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I spent the morning in my apartment. It was time for an updated to-do list and deciding what my priority should be. I wanted to make some changes in the cafe and in my apartment, but I also needed to get more involved in the day-to-day running of the cafe. As I was about to head downstairs to help cook for the lunch rush, I leaned over the table and added one final item to the list—decide what to do about Chance Munroe.
I really hadn't given my Uncle's crazy demands any thought at all, but I knew time was running out. I needed to make a decision soon.
XXX
So far, everyone seemed to like the changeover to southern fried chicken. Of the few people who tried the sweet tea, only a couple of older women seemed to truly enjoy it. I’d leave it on the menu, because I’d always have it for my personal use anyway.
"Did you do much cooking back at the tea room?" Rick ask as I tied-on my apron.
"More baking and prep than actual cooking, but I want to be able to do every job here in case I have to fill in or help out. Rick started me out on the prep station and I eventually made it to manning the grill. As I worked, I took note of the ingredients we had on hand. I could see that we could use those same things in different ways to add a bit more variety to the menu. Chicken salad would be an easy addition. Adding some lighter options to our menu might bring in more female customers. Thinking about that brought up a question. "Hey, Rick, are there any female cryptid hunters around here."
"Only one that I know of. Helen Kepler from over in Washington. She stops by when she's in the area. She's in one or two of the photos out there. Remind me to show you later. She came in regularly for a while. Rumor mill said she and Harry were involved, but I can't say if that was true or not."
"Thanks." I'd definitely be adding "learn more about Helen Kepler" to my list when I went back upstairs.
When our late shift waitress showed up and the lunch rush had run its course, I ask Rita and Rick to come into my office. "Why do you two look so nervous?"
"Are you firing us?" Rita asked.
"Is there a reason I should?"
"Course not, but usually new management means lots of changes," Rick said.
"You're right. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
Rick stood up and headed for the door so fast his chair would have fallen over if there'd been room. As it was, the wall caught it. It left a nice ding in my new sunshine yellow walls. "Where are you going?"
"If you want me gone, I'm outta here."
"I wanted to talk to the two of you about my ideas to make some changes to the menu. That's all. Everyone who works here seems to know their job. I don't see any reason to make changes in staff other than my efforts to learn everything, so I can fill in if need be. Sit down, Rick."
He sat, and I explained my ideas about the menu. The changes were fairly minor and used ingredients we were already ordering for our existing menu.
As we talked through each of my ideas, I made notes on the current menu. I wanted to redesign it and get new ones printed once I was sure about the new dishes. We all agreed that it would be best to test the new items as specials before bothering to have them added to the printed menus.
Hush puppies were on tap for the afternoon. Hairy's already had a couple of fish dishes on the menu. I wanted to try serving them with the Southern staple I grew up with. "I'm not sure how to explain hush puppies. I guess they're seasoned balls of bread."
"Sounds great," Rick said with a grin.
"You'll see," I said and began gathering the ingredients.
Voting by the staff was mixed, but we agreed to try serving the hush puppies with our fish dishes to see what the customers thought. As I helped prep for dinner, I made a big pan of red beans and rice. Rick peered over my shoulder as I put it in the oven.
"What's that for?"
"I'm going to take it to the Search and Rescue Team pot luck tonight," I said. "Jim said that would be a good place to meet more of the locals."
"That's a good idea," he said. "They're a fun group."
"I'm not sure why, but that just doesn't seem like how you should describe people who save lives."