she'd wait for you."
Leedy washed her hands, wiped as much flour from her
black tuxedo as possible, and headed for the dining room
wondering who on Earth wanted to see her.
"I'm sorry to bother you at work," the dark-haired
woman standing outside the big stainless steel swinging
doors said. "I'm Jo Anne Phillips ... from class. Terry Foster suggested I speak with you."
"Of course ... Jo Anne!" Leedy said, recovering. "It's
great to see you again. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you
right away. My mind was a hundred miles away."
"That's quite all right."
"I've been meaning to talk with you, too," Leedy said.
"It's been hectic here the past few days."
Jo Anne nodded. "I know," she said. "I wanted to catch
you before class, but I've already missed one class and I
was late for the other two. I was hoping we could get
together and talk. It would be wonderful to have a conversation with someone who understands the difficulty involved with breaking into the restaurant business."
"I would like that very much," Leedy agreed.
Jo Anne Phillips looked to be in her late forties. She had
short, curly brown hair and warm grey eyes. She was petite
and slim and wore lemon yellow linen overalls over a
bright orange long-sleeved T-shirt. There was a liveliness
to her Leedy noticed right away-a kind of hyper-energy
and confidence that belied her small size. She suspected
that Jo Anne was a fireball and capable of accomplishing
any task she set her mind to and she instantly took a liking
to her.
"I was hoping you might be free for dinner ... on me,
of course," Jo Anne suggested. "I would love to spend
some time talking with a kindred spirit. Can we get
together?"
"I'd love to," Leedy said. "And I insist on treating. But
I don't know how much help I could be to you. My efforts,
so far, haven't been what you'd call a success. I'm no
closer to opening up my restaurant than I was five years
ago."
"We'll go dutch for dinner, and it looks as though you are running this restaurant just fine," Jo Anne swept her
hand to illustrate the crowded dining room. "Are you free
one night this week? Wait ... I have football and soccer
practice to attend just about every night. This is why I'm
having such a hard time making it to class! Could we make
it Saturday?"
"Saturday is fine. I'm working the early shift."
"Wonderful," Jo Anne said. "There's an Italian restaurant
on the corner of Market and King Streets. It's a lovely place
called Antonio's. Not that this restaurant isn't charming,
dear. I'm only assuming you may want a change of pace."
"And how." Leedy sighed, and Jo Anne smiled knowingly.
"I managed a restaurant just like this years ago," Jo Anne
confided. "Coming in here, it was all I could do to keep
from barking out orders as I passed the kitchen doors."
"If you see anything amiss, you go right ahead."
"I might, just for old time's sake. Is seven o'clock good
for you?"
"Seven o'clock is perfect."
"Very good then," Jo Anne said, shaking Leedy's hand.
"I'll see you then." She smiled another ear-to-ear grin and
walked away.
"Who's that?" Brittany asked, as Jo Anne bounced past
her.
"One of my new classmates," Leedy explained. "Her
name is Jo Anne Phillips and she's interested in opening
up a restaurant too. We're going to meet for dinner and
compare war stories."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," exclaimed Brittany.
"It will do you good to talk to someone who shares your
dream."
"I think so, too," Leedy said. "Although Jo Anne may
be my competition someday ..."
"Maybe," Brittany said. "Or she could become a good
friend."
Leedy was deep in thought as she headed for the mall.
For someone who crammed as much as she could into
every minute of every day, her time in the classroom suddenly seemed woefully inadequate. Last night's class had
zipped past her. Not only was she unable to talk to Jo Anne
after class, Terry had slipped from the room with only a
polite wave and a smile.
Leedy washed her hands, wiped as much flour from her
black tuxedo as possible, and headed for the dining room
wondering who on Earth wanted to see her.
"I'm sorry to bother you at work," the dark-haired
woman standing outside the big stainless steel swinging
doors said. "I'm Jo Anne Phillips ... from class. Terry Foster suggested I speak with you."
"Of course ... Jo Anne!" Leedy said, recovering. "It's
great to see you again. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you
right away. My mind was a hundred miles away."
"That's quite all right."
"I've been meaning to talk with you, too," Leedy said.
"It's been hectic here the past few days."
Jo Anne nodded. "I know," she said. "I wanted to catch
you before class, but I've already missed one class and I
was late for the other two. I was hoping we could get
together and talk. It would be wonderful to have a conversation with someone who understands the difficulty involved with breaking into the restaurant business."
"I would like that very much," Leedy agreed.
Jo Anne Phillips looked to be in her late forties. She had
short, curly brown hair and warm grey eyes. She was petite
and slim and wore lemon yellow linen overalls over a
bright orange long-sleeved T-shirt. There was a liveliness
to her Leedy noticed right away-a kind of hyper-energy
and confidence that belied her small size. She suspected
that Jo Anne was a fireball and capable of accomplishing
any task she set her mind to and she instantly took a liking
to her.
"I was hoping you might be free for dinner ... on me,
of course," Jo Anne suggested. "I would love to spend
some time talking with a kindred spirit. Can we get
together?"
"I'd love to," Leedy said. "And I insist on treating. But
I don't know how much help I could be to you. My efforts,
so far, haven't been what you'd call a success. I'm no
closer to opening up my restaurant than I was five years
ago."
"We'll go dutch for dinner, and it looks as though you are running this restaurant just fine," Jo Anne swept her
hand to illustrate the crowded dining room. "Are you free
one night this week? Wait ... I have football and soccer
practice to attend just about every night. This is why I'm
having such a hard time making it to class! Could we make
it Saturday?"
"Saturday is fine. I'm working the early shift."
"Wonderful," Jo Anne said. "There's an Italian restaurant
on the corner of Market and King Streets. It's a lovely place
called Antonio's. Not that this restaurant isn't charming,
dear. I'm only assuming you may want a change of pace."
"And how." Leedy sighed, and Jo Anne smiled knowingly.
"I managed a restaurant just like this years ago," Jo Anne
confided. "Coming in here, it was all I could do to keep
from barking out orders as I passed the kitchen doors."
"If you see anything amiss, you go right ahead."
"I might, just for old time's sake. Is seven o'clock good
for you?"
"Seven o'clock is perfect."
"Very good then," Jo Anne said, shaking Leedy's hand.
"I'll see you then." She smiled another ear-to-ear grin and
walked away.
"Who's that?" Brittany asked, as Jo Anne bounced past
her.
"One of my new classmates," Leedy explained. "Her
name is Jo Anne Phillips and she's interested in opening
up a restaurant too. We're going to meet for dinner and
compare war stories."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," exclaimed Brittany.
"It will do you good to talk to someone who shares your
dream."
"I think so, too," Leedy said. "Although Jo Anne may
be my competition someday ..."
"Maybe," Brittany said. "Or she could become a good
friend."
Leedy was deep in thought as she headed for the mall.
For someone who crammed as much as she could into
every minute of every day, her time in the classroom suddenly seemed woefully inadequate. Last night's class had
zipped past her. Not only was she unable to talk to Jo Anne
after class, Terry had slipped from the room with only a
polite wave and a smile.
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