"To the worst summer we ever had and the best punch ever thrown!"
"Oh, stop it, Jenny... You're making me blush!"
~~~
George Marshall, owner of Lila's Seafood Restaurant since it first opened and for over forty years, tries his best to save it from...
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Logan and I decided we wouldn't tell anything about our suspicions to Dennis, or anyone for that matter, and that we'd pretend nothing was wrong.
The more I thought about it, the more sense it made and the more it hurt me that such a close friend would betray us in such a way, so I tried to get it out of my head. Besides, we weren't completely sure about anything yet, so we couldn't start pointing fingers. It could be a big misunderstanding for all we knew. Maybe Dennis accidentally deleted everything and didn't say anything to stay out of trouble.
Such arguments were floating around in my brain and it was giving me a huge headache. The more I tried to think of reasonable explanations, the more ridiculous my ideas became.
I couldn't fall back asleep after my talk with Logan, not only because of the disturbing idea that Dennis might have been a traitor, but also because I felt guilty conspiring with Logan against Dennis- especially when my boyfriend and I were this guy's best friends. For the first time we kept him out of the loop and he was getting wary of us.
Maybe he knew we were on his tracks.
In a couple of days everything was back in order. Lila's Facebook page was online again, the ads were all-new and improved and the posters were almost ready. I was on my way out of the restaurant to go print them out, when Dennis poked my shoulder and asked if he could tag along.
Of course, I let him.
I didn't want to believe he was a traitor and I didn't want to believe he would ever do anything to hurt everyone that was with him over the course of his entire life. His uncle, gramps, Mary, Logan, me, Jenny, Larry... I doubted he'd throw all that all away just to get closer to a girl he'd barely exchanged a few sentences with- and yes, I'm talking about Bella.
I hadn't really seen her since I accidentally came across her and Dennis talking. She must have caught on that we were taking action and, from what I'd heard, she was stressing everyone that worked at the Seashell out.
At least the ads had been restored and new tourists, curious to see what the fuss was all about, came to the restaurant to check if coming to the party was worth it. Things were finally looking up for Lila's and I couldn't be happier.
Well, that was until Gramps decided it was about time we talked about something serious...
We were back home after a long shift. I'd just showered after reading Mary a bedtime story to fall asleep and had gone to the living room to watch TV with my grandpa, as we did every Tuesday night.
"Hey, kiddo, can you mute the TV for a while? We need to talk..." he sighed.
I furrowed my eyebrows and blinked a couple of times, then looked around for the controller a bit and did as he said once I found it. "What's going on?"
"I... we need to be prepared for what will happen if Lila's closes. You're leaving for college and your parents aren't going to be around. I'm too old to find a job and someone is going to have to take care of Mary while you're gone."
