Easier to do when it's cooler."
"It is a good thing it's been cooling off at nights lately," Michelle said. She'd come in, too, and held the door open for Ginny.
"You can always run your AC at night." Kelsey took a moment to go over to the kitchen air conditioner and turn it cooler by just a notch. "I know I do."
"That's just because you're not Texan bred and born," Tracy teased. "Though I think you should be used to the warm summers by now."
"Hey, we had hot summers in Philadelphia, too, routinely into the nineties, and sometimes even into triple digits," Kelsey shot back. "And our high temps were always dripping with humidity."
"Well, boy howdy, if the heat is bothering you, you picked the wrong career." Ginny's laughter was infectious. The newly arrived staff stowed their purses and grabbed their aprons. Kelsey had instituted new hours for the Sunday buffet. In summer, it opened at eleven in the morning and ran until eight at night. That was a long nine hours to work, and Sunday was the one day it was generally all hands on deck.
But there was still plenty of time for fun and teasing.
Since she rarely had to work the dining room anymore, Carrie didn't really have a sense of when the patrons started to come in, except for the fact everyone on staff started to move faster.
The waitresses would call out the need for a special order - diners could order from the menu if they didn't like the buffet, but that happened rarely - and also would let them know when items on the counters ran low.
Carrie kept an eye on her pregnant coworkers - only she, Carla, and Emily Anne weren't expecting - and also kept an eye on the supply of salads, sauce, and veggies. It was a hectic, busy time, yet Carrie thought this really was the best job she'd ever had.
"Hey, Carrie, there's a lady out in the dining room who wants to see you." Emily Anne came in with a tray laden with glasses and used dishes. "She's sitting at the front, by the windows." Then she looked concerned. "Either she's sporting a heat rash, or she's been crying."
The mention of woman and tears gave Carrie a pretty good idea who'd come into Lusty Appetites. She took a moment to wash and dry her hands.
"Your sister?" Kelsey asked.
Carrie hadn't gossiped, really, but she had mentioned in passing that Chloe had been thinking of coming to visit, and that she'd recently broken off with her boyfriend.
Carrie only shrugged as she headed toward the door.
"See that she eats and then have her come on back," Kelsey called out.
Carrie appreciated the consideration.
It didn't take her long to spot Chloe. Her sister sat alone at a corner table for two, staring out the window.
"Hey, big sister."
Chloe turned to look at her, the smile in her eyes warring with her quivering bottom lip. Her sister was a woman of strength, and it didn't surprise Carrie one whit when Chloe defeated the impending tears and turned her smile on full bright.
"Hey, little sister." She got to her feet, and Carrie gave her a big hug. It didn't matter if they were in a dining room full of relative strangers. The Rhodes sisters never stood on ceremony.
"You should have called and let me know you were coming. I'd have arranged to have the day off." And she knew, without a doubt, that Kelsey would have accommodated her.
"I didn't know until this morning that I was going to come. I just..."
"You're always welcome, you know that. Now, my boss says I'm to see that you eat, and then bring you on back so you can relax in the kitchen until I can get clear."
Chloe raised one eyebrow. "Sounds like your boss is an angel."
"She is. Seriously, I love this town."
Chloe tipped her head to the side. "Do you think I could come to love it, too?"
"Are you thinking of moving here?"
"Yeah. I think I need to start over again. If there's room - "
"You say no more, Chloe Diane Rhodes. There's always room for you with me. And I've discovered, there's always room for family in Lusty."
Carrie watched as Chloe looked around the room, and noticed folks watching - and smiling and nodding, in agreement, Carrie knew, to the words she'd just spoken.
Ginny came over just then and greeted her sister with a big smile. "You must be Chloe. I must say, you two look nothing alike."
Chloe laughed. "We