I, on the other hand, practically sprung from the bed. Today was the day that I was getting back to work in my brand new diner. I knew I’d probably be exhausted later, but I didn’t care. I had slept enough in the past two months to carry me over for a while. I was ready to get back to work.
While the diner wasn’t exactly the same as before, I intended to take this opportunity and do what I had been too afraid to do in the past: take a risk. I was going to decorate with a theme in mind. And I knew exactly what the theme would be.
Tony still had a connection with the house in Sanibel and he asked the owners to take pictures of the house so I could use the interior as inspiration. Even though the reason for going to Sanibel had been to escape from Parker, now it was a fond memory of a nice mini-vacation with a friend in a place that made me feel at home.
I planned on taking Parker and Tony shopping later that week to start picking out little decorations from the local shops around town. I wasn’t going to rush this. I had the idea that regulars or tourists who came back year after year would comment on something that they hadn’t seen or noticed before. It would keep the diner updated and ever-changing, and would keep patrons coming back day after day and year after year. I felt the same way about the house in Sanibel, and I hoped that I could make others feel the same way too.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I said to Parker. “Get up soon. We need to make a special trip before going to the diner.”
After showering and making a quick breakfast for us, we were out the door by seven. Parker drove to Harriet’s house and she was sitting on her porch swing, waiting for us.
She was an early riser like we were. Having the diner back was only a piece of the puzzle that made me incredibly giddy with excitement. Getting Harriet back into her routine after Kenneth died had been a priority for me. I knew she would always cherish him, but I wanted her to continue on with her life as much as she could in the circumstances. I even offered to go to Bingo with her every week just so that she could do things that made her happy again, even if it was without Kenneth.
“Oh, my,” Harriet said when I helped her from the car. She looked at the diner and her eyes filled with happy tears. “Parker, you did an amazing job.”
“You haven’t seen the inside yet,” he said and helped her up the front steps.
I opened the door and offered my arm to her. She took it, and we entered the space.
The shock of seeing the diner in front of me instead of in my dreams still moved through me, even days later.
“I wanted to show you something,” I said, then glanced back at Parker.
He winked at me and I led Harriet to her regular table that she’d shared with Kenneth. I came in the night before and set up the surprise for her.
It took her a minute to realize what she was looking at. But when she did, her hands covered her gasp.
“Sienna,” she said accusingly. “What have you done?”
I glanced at the framed picture on the wall hanging next to their booth. It was their wedding photo that was published in the newspaper after their nuptials.
“Do you like it?” I asked. “We wanted to dedicate this space to you and Kenneth.”
“Where ever did you find that photo?” she asked.
Parker raised his hand. “I contacted the newspaper that printed it. They scanned the copy and sent it over to us.”
Harriet took each of our hands in hers. “You two are simply darling. I’m better for knowing you.”
“We could say the same thing for you,” I said.
Harriet sat down at the booth and scooted over, getting a better look at the photo. “You know,” she said, “I was a size two then. My, how times change you.”
“You look just as good now as you did then,” Parker said, sliding into the other side of the booth.
She let out a hoot of laughter. “You’re too kind, Parker.”
I left the two of them to talk and went into the kitchen. There, I was able to take a deep breath. I was finally home again. I smoothed my hands over the clean surfaces, burning the image and feel into my brain. I knew after a few months of cooking, these surfaces would be well-worn.
A knock on the back door broke me from my reverie. I unlocked it and let Tony inside.
“I’m going to need a key,” he said, lugging in several bags of food.
“I’ll get some made this afternoon,” I said and made a mental note on top of the other million things I had to do.
Opening the diner again would be a challenge, but I was up for it. I’d forgotten all the little things that were involved in the process, but I was quickly remembering and falling into step.
We started separating the food items and putting them away before they went bad in the heat.