Taking ownership

The first of the partners were back in the diner by eight o'clock the following morning, in the shape of Mike, who had agreed to take the early turn in exchange for a break over the afternoon. He found himself on duty with staff that he had worked with before; all of them now, however, jokingly referred to him as 'boss'. To this statement he replied with the phrase "Not until noon…" He wasn't surprised at all when Santana and Michelle walked in seconds apart just after nine, nor when Gunther and his wife appeared only ten minutes later. The arrival of those two was greeted with great warmth by so many of the customers who lamented their going, but all of them had to agree that he was leaving the place in the best possible hands. They all turned their hands to serving the breakfast crowd - and this morning, it really was a crowd, as so many people came in to say goodbye. Mike found himself stationed at the coffee machine, which was behaving itself this morning, but he had to admit that he was starting to feel the heat. He was grateful to hear the words, "Need a hand, dancing boy?"; he spun round to smile at Flint, who was shrugging off his coat, handing it to Beats to put away, and replied "Yeah, that would be good preppy boy!" He did not notice that Flint turned pale for a moment at his words, but it was only a moment. Soon it had been forgotten, and the two of them turned their attention to making coffee after coffee.

The partners were all gathered by 11.55, with the exception of Rachel, who had been called to the theatre to perform the matinee, her understudy unable to make it on time, and Cooper; he had gone with Grace to the offices of Gunther's lawyer to sort everything possible out apart from the last few signatures. There was an air of anticipation about the place from the new partners; an air of sadness from Gunther, and indeed his wife. She might never have fallen in love with the Spotlight quite as much as he had whilst he had been in charge of it, but now as the last minutes of their ownership ticked down, she had begun to reminisce about the life they had enjoyed in the place. She told stories about the good days and the bad; about the moment thirty years before when the entire block had been scheduled by zealous city authorities for demolition, when they had stayed whilst the neighbours had all left, and how their faith had paid off when a temporary stay on the process had turned into a permanent reprieve.

Then, as the clock behind the counter ticked down the last seconds to noon, the door opened and Cooper walked in, followed by Grace and Gunther's lawyer. It took less than a minute for the deal to be formally sealed with a signature from Gunther and one from Santana - as she had been the one that had been offered the opportunity to buy in the first place, they all agreed that she should be appointed as the key signatory for the partners. Then with a handshake, the keys and papers were handed over, and the Spotlight Diner was officially under new ownership. Gunther wished them all well, and hoped that the diner would bring them all the happiness that he and his wife had enjoyed over the years. He then took his leave, promising that he would be back later that evening to help them celebrate the opening of a new chapter in the diner's history.

As for the partners, they were all so engrossed in the sight of the official document that they failed to notice that as Gunther left, he held the door open to admit a small group of people. They waited at the door for a moment, and then, not being noticed, made their way up to the counter where the new owners were gathered. They waited for a moment, and then one of them spoke.

"What do you have to do to get a coffee in this joint?"

"That's New York for you - it is much better than this in L.A…."

Almost as one on hearing those words, the partner's heads spun round, some of them ready with a suitably barbed comment on their lips. Those words died the moment that they saw that the words had come from David and Mercedes respectively; and that standing by their side were Jake, Unique, and trying hard not to laugh at the frowning faces, Thad.

"Did you really think that we wouldn't come to see you all on such a momentous day?" said Mercedes as the frowns turned to grins. "Particularly now that the record label have given me access to a private jet as part of my contract…"

"You get a private jet now…" said Santana, stepping forward to embrace her friend. "So, hands up who thinks that Berry will spew when she finds that out?" When everyone, even Sam, put their hands up, their was an outbreak of laughter.

After they had exchanged greetings, it was back to business for the partners - there were still so many customers to be served after all. Mike and Flint sorted out drinks for their far travelled friends; Michelle and Thad had hugged each other long and hard, and when she whispered urgently "I heard him! I can hear Wes!" he tightened the hug all the more. Then it was all hands on deck for the planning for their opening night, and the transformation of the diner into a haven for the singletons that just didn't get why people bothered with Valentine's, and a comfortable place for the happy couples too.

Santana could not help but smile as Brittany kept sneaking subtle glances at her as the day went on. She had no idea what she had set up for her after nine; she just hoped that her plans for after eight would work out. Initially she had intended to work alone, but she had been convinced by Wes that asking some of their closest friends to help out was not a bad thing. In the end she had chosen to ask Artie, ever the soul of discretion, and of course Quinn, the other third of the Unholy Trinity. Both of them had been only too happy to agree to help her out. What Santana did not know was that less than an hour later, Artie had become an unwitting double agent; when Brittany had also asked him for his help, he could not possibly say no to her either. As a result of his duplicity, the plans of the two young women were much closer than they might otherwise have been. Artie's brilliance in keeping the two sets of secrets had been noted by Kurt and Blaine. They had paid him a visit the previous night - and it seemed that they too had made a contingency plan for the big night…

Time flew by that afternoon. Word had quickly spread that the Spotlight Diner was under new ownership; that it had been bought by a group of its young staff and their closest friends was a revelation for many of the people that appeared. Then it had been revealed that a couple of its new owners were current or future Broadway stars, and the excitement grew to fevered levels. When Dani had announced that particular bit of news to Santana, she had laughed loudly; she knew that when Rachel found out, she would be as overexcited and dramatic as ever. When the news was given to Cooper, he blushed and stated with a humility that surprised them all that he wasn't a star yet. Nonetheless, they all knew that it was that fact that had brought many of the new faces into the diner - now they just needed to keep them there. Cooper had been forced to leave not long after the keys had been handed over, as he, like Rachel, had to head to the theatre, although in his case he was not due to appear. In doing so, he had managed to ensure that he did not have to show up on Saturday night, thus ensuring that he was there on the big first night. They could therefore not ask him to get up and sing. Instead, without even being prompted as the news spread, Mercedes did them all a big favour - she made her way over to the stage, and after a quick introduction from David, she put on a performance for the crowd. When she had been announced there had been gasps and cheers - after all, the name Mercedes Jones was becoming more and more well known by the day. No-one had expected to see her perform at the Spotlight though.

As the news of here impromptu show filtered out on social media, the crowds in the diner grew even more rapidly. It reached the point that Beats and Puck had to act as unofficial doormen, to prevent them breaking every fire regulation in the book, and allow access on a one out, one in basis. Not even Burt and Carole were spared when they arrived, and in the end, Puck was forced to smuggle them in via the back door. A queue formed on the sidewalk outside the diner, which in turn generated even more curiosity. As a result, the cash register rang non-stop, with Trent taking a permanent seat at it; made Jeff thank God out loud for the fact that the place had more staff than it would normally know what to do with, as even Grace found herself running around with a tray; and put both Mike and Flint off coffee for a week, so strongly of it did they both smell after making one cup after another for the best part of the afternoon.

Once Mercedes finally left the stage, and had signed dozens of autographs, David stood at her side, sunglasses on, arms folded, pretending to be her security - that sight had forced Trent to abandon his post and run into the kitchen to join Thad, Nick and Jeff in hysterics, which lasted for well over five minutes, a new record even by Warbler standards - the diner became gradually less busy, and they could all catch a breath and breathe a sigh of grateful relief. In the office safe, several neat bundles of notes sat waiting to be properly tallied, having been handed to Michelle by Trent when the register drawer could accommodate them no more. They couldn't yet say with any certainty, but it did look as if the sum would be well into four figures. As they all took a rest, Jeff suddenly made a decision, and after a quick word with his new manager, Michelle, he went into the locker room to retrieve his drawing pad and pencils, then headed straight for Mercedes to ask if he could draw her portrait. She agreed happily, mentioning that David had said that he was an immensely talented artist, and that he had been most impressed with the picture that he posed for himself last year. When she said that she would love to see it sometime, David and Jeff both blushed, before the latter quickly changed the subject, saying that he wasn't sure exactly where he could find it.

The whole of the exchange was overheard by Santana, who was puzzled as to why he would not be able to locate any of his work at once, given that he had the benefit of a well organised husband; but moreover, why did the mention of the portrait have both the artist and the subject blushing? Her third eye immediately told her that there was a story there that needed to be found out. It was too busy to look into it now - she did not have time to grab Nick and interrogate him - but soon, when she was less busy, she would investigate what was going on…

By the time that Cooper and Rachel returned that evening, just after seven, the place was busy yet again, but not to the extent that it had been that afternoon. Rachel had greeted the L.A. contingent warmly, and had even managed to keep smiling when she was informed about the private jet - though the way she kept saying "That's nice…" through gritted teeth caused Rory to burst out laughing as he walked by.

Jeff had handed his finished portrait to Mercedes, and she had been overjoyed with it. She had agreed to his request that she signed it; he had decided that it should be framed and hung on the wall by the stage to commemorate the day that she had sung there as her career had just begun to take off. Being the wise person that he was, he had promised that he would add portraits of both Rachel and Cooper to let everyone know that they too were involved with the business. Everyone was exceptionally pleased with how well things had gone, and that fact stopped them from flagging, and allowed them to carry on working.

As he had promised, Gunther had returned, his first words being that he had heard that the place was queued out. After he and his wife had been introduced properly to the L.A. contingent, they were seated at the best table in the place, and treated to a free dinner. It had been decided that they should be served by two of the partners that were not regular staff, and the job fell to Cooper and Quinn. Around them, the diner filled up. The large singletons group tables were working well, and Artie's tray was being made full use of, allowing them to deliver large amounts of food at the one time. Meanwhile, of course, the usual singing went on in the background - one particular highlight had been when Kitty had made her way over to the temporarily empty stage, and launched into a spirited rendition of I Cain't Say No from the classic musical Oklahoma! Her performance had begun just as Carmen Tibideaux had walked in the front door. Her rendition had left the NYADA dean wondering why the girl was not at her school alongside the others.