until we’re in the kitchen.”
“I’ll race you, then,” he said as
he hurried to the back.
He beat me, but not by much. As I went through the door, he kissed me
soundly, and my mother started applauding. Greg was clearly embarrassed by her display, but I took time to curtsy.
“It’s good to see young people in
love,” Mom said.
“I think it’s good to see anybody feeling that way,” I countered.
“Agreed.” She turned to Greg as she added, “If you’d
like a little more time to romance my daughter, I’d be glad to keep working the
grill.”
“No, thanks; I’ve got it,” he
said.
“Then I think I’ll go pay a visit
to your father at work. You two have
inspired me,” she said with a grin as she hung her apron up.
“What got into you?” I asked Greg
after Mom was gone and we had the kitchen to ourselves.
“Can’t a man show his wife a
little affection?” Greg asked.
“Of course he can, but he usually
doesn’t, at least not while they’re both at work.”
“What can I say? Murder makes me realize how fleeting our
grasp on life is sometimes, you know? I’d hate to ever lose you, Victoria.”
“I’ll do my best to stay found,
then,” I said as I touched his cheek lightly.
Mom popped her head back in for a
second. “I hate to interrupt, but Ellen
needs you out on the floor, Victoria.”
“Duty calls,” I said, and I
walked her out the door.
After Mom was gone, I smiled at
Ellen and then I got busy working. Mom
had been right. We were having an early
lunch rush, and it was going to take both Ellen and me to feed these hungry folks.
I was ringing up a customer later
when our front door opened. As I looked
up, a father somewhere in his late twenties and his five-year-old son walked
into the diner together. That in and of
itself wasn’t all that odd, except for the fact that they were both wearing
bright red super-hero capes. I fought to
hide my grin as I gave my customer his change, and then I grabbed a couple of
menus and headed over to the dynamic duo.
Sliding the menus in front of
them, I asked, “Having a good day so far?”
The dad smiled, while his son
grinned from ear to ear.
“We’re out fighting crime,” the
boy said.
Dad nodded. “And building shelves in Tommy’s room, too.”
“Whose room?” the little boy
asked his dad.
“Sorry. Super Dude’s secret hideaway.”
The boy poked a thumb toward his
chest, which sported an SD logo that was obviously homemade with love. “That’s me, but don’t tell anybody that my
real name is Tommy.”
I locked my lips with an
imaginary key. “Your secret is safe with
me.”
He lowered his voice as he looked
around and asked solemnly, “Do you have any bad guys here we need to take care
of?”
I looked around as well,
pretending to size up my customers. “No,
at the moment, I believe that we’re safe.”
“If any of them come in, tell us
and we’ll take care of them. Right,
Dad?”
“Right, Super Dude,” Dad
said. “In the meantime, could we have
two grilled cheese sandwiches, two bowls of tomato soup, and two glasses of
milk, please?”
“Coming right up,” I said as I
took their order to Greg directly.
As I walked into the kitchen, my
husband was standing near the pass-through window grinning at me. “Why do I feel so safe all of a sudden?” he
asked me.
“You saw them, too? I think that guy’s father of the year.”
“I do, too.” Greg took the order, and I delivered the
milk. After a few minutes, their order
was ready, and as I reached for the plates, I saw that my husband had done his
best to carve the Super Dude logo into each sandwich.
I winked at him through the
window, and then I delivered everything to the father and son team. “Here you go, specially made just for you
from our kitchen.”
Tommy nodded, and then he saw his
logo emblazoned on his sandwich. He
grabbed his father’s arm and asked
“I’ll race you, then,” he said as
he hurried to the back.
He beat me, but not by much. As I went through the door, he kissed me
soundly, and my mother started applauding. Greg was clearly embarrassed by her display, but I took time to curtsy.
“It’s good to see young people in
love,” Mom said.
“I think it’s good to see anybody feeling that way,” I countered.
“Agreed.” She turned to Greg as she added, “If you’d
like a little more time to romance my daughter, I’d be glad to keep working the
grill.”
“No, thanks; I’ve got it,” he
said.
“Then I think I’ll go pay a visit
to your father at work. You two have
inspired me,” she said with a grin as she hung her apron up.
“What got into you?” I asked Greg
after Mom was gone and we had the kitchen to ourselves.
“Can’t a man show his wife a
little affection?” Greg asked.
“Of course he can, but he usually
doesn’t, at least not while they’re both at work.”
“What can I say? Murder makes me realize how fleeting our
grasp on life is sometimes, you know? I’d hate to ever lose you, Victoria.”
“I’ll do my best to stay found,
then,” I said as I touched his cheek lightly.
Mom popped her head back in for a
second. “I hate to interrupt, but Ellen
needs you out on the floor, Victoria.”
“Duty calls,” I said, and I
walked her out the door.
After Mom was gone, I smiled at
Ellen and then I got busy working. Mom
had been right. We were having an early
lunch rush, and it was going to take both Ellen and me to feed these hungry folks.
I was ringing up a customer later
when our front door opened. As I looked
up, a father somewhere in his late twenties and his five-year-old son walked
into the diner together. That in and of
itself wasn’t all that odd, except for the fact that they were both wearing
bright red super-hero capes. I fought to
hide my grin as I gave my customer his change, and then I grabbed a couple of
menus and headed over to the dynamic duo.
Sliding the menus in front of
them, I asked, “Having a good day so far?”
The dad smiled, while his son
grinned from ear to ear.
“We’re out fighting crime,” the
boy said.
Dad nodded. “And building shelves in Tommy’s room, too.”
“Whose room?” the little boy
asked his dad.
“Sorry. Super Dude’s secret hideaway.”
The boy poked a thumb toward his
chest, which sported an SD logo that was obviously homemade with love. “That’s me, but don’t tell anybody that my
real name is Tommy.”
I locked my lips with an
imaginary key. “Your secret is safe with
me.”
He lowered his voice as he looked
around and asked solemnly, “Do you have any bad guys here we need to take care
of?”
I looked around as well,
pretending to size up my customers. “No,
at the moment, I believe that we’re safe.”
“If any of them come in, tell us
and we’ll take care of them. Right,
Dad?”
“Right, Super Dude,” Dad
said. “In the meantime, could we have
two grilled cheese sandwiches, two bowls of tomato soup, and two glasses of
milk, please?”
“Coming right up,” I said as I
took their order to Greg directly.
As I walked into the kitchen, my
husband was standing near the pass-through window grinning at me. “Why do I feel so safe all of a sudden?” he
asked me.
“You saw them, too? I think that guy’s father of the year.”
“I do, too.” Greg took the order, and I delivered the
milk. After a few minutes, their order
was ready, and as I reached for the plates, I saw that my husband had done his
best to carve the Super Dude logo into each sandwich.
I winked at him through the
window, and then I delivered everything to the father and son team. “Here you go, specially made just for you
from our kitchen.”
Tommy nodded, and then he saw his
logo emblazoned on his sandwich. He
grabbed his father’s arm and asked
Similar Books
