Breakfast and Bedlam
Day and Night Diner, Book 4
Gretchen Allen
Summer Prescott Books Publishing
Copyright 2019 Summer Prescott Books
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying, or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.
**This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Also by Gretchen Allen
Author’s Note
Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing
Chapter One
“So, how’s life?” Tyla asked. “I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever.”
Josslyn Rockwell looked at her best friend, thankful to have someone like Tyla in her life. They had known each other for a lot of years, and worked together at least a few days a week, but when their personal lives didn’t coincide, for no matter how long, they were able to just pick back up right where they left off. Things could get hectic at the diner, so even if Joss and Tyla were working the same shift, if they were having a busy day, it was possible they wouldn’t be able to do any talking at all unless it meant reminding the other to bring drink refills to table four.
“Life is pretty okay, I guess. With Luke and Lorraine out of town, I’m feeling the pressure,” Joss said, referring to the fact that her boss had not only left her in charge of the diner in his absence, but she was also responsible for house sitting while he was gone.
“You’ve got this. You know the diner like the back of your hand,” Tyla said, resting a plate on her left arm. She put one in her left hand and grabbed a third with her right. “I’ll be back.”
Joss watched Tyla as she delivered the plates to her customers with a smile. Everyone loved Tyla, and while Joss could agree that she knew the diner like the back of her hand, so did the rest of the staff. There was no reason anyone in particular had to be in charge; they were all more than capable of coming together and getting the job done, with or without someone in charge.
Tyla returned to the kitchen, where Joss was plating the next round of orders to deliver. It was a busy morning, but nothing they couldn’t handle on their own. After so many years working the same job, in the same small town, things just became second nature. “Is Mrs. Krispin coming in today?” Tyla asked, waiting as Joss got the food ready.
“She should be here shortly,” Joss replied, glancing at the clock hanging above the fridge. “She came in early all week and was supposed to have today off, but when Becky called out again, I figured Mrs. Krispin would be the perfect helper for us. She can seat people and cash them out through the lunch shift, and maybe even deliver some food for us if we get really busy.”
“Again? What is it with that woman? I mean, I know things happen, and sometimes you just can’t get out of them, but Becky has a job here that she needs to show up to. Lately, even when she is here, which isn’t all that often, it seems like she hasn’t been trying very hard.” Tyla picked up the plates from the service window and walked off, not even waiting for Joss to give her an answer.
Shaking her head, Joss knew Tyla was right. Becky had been flaking lately, and eventually, it was going to take a toll on the rest of the staff at the diner. Today, though, there was nothing that Joss could do about it other than cover Becky’s shift. Luke may have put Joss in charge, but she had the sneaking suspicion that it didn’t include him coming home to find out that she’d fired a waitress. That wasn’t her place, and Joss was more than thankful. She was happy to be good at her job, and the fact that she wasn’t actually in charge on a daily basis made her even happier. Something about the idea of firing a person, or even talking to them about their performance wasn’t something Joss was remotely interested in.
“Do you think Mrs. Krispin will do any baking today?” Tyla asked, returning to the kitchen.
“I doubt it. She’s not here to bake, anyway. Plus, I’m pretty sure there is plenty left from everything she made over the last couple of days. If this whole thing goes over well, we might just have her here more often rather than baking fresh every couple of days and then marking down the day-old stuff.”
“I think the discount days are nice,” Tyla commented, shrugging.
“Of course you do, but don’t forget to leave some for the actual customers.” Joss shook her head, knowing how big of a sweet tooth Tyla had.
“What if I learn how to bake?” Tyla asked. “I wonder if she’d teach me?”
“Maybe once we see how things go, that can be an option. I’m sure Mrs. Krispin would love teaching you, and if you’re good at it, which I’m a little skeptical about, maybe you can help her out here, so she doesn’t have to work every day.” Joss cracked an egg, scrambling it to go on top of the kielbasa skillet she’d been making.
“Well, that’s not very nice.” Tyla stuck out her tongue. “I think I’d be a great baker.”
“Did you ever wonder why no one asks you to cover the kitchen?” Joss asked, serious, yet knowing she was instigating, and loving every second of it.
“You forget to take the cardboard off the bottom of a frozen pizza before baking it one time, and no one ever lets you hear the end of it,” Tyla complained. “It didn’t even happen here, so I don’t think we have to worry about it.”
“Fair enough,” Joss agreed. “What about the time you tried making pancakes and somehow managed to drop all the batter into the fryer? I don’t recall the deep-fried pancakes you tried to pass off as the breakfast special going over very well.”
“Don’t you have work to do? This conversation isn’t very fun anymore.” Tyla grinned, scrunching her nose. “I think I hear a customer calling my name.”
Joss giggled at her friend, thinking back to all the failed attempts at cooking that Tyla had had over the years. She was a heck of a woman, and a darn good waitress, but cooking just wasn’t in the cards for her. Joss hoped that if she asked Mrs. Krispin to teach her, that Mrs. Krispin was someone with an abundance of patience, and that they held their classes anywhere but the diner. Pulling down the last of the order slips, Joss knew Tyla was right, she did have work to do. All of the orders were fulfilled, but now it was time for Joss to prep for the lunch shift.
Chapter Two
Joss swept up the last bit of crumbs on the kitchen floor and took a breath. She was glad that her time cooking was up and that Garth, one of the actual cooks at the diner, was coming in to relieve her of her duties. She didn’t get to go home quite yet, though. She still had to work the dinner shift. Joss realized she had about an hour before she really had to go on the floor and take tables, so she decided to sit at one of the booths in the back of the diner and enjoy a quick meal. Tyla had already had her break and was pushing together a couple of tables for a large party that had a reservation for dinner.
Joss placed her order with Garth, and waited in the booth, enjoying the peace and quiet. The time right after lunch, but before dinner, was never busy and was exactly what Joss needed. So far, she thought things had been going really well. Luke and Lorra
ine had been gone for a few days, and other than Becky not showing up for work, Joss had been handling everything with ease. She’d even remembered to water all the plants at their house. Last time the Priors went out of town, Joss forgot one of the plants in a spare bedroom and killed it. She wasn’t sure how much longer Luke would be away from the diner but didn’t mind helping him out in their time of need. When he’d found out that Lorraine’s mother had fallen and was in the hospital with a broken hip, he’d been just as eager to get to her has Lorraine had. Luke’s own parents were no longer living, and Lorraine’s mom, Edith, and he had become very close over the years. The thought of her being hurt had really affected Luke, and Joss knew right away that he needed her help.
“I’d like to speak to whoever is in charge, please,” a woman said, entering the diner, loud enough for Joss to hear.
“Is something wrong?” Tyla asked, rushing over to the woman.
“Unfortunately, yes. I came here the other day for lunch, and now I’m sick. I was on my way to the hospital to tell them my symptoms when I realized I should probably stop here and tell you about it,” the woman explained, her voice a bit too loud for Joss to ignore.
There wasn’t anyone in the diner aside from the staff, but the last thing anyone needed was a rumor that the diner’s food had made someone ill, true or not.
“Hi, I’m Joss. I couldn’t help but overhear what you said.”
“Oh, did you get sick, too? See, I told you!” the woman said, talking to Tyla.
“I work here. You asked for someone in charge, and that’s me,” Joss answered. “What did you say your name was?”
“Sandra,” the woman replied. “So, as I said before, I ate here for lunch, and now I’m sick. I don’t know what you all do with your food, but it’s not good.”
Joss had worked every lunch shift for the past two weeks, and she didn’t remember ever seeing this woman, but for what it was worth, it really didn’t matter. If the woman said she was sick, Joss couldn’t very well call her a liar. If the diner’s food had actually made someone ill, there would have to be a long process of checking all the food and trying to find the culprit.
“I am so sorry you aren’t feeling well. Can you tell me what you ordered?” Joss asked, observing the woman.
Sandra glanced at the board hanging on the wall that listed the specials for the day. “I don’t know exactly what it was called. It was some sort of hamburger you had on special.”
“Thank you. We are going to take a look into this immediately. It’s something to be taken very seriously. I’m so happy you came in to let us know.” Joss looked toward Tyla. “Can you please go alert Garth and help him check every last item in the building?”
“I’ll take a refund, I guess,” Sandra said, picking up a menu.
Joss hesitated. She’d already fully intended on offering a refund, but it hadn’t been discussed yet. The woman seemed sure she was going to get one.
“Just to clarify, you said it was on the specials board, right?” Joss asked.
“Uhh, yes. That’s right.” Sandra nodded.
“Well, I can’t exactly remember what the specials were, so I can’t give you the exact refund unless you know how much you paid. We wouldn’t be able to find the price in the menu,” Joss said, noticing the woman was still looking the menu over.
“I wasn’t looking for a price. I was looking to see what I was going to order once I got my refund.” Sandra didn’t even look up as she spoke.
Joss knew it took all kinds of people to make up the world, and while she already wasn’t positive the woman was telling the truth, it seemed rather odd to her that five minutes before the woman was on her way to the hospital, and now she was planning to order from the very restaurant that had supposedly made her ill. Sometimes, the customers were not always right, and this was one of those times, but Joss would do what she had to do to make sure Sandra left as happy as possible.
“I see. How about you just order whatever you’d like, and it will be on the house?” Joss offered, hoping the woman agreed.
“That will be fine.” Sandra nodded. “Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll let you know.”
“Of course.” Joss tried hard not to roll her eyes. It was becoming more and more apparent that the woman probably wasn’t telling the truth at all. Some people would do strange things just to get a free meal. Joss thought that was sad, and that if someone was hungry, they deserved to eat. Luke had always told her that if someone came into the diner with no money but was hungry that the first thing Joss should do was feed them.
A few moments later, Sandra was ready. She’d ordered not just one meal, but two, and a dessert. Joss wanted so badly to say something to her but kept everything to herself. The last thing she needed was some commotion about the diner poisoning someone while Luke was out of town. She didn’t believe Sandra actually got sick from anything the diner had served, but for whatever reason, she was here saying otherwise. Joss wasn’t going to risk the diner’s reputation by arguing. She entertained Sandra, apologizing several times, and gave her a coupon to come back again while Garth cooked her food.
“You’re a much better woman than me,” Tyla said once Sandra had left.
“Sometimes, you just have to pick your battles.” Joss sighed, looking at the plate of cold food in front of her. She only had a couple of minutes left before she had to get back to work. Again, Joss thanked her lucky stars that she was only covering for Luke. The whole business side of the restaurant business was for the birds.
Chapter Three
Joss drove to work the next day, her mind whirling from the conversation she’d just had with her landlord. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he was selling the house she’d been renting for the last several years, he’d just asked her if she was available to show the house to potential buyers over the next couple of weeks. Saying no to people wasn’t exactly her strong suit, and since she’d already known he’d be selling, she guessed it wasn’t that big of a deal so long as she was able to find the time to actually get it done. Things in Joss’ life had been busier than ever lately.
Joss was hoping for a quiet morning since she was supposed to be doing payroll and a few other administrative tasks to begin her day. When she pulled her car into the parking lot of the diner, it looked like that was precisely what she was going to get. There weren’t many cars in the lot, and of the few that were there, two of them belonged to her coworkers.
“Morning, Joss,” Mrs. Krispin greeted, brushing her hands off on her apron.
“Morning. It smells fantastic in here. What are you making?”
“I just took four loaves of pumpkin bread out of the oven. I thought we could try making French Toast with it, and if that doesn’t go over well, we can just sell it by the loaf.”
“I think it will go over wonderfully.” Joss nodded. “In fact, let’s get some made so we can all try it. The first step in having the knowledge to explain a dish to a customer is to try it ourselves.”
Mrs. Krispin grinned, a twinkle in her eyes. It was clear to Joss how much she was enjoying being at the diner. Not too long before, Mrs. Krispin was baking for guests that came to her house to visit, and now, she was baking for the hundreds of people that were in and out of the Day and Night Diner every week.
“I’m on it. Thanks for giving me a chance.”
“Yes, thank you for giving her a chance,” Garth said, coming around the corner and into the kitchen, with a brownie in his hand. “I never knew how much I liked baked goods.”
“Hey, Garth. How’s it going so far?” Joss asked.
“Yeah, Mrs. Krispin, how is it going so far?” Garth asked, eyeing the woman.
Joss raised a brow. “It’s too early in the morning for this. I’m going to the office. Let me know when the French toast is ready.”
“Wait!” Garth said. “Mrs. Krispin has something to tell you.”
Joss swore she heard Mrs. Krispin growl at Garth.
“What is it? Is something
wrong?” Joss paused, turning to look toward the older woman.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Krispin muttered. “My dryer stopped running, and I’ve been using the laundromat recently.”
“That’s a shame,” Joss said, not sure what it had to do with anything, but sometimes Mrs. Krispin took a while to tell a story.
“Yes.” Mrs. Krispin nodded, rummaging around in a drawer.
“Keep going,” Garth persuaded.
“I haven’t been working here for very long at all, so I don’t know the ins and outs of things, but I saw something interesting that I think might be important. I just didn’t want to put anyone in a pickle, or anything. No one wants the newbie to be a tattle-tailing old woman.”
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