Christmas at the Restaurant

by Pamela M. Kelley

  “They are? Oh, good. This will be fun. Yes, of course we can include them. I’ll let Paul know the final count is plus two.”

  Mandy and Emma both acted as managers, pitching in as needed and doing just about everything. Emma spent most of her time in the dining room and the kitchen, expediting orders and checking to make sure customers were enjoying their meals. Mandy handled more of the operations work, overseeing the front reservations desk and greeting their regulars.

  Their first customer of the day was Connie Boyle, one of their favorite regulars. She had also been one of their grandmother’s closest friends, and she lived at Dover Falls, the assisted living community where Grams had also lived. Connie was in her early eighties and was energetic and very social. She came in two or three times a week, often with a few of her girlfriends, but sometimes on her own, especially if she came at lunchtime.

  “Hi, Connie, nice to see you. Would you like to sit at the bar today? Or in the dining room by a window?”

  Connie thought about it for a moment. “I don’t suppose Gina is working?”

  “No, she’s off today, and she usually works evenings.” Gina was an assistant manager and oversaw the bar area. Gina was great and filled in for either Mandy or Emma when they were off. She was very experienced in the restaurant industry and had worked at one of the top Italian restaurants in Boston before moving to Nantucket.

  “Okay, then I’ll take the window seat, please.” Mandy smiled as she grabbed a menu and led Connie to her table, a small cozy one by a pretty bay window that overlooked Main Street. She knew if Gina had been working, then Connie would have chosen the bar. Gina had that effect on people and had many regulars that knew her schedule and came in specifically to sit at the bar and see her. Gina had a way of making people feel like they were friends and they loved chatting with her.

  “Are you looking forward to the Stroll this weekend? Or will you steer clear of the crowds?” Mandy asked. She knew many of the locals appreciated what the Nantucket Stroll did for the island, but it was also a double-edged sword as the size of the crowds rivaled the busy summer season and many chose to avoid it.

  But Connie laughed. “Of course. I’m looking forward to it. A few of the girls and I will be part of the caroling team. We do it every year.”

  Mandy smiled, picturing Connie singing Christmas carols with the others. There was a group every year that walked along the cobblestone streets downtown singing festive carols.

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “It’s great fun! We’ll probably stop in for lunch either Saturday or Sunday.”

  “Wonderful, we look forward to it.” Mandy handed her the menu and let her know that her server, Stacy, would be right over.

  They were busier than usual for a Monday lunch. People steadily stopped in, and the dining room was soon full, with a waiting list. Mandy guessed that there were already people arriving on the island for the holiday weekend and making a vacation of it. She noticed that Connie had set her credit card on her bill and knew Stacy was picking up an order in the kitchen, so she went over to run it for her.

  “How was everything?” Mandy asked as she picked up the bill and card.

  “Delicious as usual, dear. I almost always get the same thing you know. Best eggplant parmesan on the island.”

  Mandy smiled. She knew Connie’s love for their eggplant. She’d been surprised when she first started working at the restaurant to discover that most of the regulars ordered the same one or two meals every time they came in.

  “Thank you. It’s one of my favorites too. I’ll be right back with this for you.”

  She returned a few minutes later with the credit card and receipt and set it on the table along with a pen for Connie to sign. Connie looked thoughtful as she picked up the pen. Mandy was about to walk off to greet a new party that was waiting to be seated when Connie spoke. “It’s a shame about Stacy’s husband. Terrible time of year to be laid off and they have three small children too. I hope he finds something soon. She’s a nice girl, that Stacy.”

  Mandy was caught off guard. She hadn’t heard about the layoff. She didn’t know what to say other than to agree with her. “It is a terrible time.” She realized that she didn’t know what kind of work Stacy’s husband did.

  Connie looked deep in thought for a moment before smiling and asking, “Your husband does something with finance too, doesn’t he? I don’t really know what John does, but maybe it’s something similar?”

  “I’ll see what I can find out. Thank you.” Mandy felt bad that she hadn’t known about the layoff. She imagined it must be a stressful time for Stacy and her family.

  Later that afternoon as the shift was winding down and the day servers were getting ready to leave, Mandy walked over to where Stacy was doing her closing sidework, rolling silverware into a dinner napkin and stacking the bundles in a bin so they could be easily grabbed for the evening service.

  “I was chatting with Connie Boyle and she mentioned that John was laid off. I’m sorry, Stacy, I had no idea.”

  Stacy looked uncomfortable and looked away. “I haven’t really talked about it much. I did want to see if there might be any extra shifts I could pick up for the next few weeks? I’m happy to fill in if anyone wants a day off.”

  “Of course.” Mandy thought for a moment, mentally running through the week’s schedule which she’d just updated that morning so it was fresh in her mind. “Would you like to help with the wine dinner? I could use an extra server since the count has gone up. It should be a fun, and easy night.”

  Stacy nodded and looked grateful. “I’d love that, thank you.”

  “What kind of work does your husband do?”

  “He was an analyst with a Boston-based financial services firm. They were just acquired and had a big layoff a few weeks ago. John is one of the newer employees and works remotely so he was caught in the layoff. He’s been sending out resumes but all the jobs he’s finding are in the city.”

  “I can’t promise anything, but if you want to email me a copy of his resume, I can give it to my ex-husband. His company is headquartered in Boston too, but he works out of the Nantucket office and has a small team here. I don’t know if he needs anyone, but I can at least give him John’s resume.”

  “Really? That would be wonderful. I’ll send it to you as soon as I get home.”

  Chapter 2

  Jill turned at the sound of a bell ringing in the office bull pen where most of their recruiters sat in an open space. She knew what that meant. She smiled, pushed her chair back and walked out of her spacious corner office with its floor-to-ceiling glass windows and stunning city views. Her husband and business partner, Billy Carmenetti, was a few steps ahead of her and had his hand up to high-five Emily, their newest hire, on making her first placement.

  “Fantastic job, Em. That was a tough one. Did the counteroffer happen the way you expected?”

  Emily nodded. She was a pretty girl, in her mid-twenties, and this was her first job in recruiting. She’d joined the company after working for several years in marketing at one of the city’s top financial services firms. Her salary was good, but she’d been bored with her job and had come in to meet with Billy regarding a search he was working on. But once he met her, Billy had another idea and had Jill meet her, too. Without him saying a thing about what he was thinking, Jill made the same suggestion, and asked Emily if she’d ever thought about recruiting? She hadn’t. But once it was presented to her, Emily immediately saw the potential and became excited about the opportunity.

  “Yes, it happened exactly the way you and Jill said it would. And I told him to expect that he’d get the counteroffer because they wouldn’t want to lose him. He didn’t believe me, because he’d asked for a raise before looking and they’d told him it wasn’t possible, that they couldn’t afford it. Suddenly they came up with the money and he was flattered enough to sleep on it, but in the morning he realized they’d lied to him and he wondered what else they would lie about,
so he knew accepting this offer was the right choice.”

  “I’m so proud of you, Emily. Hold on…” There was a knock at the front door as Jill went into her office and to the small wine refrigerator that she kept well-stocked with various wines—and for occasions like this, bottles of Veuve Cliquot champagne. She pulled out a bottle and a bag of plastic champagne glasses from her closet and brought everything back to the bull pen.

  Billy was signing a charge slip for the stack of pizzas that had just been delivered. They’d ordered lunch in as Billy and Jill were leaving later that afternoon to fly to Nantucket for the rest of the month. And now they had something to celebrate too. Jill opened the champagne and poured a small amount into eighteen glasses, so that everyone in the company could toast to Emily’s first placement.

  Everyone grabbed a slice or two of pizza and gathered in their big conference room. While they ate, Billy led a job order meeting, where everyone gave status updates on all their open searches and candidate interview activity. When they finished the updates, he grinned and added, “So, any other non-work news? How’s everyone doing?”

  “I came in third last weekend in my first Iron Man competition,” Rick said shyly. Jill was impressed. Rick was in great shape, but Jill knew how tough the Iron Man was, a triathlon where they had to run, swim and bike. It sounded horrible to her, but she knew it was quite an accomplishment.

  “Rick, congrats! That is amazing.”

  David, one of their newly married recruiters, reached for his wallet and proudly pulled out an ultrasound picture.

  “Some of you already know this, but Jenna and I just learned yesterday that we’re having a boy!”

  The room erupted in a chorus of congratulations and back slapping. Jill caught Billy’s gaze and he grinned and raise his eyebrows. She knew what he was suggesting. He was dying for her to get pregnant. He knew not to mention it again though. She’d made it clear that she wasn’t ready yet. Although she’d known Billy for what felt like forever now, it was as friends and business partners. Being a couple and now a married one was new and Jill wanted to enjoy their alone time for a bit longer, ideally a year or two before they started to try for having a baby.

  They decided to close the office early and gave everyone the afternoon off, which was unexpected and much appreciated by the staff. It felt like the right thing to do, since they were ducking out early and wouldn’t be there for over a month. They’d still be working part-time remotely though from Nantucket, so they could keep up with their current activity and hopefully close a few more searches. Thanks to technology, like Zoom group calls, they’d be able to still meet with the team for update meetings.

  They’d brought their luggage with them to the office, so they could head right to the airport when they left. It was a clear day, cold but sunny. They had a smooth flight to Nantucket and landed a little before four. Mandy was there to pick them up and had the kids with her. Jill loved that Brooke and Blake were so excited to see her. She’d grown close to her niece and nephew during the year that she’d spent on Nantucket, when she and her sisters worked together at the restaurant. She’d been happy to go home to Manhattan when the year was up, but it had been a very good year and a wonderful chance to spend time with her family—they’d all grown closer and it had been a hard year in some ways for Emma and Mandy. Both were going through divorces and it helped to be there and support each other.

  Jill was glad that Emma was so happy with Paul now and it sounded like Mandy and Matt were doing well. Both Jill and Emma wondered about that though. Mandy had married Cory soon after college and really hadn’t dated much at all. Jill had hoped that once Mandy’s divorce was final that she’d get out there and date lots of different men and enjoy herself. Instead, she and Matt found each other and her sister didn’t seem to have any interest in dating anyone else. Which Jill was pretty sure was a mistake.

  * * *

  Emma was looking forward to seeing her sister, Jill, and her husband, Billy. Mandy was picking them up at the airport and had invited her and Paul to join them for dinner. Paul couldn’t make it as he had to work, but it was Emma’s night off and she’d made Jill’s favorite appetizer, a creamy, hot artichoke and spinach dip. When Jill had lived with her at Grams’ house for a year, they’d often had the dip as their dinner, along with a glass or two of good chardonnay.

  Emma had enjoyed living with Jill. They’d grown closer after years of living on opposite sides of the country. Jill had started the year very much single, while Emma had been trying to mentally process the news that her husband of many years preferred men. She hadn’t seen it coming at all, though in retrospect the signs were there. She’d just missed them all because she hadn’t ever been looking for them.

  But as their grandmother had often said, ‘everything happens for a reason’ and seeing Paul again was unexpected yet familiar. They’d been childhood sweethearts and had grown apart as young people often do. The years fell away once they began working together, and she suspected her grandmother knew exactly what she was doing when she left Mimi’s Place equally to her three granddaughters and her executive chef, Paul. Emma resisted revisiting the idea of a relationship with Paul until it was inevitable. Now she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.

  Emma parked in Mandy’s circular driveway, grabbed the dip and bottle of chardonnay from the backseat and started toward the front door. She paused for a moment to admire Mandy’s holiday lighting. The outside of the house and the tall bushes on either side of the front farmer’s porch were all decorated with soft white lights. In the distance, just beyond Mandy’s house, Emma could see a boat on the water that was also lit up with holiday lights. Through the big bay window that looked into the kitchen, she could see Mandy stirring something on the stove, while Jill and Billy sat at the kitchen island laughing.

  She knocked on the door to let them know she’d arrived and walked in. Jill and Billy came over to greet her when she stepped into the kitchen.

  “I’m so glad you didn’t have to work tonight,” Jill said as she gave her a big hug. Billy did the same and asked if she wanted a glass of the wine they’d just opened.

  “I’d love one, thanks.” Emma set her casserole dish with the dip on the stove.

  “Is that hot? Or should we pop it into the oven to heat up?” Mandy asked.

  “Is that our dip?” Jill said excitedly.

  “It is.” Emma turned to Mandy. “I think a few minutes in the oven might be good. It’s warm, but it could be a little hotter.” Mandy popped it in the already-hot oven, next to a bigger pan. “Are those—” Emma didn’t even have to finish the sentence before Mandy nodded.

  “Yes, the Cape scallops. I haven’t had them yet this year and Jack was just putting them out at Trattel’s Seafood when I stopped in.”

  “Yum,” Emma said. Cape scallops were only available for a few months every year and they were smaller than the usual sea scallops and so much sweeter. They were also much more expensive because there was such a limited supply of them.

  Billy handed her a glass of wine as she slid into the third open chair at the island, next to Jill. “What’s in the pot?” Emma asked as Mandy added some liquid and gave it another stir.

  “I’m trying Paul’s recipe for lobster and corn risotto. Thought it would go well with the scallops.”

  “That sounds perfect. Can I do anything to help?” Emma offered.

  “No, I’m good. Actually, I think I’m ready for a glass of wine now too. I was drinking tea earlier.” She poured herself a glass, gave the risotto a stir and then checked on the dip, which Emma could see was starting to bubble when Mandy opened the door. Emma jumped up to get a platter to put the hot dish on and Mandy carefully took it out of the oven, set it on the platter and put it right in front of Jill, who laughed and immediately reached for a toasted pita chip to scoop up the dip.

  “This is so good, Em. I haven’t had it since we were last here.”

  “Maybe you should get the recipe and make it
for us at home sometime,” Billy teased her after he took a bite.

  Jill laughed. “I really should do that. So, Emma how are things with you and Paul? Any wedding bells on the horizon?”

  Emma made a face. She knew Jill was teasing her. “It’s going great. I think we’ll probably eventually get engaged, but neither one of us is in any rush.” She realized that wasn’t entirely true. “Well, maybe Paul is ready now. I haven’t quite caught up to him. But, we’re very happy.”

  Mandy glanced at Jill and Billy. “I’m not sure if I updated you, but we added you both to the list for the wine dinner tomorrow night. You’ll be sitting with us. Emma and I are technically working it, but we’ll be able to relax and enjoy it too. I added another server, so there’s plenty of help.”

  “Oh, good. We can help too. I hope you’re definitely going to put us to work while we’re here?”

  Mandy nodded. “Yes, I’ve been thinking about that. I thought we could use Billy at the front of the house with me, greeting people and checking reservations and we can always use you at the bar, to give Gina a break.”

  “Perfect,” Jill said. “How is Gina?”

  “She’s good.” Mandy frowned. “I don’t think she’s all that keen on the holidays. I invited her to join us for Christmas dinner as her family isn’t doing anything this year, but she didn’t commit.”

  “They’re not?” Jill looked surprised.

  “Her mother remarried her father earlier this year. She said they are like lovesick newlyweds and are on a cruise around the world. She thinks they will be somewhere near Spain on Christmas. They invited her to fly in and join them there, but she said that seemed too complicated,” Emma said.