#15 On The House

Lucille and Martha made small talk over coffee. Chatting over coffee after lunch became a tradition for them a few years back when Oliver Reeves moved to town and opened his charming little restaurant. Reeves blew in from back east. He said he found Hazelton while looking for a change of pace. He told his customers who lingered at the counter long enough to swap stories about his old life.

He gave the usual rat-race-in-a-big-town story. When he finally took stock of his accomplishments, he realized he wasn't happy. "I felt like I had been traveling through space all those years, man," he would say. "Then suddenly I looked outside the rocket ship and said, "Where the heck am I goin? And that's when I found Hazelton and had the crazy idea to open up a diner."

Lucille and Martha nodded along as Oliver told his story today. They knew every word, having heard it so many times. Today's audience was the widow Butler. Not your ordinary widow, Sara Butler. She was only 37. Her husband fell to cancer; he was only 40. Oliver himself was a spry 52 and handsome, Lucille and Martha agreed. They could see that Sara Butler felt the same.

Martha waved  to Oliver for the check. He shook his head. "Not today, Martha. It's New Year's Eve. This one's on the house!"

"Oliver," Lucille said, " you told us our meal was on the house last week. And before that, it was right before Thanksgiving."

Oliver smiled broadly, "I know, Martha. If I go broke for giving away a few lunches to my best customers, so be it. At least it'll be on my terms."

The ladies beamed at him. New Year's wishes passed between all and the diner cleared out. Oliver closed up early. He didn't have any plans. He didn't celebrate earth holidays. He sat down in his office chair in the back of the restaurant and took out his notebook.

Oliver kept fastidious records of his patrons' meals. He even had scales built into the floor so he could record their weights. His eyebrows rose as he jotted down Lucille's weight today. "Oh my. Lucille's up 10 pounds in 2 weeks. It's almost her time."

He snatched three post-it notes hanging off the nearest cabinet. Recipes that would be a home run starring Lucille.