1"I wonder what's keeping Stephanie? I can't wait for her to see this place!" Jack wondered aloud as he had his back toward the kitchen, arranging the centerpiece on one of his tables.
"Jack Tripper!" A voice exclaimed behind him. He was so startled that he let out a small grunt as the flowers he had been arranging went flying in the air. He quickly turned to the source of the voice and faced a pretty, petite redhead with a sour expression on her face.
"Veronica!" Jack stammered, looking at his girlfriend. "What a surprise! I thought you were working tonight."
"I'll bet you did. Otherwise, "Stephanie" wouldn't have been invited over." She finished by crossing her arms.
"Huh? Step---" Jack began with a confused look on his face. He then relaxed and smiled as he realized what Veronica was thinking. "No, no. Stephanie is my kid sister, nineteen years old. She's up visiting me from San Diego for a couple of weeks and hasn't seen the Bistro yet."
"Oh." Veronica said, unfolding her arms and blushing slightly. "Well I can't wait to meet her. What does she look like? Is she gorgeous?"
"Well people do say that we resemble each other a lot." Jack replied, smiling smugly.
"Oh that's too bad. I guess she has to wear a lot of makeup, huh?" Veronica teased. Jack playfully hit her with a dish towel before giving her a sweet kiss and embrace.
"You still haven't told me why you're not working tonight." Jack reminded her.
"Oh, that's right." Veronica replied, holding her head as if she couldn't believe she had forgotten. "You know, it's an amazing coincidence, but my little brother Jason is visiting me on his spring break from college. He's the same age as Stephanie."
"Wow that is amazing." Jack replied, rubbing his hand on his chin in thought. "You know, Veronica, I just had a great idea. Why don't you and I and Jason and Stephanie all have a double date tomorrow night? I just had a friend offer me some basketball tickets. Stephanie doesn't know anyone in town other than me and I'm sure she'll get bored after a few days. How do you think Jason would feel about it?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself? He's in the kitchen with Felipe. When I introduced them a few moments ago Jason saw it as a perfect opportunity to brush up on some Spanish for his upcoming test."
"Okay." Jack agreed. He pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen and found Janet and Terri talking to Jason.
"………majoring in Business, but at night I'm taking some culinary classes, which is why Veronica wanted me to meet Jack." Jason finished as Jack and Veronica joined the group.
"Jack." Janet said. "This is…."
"….Jason, I know, I heard." Jack replied, shaking Jason's hand. "A future chef in the making. I love it! I absolutely love it!"
"He loves chefs, huh?" Felipe muttered while stirring some sauce. "For over a year I work here and does that gringo ever try my personal soup recipe? No!"
"You say something, Felipe?" Jack asked.
Felipe turned and smiled at Jack. "I say I'm glad to be working for you jefe!"
"That's….good Felipe." Jack replied, arching an eyebrow before returning to the group.
"Listen, Jack. Terri and I have to be going. Mr. Furley is coming over to fix that leaky faucet in the kitchen later tonight and we have to clean out from under the sink."
"'k babe." Jack replied, kissing his two roommates goodbye. He then turned to Jason and asked a few more questions about his culinary interest. "Listen, Jason. How would you like to go out with a great looking girl tomorrow night?"
"How great?" Jason asked with interest.
"Jack!" Stephanie sang out from inside the dining area.
"Well you're about to find out. In here, Steph!" Jack shouted out.
Stephanie walked through the swinging door into the kitchen. "Jack, the dining room is so pretty! Did you decorate it yourself?" She asked as Jason's jaw dropped to the floor. He thought Stephanie was stunning.
"No, but we'll get into that later. I've got somebody I want you to meet. Stephanie, this is my girlfriend Veronica Peterson and her brother, Jason."
"Hi! It's nice to meet you both." Stephanie said, shaking each of their hands.
"You know Sis, it just so happens that Jason came down from San Francisco to spend next week with Veronica. He's going to be a great gourmet chef just like Yours Truly." Jack said, throwing an arm around Jason's shoulder.
"Well, if what my sister says is true, I hope so." Jason replied modestly.
"It also just so happens that I have 4 tickets to the basketball game tomorrow night. What do you say, everyone?"
"That sounds great, Jack!" Veronica exclaimed.
"Count me in." Jason said.
"Oh, I'm sorry Jack, but I already have a date for tomorrow night." Stephanie replied with a slightly disappointed look on her face.
"A date? Well, who do you have a date with?"
"What's a guy got to do to get some service in this restaurant?" A familiar voice called out. Jack stood with a look of shock as Larry pushed open the swinging door to be met by Stephanie, a look of infatuation on her face.