"What can I get you, sweetie?"
The gentle voice of Sally the waitress caused Ben to lift his head from the table, where he'd been resting it atop his crossed arms.
"I, um ..." The boy glanced around the table at the concerned faces of his parents and siblings before taking one last look at the menu before him. "I guess I'll have an extra-crunchy grilled cheese with a chocolate milk."
"Okay, then." The cat-like alien waitress scribbled the last order for the Lightyear-Nova family into her order book, then headed for the counter to give Cosmo the order, humming along with the cheeful but gentle tune streaming from the jukebox near the diner entrance.
The overall atmosphere at Cosmo's that evening seemed to be one of joy and contentment, with most of the customers wrapping up a successful day with a favorite entrée, side dish or sweet treat. However, this particular day had been a rough one for the Lightyear-Nova family.
Buzz made a bad call during a mission that resulted in another space ranger's injury.
Astrid and her friend Megan Parsec got into a fight with Cordelia Tachyon at school, and the former two were sent to the principal's office.
Alexander was bringing his school project, a part of a model city his class was working on, to his classroom when he accidently tripped and fell on top of his model, smashing it beyond repair.
Ben's pet goldfish, Corporal Fish-Face, had died, leaving the small boy's spirit crushed.
But the one who'd had the worst day, and was the reason Buzz decided to take his family to Cosmo's for dinner that evening, was Mira. After dealing with a fussy and irritable Sophie all morning, the Tangean spage ranger and mother of four had finally gotten her youngest daughter to calm down when she received a message from the Tangean royal physician, who informed her that her father's illness had taken a turn for the worse.
"Why didn't you get the cosmic chili, Dad?" Astrid asked, confused as to why her father had ordered something other than his usual favorite.
"Well, sweetie -" Buzz was about to answer his daughter's question when Mira interrupted him.
"Buzz, I know I've been telling you to lay off the cosmic chili for awhile," the Tangean began, "but it doesn't have to be today. You can treat yourself, too, if you want."
Buzz just smiled in reply. "Mira, I understand you're worried about your father and whether he'll recover. I thought I'd do you a favor and forego the chili tonight, since we all know how it messes with my sleep as well as my- "
"Buzz, please!" Mira held up her hand to silence him. "Do we really need to be discussing that in front of the kids? And here, of all places?"
The three oldest kids smiled and began to giggle, for the moment forgetting their troubles. Sophie, not understanding what was so funny, squirmed in her high chair, trying to get a better look at the tiny bug-like car that was making its way across the floor of the diner.
In the kitchen, Cosmo had just finished preparing the Lightyear-Novas' meals and was about to ring for Sally to pick up the order when a thought occured to him. Sally had mentioned to him when she gave him the order that the family looked unusually depressed that evening; possibly because of an especially bad day or troubling news, the waitress guessed.
If there was one thing the alien chef believed strongly in, it was that there was nothing that helped cheer one up after a bad time like good food.
Cosmo placed six coupons for a free dessert on the tray with the Lightyear-Novas' food, along with a small but steaming hot bowl of cosmic chili. Satisfied, he rang for Sally to pick up the order.
"What-?" Sally looked at the chili, confused as to why it was on the tray when it wasn't originally part of the order.
"Tell him it's on the house," Cosmo explained.