The visiting hours at the hospital were limited and he was feeling bored and anxious at home. He made a proposition to Annie after he dropped Kristopher off at school.
“I have an idea,” he said to her that morning when he noticed that she was awake.
Annie groaned. “Whenever you say that, I know you’re up to no good.”
“It’s not bad, and I think it’ll help out.”
“You’re not going back to work. It’s too soon.”
“I didn’t say I was going back to work. Come on now…hear me out. Now, I have no clue what happened to Michele’s because someone won’t let me go near there, but we have to survey the damage eventually. I was thinking…if it wasn’t that bad, like if it’s just a lot of stuff knocked around…and if the stoves and water are still working, maybe we could open it back up right away.”
“Absolutely not,” Annie replied.
“Hey, I’m not done yet! We could open it back up, but for the next month or so, everybody that comes in could eat for free. There’s a lot of people in this town whose homes were totally destroyed. I figure maybe we could help them out by giving them a decent meal.”
“That’s a wonderful idea!” Annie said.
“See, I thought you would like it.”
“But you have to agree to two things though.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Number one, I’m the boss of this operation.”
That was not what Ben was expecting, but there had to be a reason behind it. “Oh…uh…okay and what else?”
“When I tell you to stop working, you’ll stop and go home. No questions asked.”
“Uh, sure, I guess that’s all right.”
“Good, I’m glad you agree with me. Why don’t you call the crew and tell them to meet us at Michele’s in a couple of hours. We can figure out what to do from there.”
It was nearly eleven o’clock when they arrived at Michele’s. Ben was relieved that the outside of the building didn’t sustain any damage. Inside, it resembled an obstacle course with every chair and table tipped over and lying on its side. All the paintings they had from local artists were either hanging lopsided on the wall or were face down on the floor. In the kitchen, it seemed every pot and pan had fallen off the rack. Ben checked the stoves and the gas was still working. Annie told him they also had hot and cold running water. The electricity and phone also were in working order. The only big problem was that most of their cups and dishes were broken.
“We’re going to have to order all new ones,” Ben said, after he and Annie straightened out the shelf where they stored the restaurant’s dinnerware.
“That could take weeks,” Annie replied. “Why don’t I just go to the grocery store and get some Chinet and paper cups?”
“My food on Chinet? I don’t think so.”
“I’m sure people will understand.”
“Fine, fine, just for the meantime. But as soon as the new plates come in, we’re using those.”
“Of course. Hey, think of it this way. No one will have to wash dishes for a while.”
“I guess you have a point there.”
Ben didn’t think Annie would be able to scrounge up enough plates and cups to run the restaurant, because he assumed everyone in the city had already bought them up. He was very surprised when she returned two hours later in a white pickup truck belonging to one of their waiters. Two large palettes of supplies filled the cargo bed.
“Where did you get all that?” Ben asked her.
“Oh, I bribed the manager at Costco’s. It’s funny that they were all out until I handed him five hundred bucks. Then suddenly they had tons of paper plates and cups, with more on the way.”
“You’re a genius!” Ben replied.
“I know,” Annie said.
Chapter 90: November 2
What They Left Behind Page 91
