Epilogue to ‘Served’
Jesse
“Do you really think that this is a good idea, Scott? I just don’t know about this.”
“I know that it was my father’s idea, but what you have to understand is that he wouldn’t have tried to buy the bistro in the first place if he didn’t have a way to make his money back twentyfold. I’ll say he has changed, but one thing that hasn’t changed is his nose for money. If it wasn’t going to work, then he never would have even considered it.”
“I know, but factories and merchandise? I just want to make some good food and good coffee. That’s what my father wanted. I don’t know how he would feel about all of this.”
It had been a couple of months since I’d heard Scott out on his new idea. He wanted a way for me to work less but still have the business, because he knew how much it meant to me. Having another restaurant was a lot of work, and with everything else that I had to juggle, I was tired. Glenn was getting to the point where he wasn’t going to be quiet and stay in one place anymore. He was moving around now, and I had to be more vigilant. But could I really give it all up?
“I just don’t know, Scott. I don’t know anything about that sort of business.”
“I do, though, Jesse, and that’s all that’s needed. Just give it a chance and check it out. Everything is already put together and running. They are already making the coffee.”
I was tempted to tell him that I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to see it, because I knew that it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to keep the bistro going, but Scott was right about it being too much. I’d just found out that we were about to increase our family size by one, and I knew that meant that I was going to be even more tired than I already was. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do everything anymore.
“I’ll give it a chance. I know that if you think it’s a good investment, then it is. I just don’t know much about this sort of business. All I know is restaurants. I can’t imagine closing down the bistro. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself.”
“We have to move out of there and back to my place. Glenn is getting bigger, and we need more space for him. He’s going to be ready for his own room soon, and this is a good way to keep it going without having to wake up at five every morning to go make coffee for half of New York.”
Scott always made me smile. It sometimes felt like that was exactly what we did every day at work. I tried to think about how it would be to not go there and do that, but I couldn’t for the life of me imagine it. There was something about it all that didn’t seem right. I was going because he wanted me to, but my heart wasn’t in it, and it was going to take a lot for me to change my mind.
“I just… I don’t know. I would miss everyone, all of the customers who’ve stuck by me all these years. What would I say to all of them?”
“I thought about that a lot, and I think that we could maybe do like just a morning a week or something. It wouldn’t be for more than one or two days, but it would keep it going like you and your dad intended. The other bistro is running itself now. Melissa has everything taken care of over there.”
It must have been all of the emotions that I was feeling that made me so sad suddenly. Once again I was feeling like everything was about to change. I didn’t know if it was going to be for the best or the worst, but I was going to miss the way it was right now.
Shaking my head and rubbing my eyes so that Scott wouldn’t see me, I told myself that I was going to give it a chance. I’d told him I would, and as we finally got off the interstate, I was hoping that it wouldn’t be that much longer until I got to see the place that all of the fuss was about. “Well, I’ll see the place first before we make any life-altering decisions, okay?”
Scott just smiled again and looked towards the road with confidence. He was sure that I was going to agree, so that made me think that there was something to his plan. I had to distance myself from the idea that it was his father’s plan, of course. I didn’t like the thought of that, but now it was Scott’s idea as well. He had added to the original concept.
When the car started to slow down to turn off, my heart was pounding in my chest. I wasn’t sure why, but I was suddenly anxious. I could see a large building up ahead, and I had a feeling that that was the place. There was a covering on the sign so I couldn’t be sure until I asked Scott and he let me know that I was right.
“There she is. It was an old soup factory, if you can believe it, so a lot of it was already there. I know that it’s not ideal as far as location, but the local economy is going to love the big surge of jobs that we’re bringing in. It’s going to be a lot bigger when the extra construction is done, but for now you can at least get an idea of what it will look like.”
I was looking at the old brick and all of the cars in front of the place. It looked like it was running, and I could smell coffee being roasted. It was my father’s coffee, and I couldn’t help but think that I wouldn’t mind living somewhere close, somewhere I could smell that every time I went outside. I don’t think I could ever get sick of the smell.
“What do you think so far?”
“I think it’s big already, Scott. I didn’t think it would be so big. I mean, we haven’t made a decision on this, have we?” I had a feeling that I was the only one who wasn’t on board with all of it.
“We’re here for you to make a decision. I just wanted to make sure that you got a full picture of what it was going to look like when it’s up and running.”
“Who are all of these people?” I was looking at all of the cars in the full parking lot.
“These are locals who were looking for jobs. I told them that it was going to be as a temporary placement unless we decide to really kick it up. In that case, they are all your employees.”
I liked the scale of the place. It felt huge, and I could see how it could benefit many. It definitely had me thinking, if nothing else. Could this be the answer? So that I could be a good mom and still keep my father’s legacy alive?
“I just don’t know, Scott.”
“Come on, love. I have more to show you inside.”
***
While I’d thought that I wouldn’t be impressed, I most definitely was. It was clear that Scott had taken big steps to make everything perfect, and in most ways he had succeeded. It felt like the bistro, and the smell was the same. The employees were all very nice and everything was clean. It was just the way I would have wanted it if I was the one who’d set it up. It was perfect, but I still hadn’t made a decision, and I didn’t want to give Scott any false hope.
“So?”
I shrugged, and he smiled. “I have one last thing to show you. It’s kind of a surprise, and I think now is a good time for you to see it. I know how important it is for you to keep your father’s memory alive, and I think I’ve found the perfect way to do just that. Come with me.”
His excitement was palpable. I wasn’t sure what it was about, but I was sure that I was going to like it. How could I not, if he was so stoked just to show it to me? It had to be something good, and I was excited too by the time we walked to a part of the factory that I hadn’t seen yet. It was clear by what was around that it was the finished product side. He took me to one of the many boxes that were stacked full of what I assumed was coffee.
Taking a nearby box cutter, he opened one of the boxes on one of the many cases, took out one of the individual bags of coffee, and handed it to me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but my eyes were welling up nonetheless. Even though my brain was being slow, it didn’t change what I was seeing. There was a picture of me and my father on the front of the package, along with the name of the bistro.
The picture was of when I was younger and we’d just opened the place and my father was still healthy. It made me realize how much I missed him. Though the picture was altered and the color was off, because it was actually drawn in the foam in a cup of coffee, I couldn’t help but be touched beyond words. Scott had been confident because he knew that I would have to say yes to this. How could I not, when my father’s picture would be in every house that bought it? What better way to keep his memory alive?
“I love it, Scott. I mean, this is perfect. I knew that it was going to be perfect, but this is too much.”
“I didn’t want to show you until you’d seen the rest, Jesse. Do you promise you like it?”
I nodded my head with tears running down my cheeks that I didn’t even bother to wipe away. It was perfect, really.
“I love it, and I love you for thinking of it. Scott, you’re the best husband that a woman could ask for.”
He just grinned back at me and then pulled me in for a quick kiss that made it even harder for my brain to work. He really was overwhelming in everything that he did.
“Your father was right. This is the perfect solution, and I want you to thank him next time you see him.”
“He’s coming over this weekend. I invited your mother and mine as well. So you can tell them about your announcement.”
“What announcement?”
Scott just kind of looked at me like I was being silly. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I’d just found out I was pregnant, so he couldn’t know that. Yet that was the only thing that came to mind.
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
He never seemed to stop amazing me.
“How did you know?”
Scott’s smile got bigger and his blue eyes twinkled with the idea of it. “I wasn’t sure, but there are small changes. I was hoping that it would be that, and then I saw you getting teary-eyed earlier and I was pretty sure then. This is good news. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I just took the test today, so I haven’t known that long. I wanted to do this first. Scott, how do you know all of this? It’s like you know my body better than I do.”
“I’m your husband, Jesse. It’s my job.”
I couldn’t help but pull him in for a lingering kiss. He really was just that perfect.
~The End~