Page 11 of Rowdy St. Nick

A middle-aged man in a chef hat comes out within a minute, baggy black pants, a chef coat, and a tiny bit of buzzed gray hair visible on the back of his neck where the chef hat ends. He smiles at me and hands me a cup of coffee, then pulls out a little caddy with sugar packets and those little creamer cups.

“Parker radioed in that you’d be stopping by. Can I get you something to eat?”

“I don’t want to be any trouble,” I say, but I am hungry.

“I promise you, it’s no trouble at all. It’s what we do here.”

“I can pay for my food.”

“Really, there’s no need. We got it covered. What can I get you?” he asks with a gentle smile.

“What would be the fastest and easiest for you to make up?”

“How about a turkey melt with some cheese and fries?” He suggests, and my stomach rumbles at even the thought of the delicious food.

“That would be easy?”

“Yep, I’ll have it up for you in a jif.”

“Ok then!” I exclaim.

He walks away through a little door behind the counter where I’m assuming the kitchen is, and I pull out my phone. I still don’t have any service. I pull up the internet connection settings and find their guest WiFi but decide against connecting at the last minute. What do I really need to do on my phone right now?

The man in the chef hat comes back with a large plate that has steam coming off of it. I check the time and see I still have about fifteen minutes to eat. He really did put that together fast. He even put a nice sized ramekin of ranch dressing on the plate. How did he know I’d want ranch with my fries?

The turkey melt is delicious, and I practically drool as I devour it. I forgot to eat lunch (again), and I probably won’t have time to eat much for dinner, so this is perfect. As I move on to my fries, I check the time again and see I have ten minutes.

“Do you need to make another call?”

The man in the chef hat asks as he continues setting up the area behind the counter.

“No, I’m fine. I just don’t have service here, and I don’t want to make my friend wait for me when she gets here.”

“They’ll come in and let you know as soon as she arrives, don’t worry.”

“Okay, thanks. She’s actually also my boss,” I say.

“I understand that. We’re all friends around here too.”

“That’s how you know Parker, right?” he questions.

“Yep.”

I eat a few fries in silence, contemplating all I’ve learned in the past hour or so. The time went by slower than that. It feels like this day has lasted a week. I can’t help myself when I ask the next question. I have to know what this place is about.

“What exactly is a Dude Ranch?”

He chuckles. “It’s basically a western theme resort, but it’s also a working farm.”

“This is like a real restaurant then?”

“Yes, we have a buffet and a menu. The staff eat here too, usually right after the meals are served to the guests.”

“So, people come here to do, what? Like ride horses and stuff?” I’m generally curious.

Another chuckle. “Yes, that’s the gist of it. We have other activities, some special experiences, events, and themed parties. Sometimes people rent the place out for corporate retreats or weddings.”

“People have weddings here?”

---