Tony's Salvation—Chapter 18
Max softly closes the door as he and Tony watch Laurie work with Danny. Tony is impressed with her patience and says as much to Max when the other man leads him upstairs.
"She's really devoted to her people."
"That she is kid, that she is."
Tony follows Max upstairs still marveling that he'd found Laurie. Admittedly he hasn't seen her face to face yet, but is hoping that the day to come will prove fruitful.
"Hey Max, thanks for letting me stay here."
"No problem Tony. We have the room and the boss likes company." He opens a door and Tony can see the setting sun in the window straight across from him. He puts his backpack on the chair by the bed and turns to Max.
"May I ask a personal question?"
"How'd we meet? She found me one day about twenty five years ago." He motions for Tony to sit down while he tells his story.
"I was out of work, homeless and almost starving to death. One day I'm passing by this restaurant, the paint is still so new you could almost smell it, and this beautiful young lady steps out the front door and asks me if I'd like to join her for a meal."
"What did you say?"
"No. Hey, I had my pride. She told me that her date had dumped her and she needed cheering up. She never could lie worth a damn, don't care what her training is." Tony hides a smile at that information.
"She persisted until I finally caved in and joined her. That's when she asked me if I'd like a job."
"Bet that surprised you."
"You know it kid. I just sat there dumbfounded for almost a whole minute; then I asked her who the hell she was trying to mess with."
"She told you straight up didn't she?"
"You got that right. Told me that my background didn't make a damn bit of difference to her. If I wanted a job that not only paid well but also gave me free room and board I had to tell her within the next two days."
"Why two days?"
"I asked her that too and she said she was going overseas, with her SEAL team. I laughed at her. Told her that there were no women in the SEALs. That's when her teammates came out of the kitchen asking her if she'd found someone to watch her restaurant while they were deployed."
Tony mulls that over then thinks about the young man in the kitchen. "Is Danny one of her team mates' kids?"
"No son, he's one of her kids." At Tony's startled look Max tells him, "Danny is one of her strays. Most of us who work here are someone that she's adopted and brought in."
"Adopted?"
"Nothing formal, like paperwork, just brought in out of a bad situation and given a chance to live again. By the time she's through with him, Danny will either be one of this city's top chefs or the manager of his own restaurant."
"Why do you say that?"
"She knows in whatever way she knows, what exactly each of us is best at. I'm great with bookkeeping and management; Danny has a rare talent for cooking. You haven't met Holly, but she was one of Laurie's strays too. She was one of our best waitresses and a damn fine hostess."
He opens a door and steps into the next room, coming back with a framed photograph.
"That's Holly and her husband Richard Thorpe. They live in Japan now and Holly's pregnant with their first child."
Tony's studying the picture. The two brides look almost identical, from their blonde hair to their smiling faces. The main difference is that Holly was wearing a white dress while Laurie was wearing dress whites.
"They look like twins."
"They're not; when they had the blood work done, they checked for any familial genes. The really funny weird thing is not just how similar the girls look, but they both married Richard Thorpe."
Tony brings the picture closer to the window. By the light of the almost faded sun, he can see two men on either side of the women. The woman he knows to be Laurie is standing beside a man in a Marine uniform. The other woman, Holly, is standing next to a man dressed in a stylized martial arts uniform. Both couples look excited and happy.
The intercom buzzes and Laurie's voice fills the room. "You two gonna stay up there all night or would our guest like to come down and eat?"
"On our way boss."
As he leads the way back downstairs, Max tells Tony, "She likes to let people know that they need to eat. She does accept that some of them might eat at different hours than we do though."
Tony chuckles as Max leads the way back to the kitchens. He notices a closed sign in the front window as they pass the dining room and asks Max how they can afford to be closed during the week.
"Thursdays are our night off. We allow one guest to come in on that night but no one else. We also test new recipes on Thursdays."
Before Tony can comment, Danny comes in carrying a large pizza topped with Tony's favorites: sausage, pepperoni and extra cheese. The youth sets the pizza on the table and Max asks, "Tony as our special guest would you like the first slice?"
"Sure. Wow that looks great."
Laurie comes out with a smaller tray. This one has two jars: one of parmesan cheese, the other crushed dried peppers. She also has drinks for everyone. Tony watches as the other three all choose either water or soda pop. There's a beer on the tray, but Tony grabs a soda instead, not wanting to drink alone.
"Why the choices?"
Laurie tells him, "We all have choices Tony. Danny here is too young for beer. I don't like the taste."
Max looks at him and nods at Tony's dawning understanding, "I'm a recovering alcoholic. I've been sober for 25 years now. I don't dare take a drink, or I'll be back out where I started."
"Still, how'd you know what my favorite drink is?"
The others share a small chuckle at the question and Tony knows he isn't the first one to ask it. Laurie tells Tony that it's part of her many talents. Tony nods and takes his first bite of the pizza.
"Oh my God." Tony's eyes close; Max and Danny look him over to make certain nothing is wrong.
"I think I've died and gone to pizza heaven." At Tony's comment Max and Danny laugh while Laurie gives Tony a smile.
"Thank you Tony, that's the nicest compliment I've had in a long time." She tries and fails to hide a yawn. "Sorry, guys, jet lag finally catching up to me." She yawns again.
"Go to bed boss, we'll take good care of Tony for you."
"My apologies for being a bad hostess Tony. Would you consider joining me for lunch tomorrow?"
"It'd be my honor." He notices that she said lunch not breakfast.
Laurie stands up and starts weaving. Tony is instantly by her side, as are Max and Danny. Tony picks her up; when she offers no resistance he looks at Max.
"Show me where to take her."
"Follow me."
Max leads Tony to Laurie's suite of rooms and Tony lays her on the bed. She falls asleep almost too quickly for either man's liking. Tony motions for Danny to come watch over her while he and Max step outside the room to confer.
"When did she get in?" Tony's voice is low in deference to the woman still in the room.
"Just before I came to pick you up."
"I suppose getting a doctor in here to see her is out of the question."
Danny pipes up from his position by the bed. "Normally she sleeps when she gets in, but I don't think she did today. Something was troubling her. She was on the phone when I first came in, I noticed the light on when I put my jacket in the office."
"Any idea what's on her mind?" in a way Tony wants it to be him, then again, that could be a bad thing if she decides she doesn't like him.
Max shakes his head no, "Not really other than the fact that as of today she's retired from active duty."
"Is that what they were talking about when we arrived? She's going to be opening more restaurants?" In the dream, she was opening a restaurant. She was a Navy SEAL and was going to retire and open a restaurant. The hope in Tony's heart starts to blossom.
"It's possible. She seldom says something unless she means it."
"She doesn't look old enough to retire," muses Tony.
"Don't let her looks deceive you Tony. She's a lot tougher than she appears to be right now. Out of her 43 years, she's been part of the navy at least 25 of them."
"Still…"
"I know kid. Come on let's check up on her then get you settled in for the night."
They re-enter the room and Tony comes over to the bed. He reaches down and reads her pulse like Ducky taught him years ago. He smiles as he looks up at Max and Danny.
"Normal for her I think."
"About two beats slower than the rest of the world? Yeah, that's our girl."
The men leave the room and head back downstairs. They sit down to their now cold food. Tony picks up his pizza as he says
"Hey guys, I wasn't kidding earlier. The pizza is really good!"
"Thanks Tony. If you like Danny can bring out some dessert?"
"Hmm…can I have the pizza leftovers instead?" the other two laugh and agree to let Tony have whatever is left of the pizza. Danny goes into the kitchen and comes back out with a small plate and a box of saran wrap. Max tells Tony that there is a small refrigerator in each suite as he hands Tony two beers and the wrapped up pizza.
Tony offers to help clean up and gets affronted looks from both men. Max tells him in no uncertain terms that as Tony is a guest all he's responsible for is eating what's on his plate. Danny nods in agreement. Tony thanks them as he heads back upstairs, pizza and beers firmly in hand.