Crystal Bay

Chapter Nine

Labour Day weekend arrives in a flash, bringing with it huge crowds, both on the beach and in the diner. It's only Friday morning and I'm already not sure if I'll have enough stock to keep up with the demand. We've had a steady flow of customers since I opened the door at seven and now that it's closer to noon, there are people lined up outside waiting for tables. The plan had been to give Melody at least one day off this weekend since Kiera's coming but I don't know if I'll be able to spare her if it stays like this. I'm pulling double-duty as it is, just to help Bryan and Jen keep up with the orders that are pouring into the kitchen. I've decided to not open past three all weekend, so that my staff can at least enjoy some of the festivities that will be going on along the beach over the next few days. After today, I'm even more convinced it was the right call, otherwise we really might end up running out of food before Sunday. Hell, we still could, the way customers have been pouring in here!

Melody and I have already moved into Paul's house and the work on mine has begun. If everything goes according to plan, we should be back home in time for Christmas at the very latest. As of Monday afternoon, Paul and I will basically be living alone together, since Melody will be leaving for Toronto to begin her voice lessons, as well as her final year of high school. I'm nervous about her being there alone but this is such a remarkable opportunity for her, it's her dream come true. What kind of mother would I be if I discouraged her? Kiera is going back to Pinewood on Sunday, so I'm taking Mel out to eat that night and then we're meeting Paul at the beach afterward for a swim. He was supposed to have his kids this weekend but he had to trade it in order to keep them for the extra week to go camping. Apparently, Natalie hadn't insisted on this condition until after she learned about my pregnancy, though she insisted to Paul on the phone that the timing was a coincidence.

It feels strange, being at Paul's house full-time. It's not that I don't enjoy living with him, I just miss my own home. Star's having a hard time adjusting too, especially because she's trapped indoors again for the time being. I don't want to take the chance of her wandering home and getting hurt over there and I don't want her to get used to coming back here just in time for us to move back. It's proven difficult to keep her inside; she waits and watches so closely that we have to practically dive in and out the door and make certain it closes fast enough that she can't slip through, or she's gone. I keep telling myself it's only for a little while and that, when we do go home, it'll be for good. It's not like it's been unpleasant by any means, Paul makes certain of that, it's just not...home. I can't help but wonder if Paul will feel that way on the other side of all of this. I don't think he will, though. He seems perfectly comfortable whenever he's stayed there and he's pretty excited about everything we're doing.

Finally, three o'clock arrives and I hurry to lock the doors, before anyone else wanders in off the beach. We've already had three tables show up in the last five minutes and my staff will want to get out of here for the day, eventually. Leaving Melody and Beth to handle the dining room, I head into the kitchen to see how much prep work needs to be done. "Are you serious?" Bryan asks with a laugh. "Go see for yourself, you must have been busy if you didn't even notice!" 

"Notice what?" I ask as I look around, I'm amazed to find that everything is done. 

"Notice Paul prepping his ass off for the last hour and a half. He showed up and jumped right in. Thanks to him, we've only got about twenty minutes of work after these last tables and we're done. He just ran to the store to pick up a bit more fruit and some whipped cream, we're almost out, he should be back before we're finished here."

"Yeah, that's pretty bad," I have to admit. "I haven't even glanced in the direction of the prep area this afternoon." 

"In all fairness, you haven't had to come all the way into the kitchen since before he got here," Jen points out. "It's harder to see over there, looking through the window."