Customers To Serve
By Steph (awriter78@hotmail.com)
A/N--This is the final part in my Luke trilogy and follows "It All Started With A Math Test" and "Simple Stuff for the Simple Folk." This takes place about 2 years after the last one. Thank you for the reviews for those two. Please R/R the story.
Disclaimer--I don't own any of the GG characters. I am, however, part owner of the ever-expanding NDG enterprise. See website in my profile for more details.
Dear Luke,
A diner, huh? Don't take this the wrong way, but I never would have pictured you owing a diner. Do you even know how to cook? And you do know that you'll have to interact with other people, right? I'm teasing you. I'm thrilled that you are doing something on your own, something other than keeping Dad's store open. Good luck with it.
I have a new job. I'm working as a secretary. It's not the best job around, but it will pay the bills and any extra can go into savings for Jess. Christ, Luke, the kid scares me sometimes. He's very smart and he looks at me sometimes like he knows something I don't. It's very difficult having a brilliant child. Mom and Dad must have had it so easy with you. Just teasing, again.
Now that you have your professional life squared away, it's time to work on the personal life. I've changed my mind. I think you should date Iris Gleason, Butch. It isn't fair to judge her by her last name. I'll expect an invitation to the wedding. I'm assuming you'll be the one catering.
Nick will be home any minute with Jess so I'll finish this up. Good luck again. I'm proud of you.~ Liz
He smiled as he read the letter. So Liz wanted him to date Iris Gleason? Even if he had wanted to, he was too late. She had skipped town a month ago. Rumor had it that she was living with a guy named Chad. Sooner or later, it seemed people always ended up leaving the town. Look at Liz and Rachel. They had left without really looking back.
He would never leave this town. He loved it too much. He had grown up here and now in a matter of seconds, he would be opening up a place of business. The diner. His diner. He said the last part to himself again. His diner.
He looked around one last time. The place was clean, every table had its salt and pepper shakers, the menus were set out. Perfect. All he needed now was customers. He took a deep breath. opened the door, put out the "Open" sign and waited.
No one came. He was disappointed, but understood the logic behind it. He had lived in the same small town for almost 22 years. People knew him as an athlete, a hardware store worker. They didn't know him as a cook. And no one wanted to be the first person to try his cooking.
It's not to say that people weren't curious. People were very curious. Taylor Doose, and his partner-in-crime Miss Patty, walked up and down the street, trying to be subtle as they pressed their faces against the window, checking the status of the new business. Taylor was probably already imagining buying Luke out, bulldozing the diner and putting up the next attraction in TaylorTown. Miss Patty was probably attempting to catalog every detail she could about the diner so she could spread some gossip.
Oh sure people were curious. They just weren't curious enough to risk food poisoning.
The second day he was open started out just like the first. No one came in. He sat down in a booth and tried to read the sports section of the newspaper. He couldn't concentrate and instead picked up a scratch pad to jot down some ideas.
It wasn't that he was expecting his diner to be an instant success. He knew enough about business and the real world to realize that. But was he really prepared for his idea to fail? What would he do if it did fail? He could always change the place back to a hardware store and do what people expected from him. Did he even want that any more? To sell hardware the rest of his life?
He could sell the building to the cardigan-wearing busybody. Maybe take some night classes in business or cooking. But the thought of Taylor bulldozing his father's store or even worse making it something it should never be…the thought made him sick.
He would figure something out if he had to. There were always options in case the diner failed. He tried not to think about the diner failing. He continued to wait.
He looked up when the bell above the door tinkled. He stood up quickly to greet his first customers. Sookie St. James and a little girl he didn't know.
"Luke," Sookie said grinning. "The place looks great."
"Thanks," he said, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Where is everyone?" she asked looking around.
He shrugged. "You two are my first customers."
"So, we get our choice where to sit. Where do you want to sit, kitty cat?" she asked the girl. The girl mumbled something and hid behind Sookie. Sookie giggled. "She's shy," she explained to Luke.
"Babysitting?" he asked.
"Sort of. Her mom works with me at the inn and had to go to some all-day meeting Mia's having. I, being part-time kitchen staff, didn't need to go. So I volunteered to watch her."
He nodded and followed them to a table. "So," Luke said trying to downplay the sudden anxiety he was feeling at having to serve actual customers. "What can I get you?"
"Well, actually, I wanted to ask you something," Sookie said.
Luke frowned. "So you aren't eating?" He put his order pad back into his pocket.
"No, we're eating. I just…can you sit for a second?"
He sighed. "What is it?"
Sookie placed a coloring book and some crayons in front of the girl and then looked back at him. "Okay, here's the thing," Sookie began twirling her hair around her fingers. "Okay, we both kind of know each other. For awhile now. And we both know Mia. Well, I'm working at Mia's, but am only working weekends and I want to move out of my parents' place and can't afford it on a part-time salary so what I guess I'm asking is…do you have any positions open?" She finished the sentence with a huge, hopeful grin.
"Positions?" he asked, incredulous. "Like what?"
"Something cooking related. Even if it's just a prep cook or a fry cook," she said. She opened her bag and handed him a resume. "Mia said I can use her as a reference. She'll tell you that I'm punctual and dependable and I make a magnificent risotto."
"Sookie," he said interrupting. "I can't hire you."
Her face fell. "Why not?"
"I can't afford to pay you. It's going to be awhile before I can afford to pay myself," he said. Not to mention the fact that he had no idea what risotto was. It sounded pretentious. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't the ideal compliment to a hamburger.
He handed her back her resume. "I'm sorry."
"No, no, it's fine. I just thought maybe…it was just an idea. Forget it. Maybe I can work at Al's Pancake World."
Luke grimaced. "Don't even joke about that."
"Oh well," Sookie said looking depressed.
"Do you still want to eat?" he asked. Maybe he had just lost his first two customers.
"Sure," she said. "I want pancakes and bacon." She turned to the girl. "Rory, want some pancakes?"
The girl nodded. "Yes, please." She looked over at Luke. "Hi," she said, her shyness gone.
"Hi," he said. Little kids made him nervous. They were always sticky, running wild and breaking things.
This little girl was kind of cute though. Cuter than that nephew of his, who was all dark eyes and frowns.
"What do you put on your pancakes?" Sookie asked.
"Uhh…nothing," he said. "You put on the butter and syrup yourself."
"Do you have any apples?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah," he said. "Why?"
"You know what's really good?" she asked. "Slice up some apples, brown them in butter and then sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar on them. Then put that mixture on the pancakes. The apples are really good this season and it would be great on the pancakes."
He shook his head. "I don't think so."
"I'll make a deal with you," Sookie said. "If you make that for me, I'll tell Miss Patty what a great cook you are. She'll spread the word and you'll have so many customers you won't know what to do with them."
That was a tempting offer. Very tempting. And what was the big deal about slicing some apples when it came to his business. He knew how important word-of-mouth was. "Okay," he said. "But this apple stuff probably won't be a regular thing."
Sookie shook her head at him. "If you want to be a cook, Luke, you have to be flexible to your customers' tastes."
He frowned again at her. "Does the kid want apple pancakes too?"
"The kid?" Sookie asked, horrified. "She has a name, Luke. And no, just make Rory's regular."
Rory looked up from her coloring book. "I want apples."
He looked back at Sookie. "How about I just cut up a few apple slices with her pancakes? Kids don't usually go for the whole fancy crap."
"Sounds great," she said.
He started walking back to the kitchen when he heard a crash from their table. He turned around to see one of the coffee cups shattered on the floor. "Stay there until I can sweep up," he told them. "I knew it was a bad idea to let kids come in here."
Sookie giggled. "Uh, that was me, Luke. Sorry."
He walked away shaking his head. Of course it was her. He had forgotten who he was dealing with. He looked around to make sure there was nothing flammable around Sookie and went in back to get the broom.
Sookie had done her job. People began coming in. He couldn't believe it. It was extremely hectic at first, but he soon found a routine. Taking an order, grilling a burger, refilling a soda. It was hard work, but he was enjoying himself. And he even got to serve Taylor Doose and Miss Patty.
"So you finally decided to come in?" he asked, slightly sarcastically.
"Oh the place looks great, doll," Miss Patty said. "I like the hardware touches. Really catches the spirit of your father."
He usually had no patience for Miss Patty, but the unexpected compliment touched him. "Thank you."
Taylor frowned. "All the permits are in order? All the zoning laws are being followed?"
"Yes, sir."
"And all Board of Health codes are being obeyed."
"Yes, sir."
"And you know CPR?"
"Sort of," Luke said. He actually did know it, but wanted to see Taylor's reaction. It was always fun to annoy him.
Taylor frowned. "Sort of, young man?"
"Tell you what. I'll bring you a burger, you can choke on it and we'll see how it goes," Luke said. There was some part of him that knew he shouldn't be antagonizing his customers, but Taylor was always the exception to the rule.
"This isn't a joke," Taylor said. "And that baseball cap of yours is unsanitary."
"Oh leave the boy alone, Taylor," Miss Patty said. "I'm sure he's a great cook."
Luke flashed her a grateful look and started to walk off. Maybe he had misjudged Miss Patty. Then he heard her sigh and say, "And he's finally legal."
Then again, maybe he hadn't.
"What can I get you?" Luke asked his next customer. Kirk Gleason, Iris' younger brother.
"A burger I guess. No, a patty melt. Wait, what's the difference?"
Luke somewhat patiently explained the difference. Kirk still looked perplexed.
"I can come back," Luke said.
"No," Kirk said. "Just give me a second."
"Fine," Luke said. The crowd was thinning out and no one seemed to demand his immediate attention.
"So," Luke said trying to make conversation, "how's Iris doing?"
"Why?" Kirk asked suspiciously.
"No reason."
"We're not supposed to talk about her," Kirk said sadly. "My mom doesn't want me to."
"Oh," Luke said. What was one supposed to say to that? "Well, Iris was an interesting girl. I remember that she used to always wear mismatched socks."
"I know," Kirk said. "Hey, you know what?"
"What?" Luke asked.
"Your sister left town too. We have something in common."
Luke sighed, hoping that no one heard that. "Yeah, Kirk, I guess we do."
"Iris used to make me grilled cheese sandwiches and cut them into shapes. Did your sister ever do that for you?"
Luke almost laughed trying to picture Liz doing that for him. "No, Kirk, Liz never did that."
"Oh," Kirk said softly. "Can you cut a patty melt into stars for me?"
Every fiber of his being wanted to say no, but Kirk looked so morose and awkward sitting there. And he had Sookie St. James' voice in his head telling him to be flexible for his customers.
"Fine, Kirk," Luke said sighing and leaving. It would definitely be a one-time thing though.
Eight p.m. and there was almost no one in the diner. He had a few seconds to get caught up with the register, to refill some supplies.
The door opened again. And he saw the little girl from earlier that morning with a familiar-looking woman.
"Hey there," the woman said. "So this is the diner, huh?"
"Yeah," he said.
"We met a long time ago. Remember me?"
He stared at her for a second before he remembered. "Yeah," he said. "The crazy girl from the inn."
"That's how most people remember me. I take absolutely no offense and I'll reintroduce myself. I'm Lorelai and this is my marvelous daughter Rory."
"I met her already," Luke said. "This morning. She came in with Sookie."
"Hi," Rory said waving to him. "I want pancakes."
Lorelai laughed. "No, it's time for dessert. And coffee. You have coffee, right?" She looked at him with an almost desperate gleam in her eye.
"Yeah," he said pouring her a cup.
"Do you have any pie?" Lorelai asked.
"Apple," he said.
"Apple pancakes," Rory said smiling. "I put apples on my pancakes."
"That's sounds good, baby. Maybe we'll come in some time for breakfast. But for now we'll have a big slice of apple pie a la mode and two forks." She took a sip of the coffee. "This is really spectacular coffee."
"Thanks," he said. "She's a cute kid."
Lorelai smiled proudly. "Thanks, Duke."
"It's Luke," he reminded her.
"Same thing," she said shrugging her shoulders.
"No it's not…" he began, but was interrupted when he saw other people come in and sit down. "Go on, scoot, scoot" Lorelai said to him. "You have customers to serve. We understand."
He flipped to a new page in his order pad and walked over to the other people.
This was his diner, he thought to himself and he had customers to serve.
This might work out after all.
The End