Page 50 of All Mine
‘I promise you,’ she repeated.
Isabella pressed her mouth together, unsure of what to say. She so wanted to believe Amber.
‘Because these people bring more than waiting experience with them,’ Amber said. ‘These are the people that will bring your dream to life. This isyourteam.’
Isabella rolled her eyes without meaning to.
‘I mean it,’ Amber said. ‘I chose every single person for a reason.’
‘I think we need professional staff. . .’ Isabella said, as quietly as she could, not wanting the team next door to hear. It was Amber’s turn to roll her eyes, but she was smiling.
‘Come with me,’ she said, opening the door and pulling Isabella back into the restaurant. The ‘team’ braced themselves, looking hopeful but hesitant.
‘Next question for you all,’ Amber said and all eyes turned to her. ‘I’d like you to tell Isabella your best memory, or feeling, or experience.’
Isabella stopped herself from groaning out loud. This was a restaurant, or would be, not a therapy group. Sinead stepped forward.
‘All my family around the table. On the odd occasion we all get together now. And it’s a bit of a squeeze what with the size of them!’ She put her arms around herself. ‘Feeding them food they like. Making sure they’ve all got what they want. Seeing them all happy.’ Several people made a noise of approval; Angie nodded.
Paul twiddled his moustache. ‘Looking after Jane. Trying to think ahead for all the things she might need and making sure they were nearby. The smile on her face when she realised I’d thought about her.’ He flushed and Sinead clucked, patting his arm.
‘Ah, bless you,’ she whispered.
Harry flicked her fringe out of her face to answer this time. She had the darkest brown eyes. ‘Sitting with the clients at Heart of Honeybridge and spending time with them. They loved to tell me stories, and I liked to listen.’
Meryl stepped forward before Harry even stepped back. ‘For me, it was those family meals around the table when I was first adopted. Coming from care, it was my first experience of family. It was amazing.’
Angie from Australia put her arm around her. ‘Me too, babes. That’s my favourite memory and I miss my crazy old Australian family now. Barbies and bevvies. I feel on my ownsome sometimes over here and I don’t want anyone else to be lonely.’
Denzil cleared his throat. ‘I don’t have a large family, just the one son. But I miss looking after him. I’ve always been a carer, I guess.’
‘It takes a special kind of person,’ Meryl said.
Naomi was last, the girl who’d set up the neighbourhood check-in system. ‘I like being part of a community,’ she said with a shrug. ‘It makes me happy to be part of something.’
‘Hear, hear,’ said Paul suddenly and everyone laughed. When it subsided, their words echoed around Isabella’s head, creating a fuzzy feeling of love and family and food. Kindness and caring.
Amber nudged her.
‘You want people to linger and talk,’ she said and then nodded towards the team who shuffled closer together, a united front.
‘You want people to feel looked after as if they were at home,’ she continued, as the team threw arms around each other’s shoulders or linked arms in solidarity.
‘You want our diners to feel as if they were part of a family, a community,’ she added, and the team stood taller, chests out, chins up.
Isabella looked at their faces, one by one. She felt the prick of tears behind her eyes and saw it reciprocated in Amber’s. She wondered if she was hormonal or mad. She cleared her throat.
‘I want everyone who comes in here to leave with a full tummy, a happy heart and a smile on their face,’ she said, repeating her earlier speech. The team waited in pin-drop silence.
‘You’re all perfect,’ she said with a nod and a squeeze of Amber’s hand. ‘I can’t wait to see you bring this dream to life.’
As they all hugged each other and slapped each other on the back, she felt one step closer to being successful and single.
Mia Famiglia WhatsApp group
Isabella: I have a fully recruited restaurant team!
Mamma: My baby’s a boss!
