Chapter 3: Lunch Rush
Only a few hours since opening, the small restaurant was packed, a small line beginning to form outside. Bob leaned over one side of the counter to stare out the window, letting out a small whistle. He had had busy days in the past, but Louise's first day looked to be one for the Bob's Burgers Books… if he had kept books. Or any kind of documentation of his life. I really need to get on that scrapbook idea Lin told me about… he thought to himself, going back to wiping down the counter.
"Bobby, the place is packed!" Teddy loudly spoke, halfway through his second Cereal Killer Burger. "Mmmhmm" Bob responded dryly. "I haven't seen this many people in here since you came back to work, Bobby." "Mmmhmm…" "You sure Louise doesn't need any help in the kitchen, there's a lot of orders out here" "Mmmh- Actually… that's not a bad idea Teddy. I'm gonna go check on her." Bob wandered over to the kitchen door, gently pushing his head in.
Louise was a woman on a mission in the kitchen, burgers flying from the beef tub, to grill, to buns, to the window in a flash. One skill Louise had been proficient at that even Bob struggled with was the tall flip. Burgers seemingly levitated in the air as Louise prepped for their next stage with the extra time. Bob paused for a moment, admiring how far his daughter had come from serving candy burgers with gum in the middle as a kid. "Need anything out there, Dad?" Louise almost grunted, not taking her eyes off the grill as she spoke.
"Oh, uhm… no. I wanted to know… If you needed my help back here…" Bob stammered softly, "Y-you know… Since the place is so busy… an extra set of hands…" "Huh? Nah, I'm fine Dad, really, you and Mom can relax…. Or actually… keep doing the whole serving and bussing tables thing. That would actually be useful." "Hmmmpfh, sure…" Bob wasn't fond of anything being called "actually useful", but he knew how much stress she had put on herself for the opening, pushing himself through the kitchen back to the sitting area.
"Hmmpfh…" Bob sighed under his breath. "Awww, what's wrong Bobby? Louise kicked you out of the kitchen?" Linda gave Bob a quick hug, placing plates down on the counter. " "I don't know Lin, I get that she wants to be independent, but I don't like feeling… I don't know, useless…" "You're not useless, Bobby. Louise is just… Well, she's trying to make this place her own. You wouldn't have wanted Big Bob back in the kitchen when you started, would you?" Bob frowned, furrowing his brow in frustration. "Ugh… you're right." "I know I am, Bobby. Now take those frowny pants off and go clean that table" The two shared a quick kiss, which lightened Bob's mood. As Bob left, he leaned over to Teddy, whispering softly "Did you get the stuff for the… Project?" "Oh, yeah Bobby. It's in my car." He returned to his burger as Bob stood for a second. "Uhm… Teddy. I need you to go and… do that." Bob spoke in a deadpan tone. "Oh, right. Lemmie get that started!" Teddy then dashed out of the restaurant towards his truck.
Louise kept up the pace, burgers flying as customers were rotated through. Just as it seemed Louise was getting close to a break, the large form of Calvin Fischoeder walked through the door. No one quite knew how he had survived so long, but the owner of Wonder Wharf and landlord of… most of Ocean Avenue, typically walked around, never quite actually going to the shops and restaurants that he owned, but always intimidating the owners. "Afternoon Burger People!" He announced loudly, Bob stammering "Umm… I think you're looking for that Burger Person…" pointing towards the kitchen window and Louise. "Ah, Bob, I see your Burger Baby has grown up to be a Burger Woman!" "Yes, we are very proud…" Bob's face turned slightly pale as Louise looked up towards the window. "Ah! Calvin, just the man I wanted to see!" she yelled slightly, shooting him a finger gun.
Fischoeder walked behind the counter, peering through the window at Louise. "Miss Burger, I've heard you've taken over this rinky dink operation." "Yeah, the two of them finally got too old to hack it." Louise adopted a chilled stance talking to Fischoeder, still flipping burgers, "New sheriff in town and all that. And I'd like to thank you for letting me slide on the rent for the first three months to let me cover renovation costs and keep the lights on for those two."
"I did?" Fischoeder looked puzzled, clearly confused by the statement. "Yeah, you're helping invest into a small, but growing, business on your property," Louise smirked, poking him softly with the hot spatula. "Hmm, that sounds rather… philanthropic of me," Fischoeder tutted. "And I thank you for it, Sir," She smiled, "Burger for the road?" "Of course not, I'm watching my lithe figure. Farewell for now, Burger People!"
As Calvin left the restaurant, Louise returned to her job, putting two plates in the window, ringing the small bell, unphased by the whole experience. "Order Up!" Bob turned towards the kitchen, utterly stunned, mouth still agape at watching what just happened. "I… Did you just… get Fischoeder to give you free rent for three months?" "What, I can talk to him. How do you think the three of us got away with most of the crap we pulled?" Bob groaned slightly, leaning against Linda's shoulder. "Linda, hold me, I… I think I'm gonna faint."
Author's Note: Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Working on another chapter now, hoping to get it posted soon-ish. If you would, please leave some feedback on the chapters so far! This is the first real fanfic I've written and I'm trying to make it good!