher, at the very least. She surely knows how to keep that crowd in line, doesn’t she?”
“I could take a lesson from her,” I said as I slid the first pizza onto the conveyor.
“I don’t know, you’ve got a pretty commanding voice yourself,” Maddy said.
“Shouldn’t you be getting their drink orders?” I asked.
Maddy headed back for the door with a grin. “See? Goosebumps,” she said as she headed back out front.
After the pizzas were in line on the conveyor, I took some of my cookie dough out and made them a specialty dessert pizza, on the house. After all, it was a big deal for them having a member of their clan graduate.
When it was finished, I brought it out, with a single candle on top. “Happy Graduation,” I said as I slid the treat pizza in front of Ashley.
Louise looked touched by the gesture, and I didn’t even mind the brief cheer that went up from the group.
As I walked back into the kitchen, Harry Tompkins, an irascible old goat with a thick skin, said, “Hey, don’t I get something, too?”
Bob Hygart, who was sitting with him, said, “Charm school doesn’t count, and besides, you flunked out, remember?”
“At least they let me enroll,” Harry said with a grin.
I knew the two of them could go on that way for hours, so I ducked back into the kitchen, just partly because I needed to get back to work.
Maddy came back twenty minutes later with a new order, and a request. “Her ladyship requests an audience,” she said.
It took me a second to figure out that she must be referring to Louise. “Send her back.”
Louise came in, and said, “I hate to bother you, but I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of my family. The celebratory pizza dessert was an especially nice touch, but I won’t let you donate it. We Foxes pay as we go. We always have, and we always will.”
“I really didn’t make it to drum up business,” I said. “It was a gift.”
Louise seemed to take that in, and then said, “Then my tip will be generous to the point of covering its cost as well.”
She started to leave when I asked, “Louise, where were you principal?”
“Jenkins Elementary,” she said automatically, and then caught herself. “How on earth did you know? Were you one of my students?”
“No, ma’am, but you have that voice that’s filled with authority.”
She smiled at that. “Good to know that I haven’t lost that. Have a pleasant evening, Eleanor.”
“And you as well,” I said, fighting the urge to curtsey, of all things.
Despite the initial volume of their party, I was glad they’d chosen A Slice of Delight to celebrate. It made the place feel like a part of someone’s family, something I always cherished.
We were closing for the night when the kitchen door opened. Without looking up from the pizza I was making, I said, “I hope this is our last order tonight. We’re locking the doors after I make that one.”
“As long as I’m on the right side of the door, you can shut it all down now if you’d like,” said a voice I was learning to enjoy.
“David, when did you get back into town?” I rushed over to him and gave him a big hug, despite my less than pristine apron. He’d been at his main office in Raleigh, and though he’d only been gone three days, I’d already found myself missing him. It was taking some getting used to, having a man back in my life, but for the most part, I was enjoying it. It was tough, but I was finally beginning to see that letting someone else into my heart didn’t mean that I was shutting Joe, my late husband, out of it.
“Don’t get too excited. I’ve got to go back tomorrow,” he said, “But I missed you too much to stay away. Any chance we could get a pizza to go and eat it on your front porch? I’ve always enjoyed doing that.”
“I think that’s an absolutely wonderful idea,” I said. “What kind of pizza did you have in mind?”
“A kitchen sink pizza sounds good to me,” he said. “I’ve been eating too much junk lately, so a few veggies might just be good for me. I always loved your garbage pizzas.”
I didn’t take offense, because I knew that he wasn’t using the term in a derogatory way. Maddy and I often referred to our super deluxe pizzas that way ourselves. As I prepped a crust for us, I said, “Some folks around town are serious when they classify what I serve here that way.”
David looked at me with mock surprise on his face. “Your garbage pizza has more vegetables on it than a well-stocked salad bar. Point me to the rascals who say otherwise and I’ll thrash them soundly for you.”
“You’re in a good mood,” I said with a smile as I topped the pizza with anything and everything that sounded tasty to me.
“Why shouldn’t I be?” he asked as he hugged me from behind and nuzzled my neck for a few seconds. “My professional life is going well, and my personal life isn’t half-bad, either.”
“Is there anything in particular that you’re thankful for?” I asked.
He pulled away and looked at me intently as I turned around. “Eleanor, are you fishing for compliments? If you are, I don’t have a problem with that. Just say the word, and I’ll bury you in words of high praise.”
I laughed at David as I threw a nearby towel at him. Since he’d come back to town, he was a different man in so many ways. Most of all, the things I liked best were that he’d found his sense of humor, and he’d developed a willingness to give me as much space as I needed, whenever I required it. David had told me that he was just happy to be in my life, and so far he’d proved it, with no demands on my time or attention. Whenever we could get together was just fine with him, an attitude that made me want to spend even more and more time with him.
“Save your flattery for a day when I really need it,” I said with a smile. “Right now, I’m good. It’s going to be about twelve minutes, and if we all pitch in and hurry, we’ll be able to get out of here by then.”
David grinned. “Maddy and Greg have already taken care of the front. The tables are clean and the floor is swept. Is there anything I can do to help expedite things around here so we can go to your place and eat that pizza?”
I knew that it wasn’t an idle offering. David had proved time and time again in the past that he wasn’t afraid of sweeping up or even doing dishes if the occasion called for it. I decided to take him up on his generous offer. “You can finish those dishes, and I’ll try to balance out the cash register, if you really want to get out of here early.”
He grabbed a spare apron on the rack and said, “Just watch me.”
I found Maddy and Greg finishing up the front when I went to run the report on our cash register and take out the till. Everything out front looked good to go for tomorrow, and I was pleased yet again about how well my team worked together. “Everything looks perfect. You two can take off.”
Greg didn’t wait around, but Maddy lingered for a moment after he was gone. “Planning a little late-night rendezvous, are we?” she asked.
I gave her a big smile. “Yes, but not here. As soon as I balance the register, we’re heading out.”
“I can stay and do the dishes if you want me to,” Maddy offered.
“Thanks, but David’s already doing them.”
Maddy just smiled as she handed me her apron. “Wow, I can’t believe you convinced him to do the dishes.”
“I didn’t have to,” I said smugly. “He volunteered.”
“Then I’d say he’s a keeper.”
“Bob’s done dishes here before, too,” I said, remembering a time he’d helped out in order to make up with me after we’d had a squabble.
“That might just be one of the reasons that he’s still around,” she said with a smile. “It sounds like you have things covered here. I’ll see you tomorrow, Sis. I’d say don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do, but why limit the amount of fun you might have tonight?”
I let her out. “Good night, Maddy.”
After she was gone, I ran the report, and found to my delight that it balanced out the first time. After making out the deposit slip, I came back into the kitchen to find David drying the last pan.
“The pizza’s ready,” he said. “It just slid out of the oven, and the only thing I have left to do is wash the pan it’s on.”
I moved the pizza to an open box, cut it, and then closed it. As I did, David picked the pan up with a dish towel and slid it into the water, along with the wheeled cutter. A short burst of steam rushed up from the sudsy water, and as I put the money in my safe, David finished drying the pan.
“Should we grab a few drinks on the way out?” I offered as I turned off the kitchen lights and we moved into the dining room.
“That sounds good. You might want to get something for you, too.”
I laughed as I got drinks out of the cooler, and then walked him to the front door.
“Where’s your car?” I asked as I looked around the promenade. There was parking there, a wide expanse of it, but you had to walk over several yards of pavers to get to the lot.
“I’m parked back beside you,” he said. “Tell you what. Why don’t I drive you home, and then I’ll bring you back here later,” David offered.
“That’s just crazy. We’ll take both cars.” I had a sudden idea. “Why don’t we make it interesting? I’ll race you to my place.”
“That sounds intriguing. What do I get when I win?”
I shoved his chest lightly. “You mean if, right?”
“Okay, if,” he conceded in a mockingly condescending voice.
“I’m not sure, but I’m certain I can come up with something suitable for the victor. Do you trust me?”
“You bet. You’re on,” he said with a grin.
I ended up winning the race, but just because I’d driven over the speed limit. The last thing I wanted was for Kevin Hurley to catch me and ticket me, but if he was out on the road that late, he wasn’t anywhere near my place.
I tried to race up onto the porch before David could get there, but I didn’t make it before I saw his headlights approach.
“No fair,” he said good-naturedly. “You broke the law getting here so quickly.”
“We didn’t set any ground rules.”
David shrugged. “So, what did you win?”
I put the pizza down, and then kissed him with my full attention. After we broke apart, he asked, “Remind me again. Who won?”
“I thought we both deserved a prize,” I said.
“I agree wholeheartedly. What should we race to next?”
We both laughed at that, and then we shared the pizza on the porch, using the glasses and utensils David always stored in a basket in his trunk for just such occasions.
After we finished eating, David leaned back in his chair and said, “Eleanor, that’s the best thing I’ve had in days.”
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