“Oops… sorry, I have to take this one. It’ll just be a second.”
Mandy raised her eyebrows at Emma as Jill started talking. “Hi Billy. No, he’s not closed. I can’t close him on a number until we know what the company is able to do.” She glanced at her watch. “I should be back by four. I’ll see you then.” She ended the call and as soon as she set the phone down it started buzzing again. She ignored it and turned her attention back to the menu, but less than a minute later she picked up the phone, checked email and began furiously typing a response. When she finished, Mandy reached over, grabbed the offensive phone and dropped it into her oversized tote bag where the constant buzzing would be muzzled.
Jill opened her mouth to protest, but Mandy cut her off. “You’ll get it back as soon as we’re done here. An hour off won’t kill you, my dear.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Jill picked up a crusty dinner roll from the basket that had just landed on the table. She ripped off a chunk of bread, smeared a bit of butter on it and popped it in her mouth.
“Is it always like that?” Emma asked. She couldn’t imagine having a job where the phone rang off the hook. It was unsettling. She preferred peace and quiet and in fact did her best work in complete silence, which allowed her to concentrate so fully that she entered an almost trance-like ‘zone’ that was so familiar to writers and other artists.
Jill laughed. “That’s nothing. You should see what it’s like in the office. It’s crazy, but I do love it.”
She really seemed to, Emma realized as she saw the glimmer of excitement in her sister’s eyes. Jill was so successful and amazing at what she did and was clearly anxious to get back to it. Emma shuddered at the very thought of what her sister did for work, though. Not in a million years could she call absolute strangers on the phone and persuade them to consider changing jobs. Emma had phone phobia. She dreaded calling anyone that she didn’t know very well, for even something as simple as scheduling a doctor’s visit.
Not for the first time, Emma marveled at how very different the three of them were. She knew that she was the quiet, creative one. Jill, the aggressive business woman and Mandy was just so polished and organized that she made everything look easy. Even now as she took charge to get the three of them focused.
“Here comes the waiter,” Mandy said as he approached their table. “We need to make some decisions here. What does everyone want?”
“I have no idea.” Emma was having a hard time deciding until another server walked by carrying two gorgeous leafy salads topped with grilled scallops. “That looks delicious.”
“It is,” the waiter assured them. “The scallops are local, from Nantucket Bay. The chef brushes them with an orange butter sauce before they go on the grill. There’s also sliced avocado, pecans and crumbled goat cheese with an orange, sesame, and ginger vinaigrette.
Emma closed her menu. “I’ll have that.”
“Me too,” Jill and Mandy both said at the same time.
“Can you tell we’re related?” Jill asked with a grin.
“It’s an excellent choice.” He smiled as he gathered up their menus.
“Okay,” Mandy began. “Seriously, what are we going to do? None of us have run a restaurant. And both of you are scheduled to be on planes home this afternoon.”
“I have quite a bit of restaurant experience actually,” Emma said. She’d been thinking about nothing else since they’d left the attorney’s office and for the first time in weeks, she felt a bit of excitement building. Maybe Grams was onto something with this strange request.
“You worked as a server. You’ve never managed a restaurant,” Mandy corrected.
“True, but I worked as a server for several years. At The Barnacle, some of the wait staff had been there for over twenty or thirty years. When it was slow, we used to sit out back and discuss how we’d do things differently. This might not be such a crazy idea after all. A year goes by quickly and it’s not like we really have a choice.” She looked around the table, then added, “Unless we’re willing to just walk away and let Paul have Mimi’s Place.”
“Well, that’s another factor—Paul. How do you feel about working with him?” Mandy asked.
Emma sighed. She’d been shocked at the news initially, but she didn’t see why it needed to change anything.
“That was another lifetime. I’m sure Paul and I could find a way to work together. We both moved on years ago.”