Page 16 of The Party Line

“I don’t want to upset her.”

“Well, last I heard anything about them, they’d gone to Wyoming to live and work on a ranch, but that was before you even started to school,” Jasper went on. “They up and moved after Gracie told them what she thought of the way they were treating their only daughter. They might’ve had more kids after that or stopped at a dozen. The youngest that they had back then would have been maybe a year or so older than you.” He paused and cocked his head to one side. “That would be more’n twenty-five years ago. Time can sure get away from us. Sometimes I sit on this porch and remember when me and Davis and Gracie were young, and all the plans we made when we got to be adults.”

“Such as?” I asked.

“Oh, they changed from one week to another, like most kids’ plans do,” he said. “Looks like Sassy is going to take a long nap. You ought to go visit with your mama and come back later to play with her. I made a toy for her by rolling up a couple of pairs of my old holey socks. We might teach her to fetch.”

I finished off my beer and stood up. “Next time I’m in a store, I’ll pick her up some chew toys. I hear puppies like to chew on shoes, so you might want to keep yours in the closet.”

“She already taught me that,” Jasper said with a grin.

The sun was a big orange ball sitting right above the trees on the horizon like a golf ball on a green tee. Another day finished—another one of the same-old, same-old. Nothing really new, just more of the old rut I had basically been living in for quite a while: Get up. Have coffee. Work until lunch. Eat a sandwich or maybe leftover pizza. Work until supper. Order out and have it delivered or else open a can of soup. Looking at the gorgeous sunset couldn’t get rid of the restlessness in my heart, mind, and spirit as I drove to my mother’s house that evening.

I neededsomething, but I had no idea what it was, where to get it, or how to even find it. I let out a sigh that was more like a plea for help when I parked beside a strange car at Mama’s house. Maybe whoever the vehicle belonged to would bring some excitement to our lives.

Yeah, right, the aggravating voice in my head said.How much excitement do you think you’ll ever find in Ditto, Texas?

Chapter Five

Mama met me at the door, stood up on her tiptoes to give me a quick hug, grabbed my hand, and dragged me back to the kitchen. “I’ve got some really exciting news to tell you about—or maybe I should say thatAnnieand I together have an idea to share with you.”

You asked for something exciting, and here it is,the voice in my head whispered.

Annie waved from the yellow-topped chrome table set that had been in the house for as long as I could remember. “Lasagna was the special today at the restaurant, so I brought leftovers for supper. Sit down and have some while Sarah and I tell you about our idea for the future.”

Mama placed a plate of food and a glass of sweet tea in front of me. “Neither of us want to retire altogether, but we want to be able to set our own hours. We thought about putting together a food truck of some kind.”

“Maybe a sandwich one that only sets up three days a week,” Annie said. “But that would still require a definite schedule.”

“If it’s finances—” I started.

“But we decided against the food wagon and decided to go with a catering service, and we want you to be our manager. We need someone who understands finances and taxes and all that stuff,” Mama blurted out.

My first thought was to shake my head and remind them that I had a job, but something deep inside reminded me that only minutes before, I had wished for something to excite me. “Did y’all just hash this out this afternoon?”

“We’ve been talking on the phone since Sunday,” Annie said. “Madge has a buyer for her café, and if the new owners don’t kick all the employees out and bring in their own staff, Sarah might be able to work until she retires. The same guy that bought Madge’s place came by mine and offered me a lot of money for my business. At first I said no way, but he gave me a week to think about it. Seems that his two granddaughters have been to a fancy cooking school back east. He lives in San Antonio, and if he has a café for each of them, they will live closer to him.” She paused long enough to take a drink of tea and then went on. “Annie’s has been in my family for generations, and I thought I couldn’t possibly sell it. But then I got to thinking about the long hours I’m putting in and how tired I am at the end of the workday. I called Sarah and asked what she was going to do if the new owners wanted to make changes in both the menu and the staff.”

“We started kicking around ideas for alternatives and came up with this one,” Mama said. “I can use the money Aunt Gracie left me to have one of those metal buildings built on my property to use as a warehouse.”

“And we’d like to put a commercial kitchen in one end,” Annie added. “Can’t you just see a wedding or any other event whererealfood is served? But you don’t have to buy into the business, Lila. I’ll have more than enough to build the warehouse with what I get from selling my café.”

I put a forkful of lasagna in my mouth and held up a finger. I had less than a minute to think about how I was going to either back away or make these two women happy. I had always known I wanted to be an accountant, so this was the biggest decision I would ever have to make. So far.

The lasagna was wonderful, better than the hamburgers Jasper and I had had at Annie’s Café. There was no doubt their catering business would take off like a Texas wildfire, and they would make a lot of money. I chewed slowly and then took a drink of tea. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until it came out in a whoosh. Aunt Gracie always said that when opportunity knocked to invite it in and feed it chocolate cake. Well, here was my chance to break out of the rut I’d been living in, so why was I hesitating?

You asked—no, you kind of begged—for excitement, and now it’s right in front of you,Aunt Gracie’s voice whispered in my head.

“But . . . ,” I barely whispered back.

Never sit on a fence. It will make your butt flat,she said.Either you are in or out.

“I’m in,” I finally said. In addition to the joy of doing something new, I would be helping my mother and Annie out. “Let’s each put in one third of what it costs to start up the business. That way we are all full partners. I’m not much of a cook, but I can help with organizing, hiring help, and the paperwork for each job. I’m sure this project is going to require all of our time from the beginning, so I’ll give my two-week notice tomorrow.”

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Mama asked. “Don’t you want to think about it a few days?”

I shook my head. “Nope, I do not. Y’all’s excitement has flowed over to me. Annie, when is your last day at the café?”

“I’ll tell the buyer that I’m willing to sell to him, and I guess I’d need to give two weeks’ notice, too.”

---