After Olivia

13

In a back corner, in the kitchen of the Park Café, away from the normal lunch preparation bustle, Matilda worked on a lunch special of her own. A pot of marinara sauce simmered on a side burner as she formed one last meatball and added it to the pan with three dozen others. She cleaned her hands then slid the pan into the oven and set a timer.

"If you want to get ready for your shift, I'll take care of the rest," Lou said as he entered the kitchen.

Matilda scanned the kitchen and replied, "The sauce is ready, meatballs are in the oven. They'll probably like some garlic bread."

"We have plenty," Lou said.

"I hope it all tastes good."

"Dear, I'm sure it will all be delicious," Lou responded. "Now, go and get cleaned up. You have sauce on your face."

"I set the timer—"

"Yes, yes. It's all good," he said as he shooed her out of the kitchen.

Matilda was hesitant to surrender control of her project to Lou and the kitchen staff. She joined Angelica in the dining room and busied herself with her normal duties. Every chance she had, she would slip back into the kitchen and check up on the meatballs, only to be send back to the front of house. Each time the door opened, her eyes turned to see if her special guests had arrived.

She bounded to the door when Bill and Emily arrived, then showed them to their usual table. She gave them a moment to settle in then said, "Welcome. I'm so glad you made it, 'cause I have something special for you."

"We wouldn't have missed it for anything," Emily said with a broad smile.

"I don't know if you remember, but you came in on my first day of work here, and both of you ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs. So, for our last lunch hour together, I thought I would make that same meal, just for the two of you. Lou agreed, but then he convinced me to make a bigger batch and so it's actually on the chalkboard as Matilda's Special. So much for a special for my favorite customers. On the upside, someone has already ordered it and they haven't sent it back yet, so that's a good sign. Right?"

"You made it yourself?" Emily asked with a chuckle in her voice.

"It's the same recipe. I had to do some crazy math to cut it down from two hundred and fifty servings, so it should taste just like what you've had before, but yes, I made the sauce and meatballs myself."

"I can hardly wait," Bill responded.

Matilda waved to call over Angelica then proceeded to introduce her, "Angelica, this is Bill and Emily, my favorite customers. These are the one I told you about. Emily will change things up from time to time, be a little adventurous. And, he's just learned how to use a menu, so be patient."

"My reading skills are more suited for the specials board," Bill said with a confused looked that played off of Matilda's teasing. "But I did like that takeout menu from the other place. Lots of pictures!"

Matilda giggled for a moment as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then continued, "Okay, so Angelica is going to be on lunch shift for at least a couple months. Oh, and as far as that 'favorite customers' thing goes, keep that between us. That group of ladies in the corner booth; they think they're my favorite, but clearly, the two of you hold the title."

"Your secret is safe with us," Bill whispered.

"Well, I should get you some drinks. The usual? Oh, and would you like the garden salad? House Italian dressing? I can't take credit for that one. Lou's brother keeps that recipe in the vault behind some nasty looking guards."