Better Days

All at once Cheryl ran into Jim's apartment and returned with buckets of water and cleaning supplies. She immediately cleaned all the food prep surfaces then took the pots and pans into Jim's home and he heard her washing them. While Cheryl was washing the cooking utensils Jim got busy and crawled under the counter and hooked up the deep sinks to his water supplies and drains. He was glad there had already been a sink in the room as it made the job a lot easier.

By the time everything was clean and ready to go it was past closing time. A very tired Cheryl went home and Jim locked up and went into his quarters. Jim showered and made a sandwich for supper then collapsed on his couch to watch TV for a while before going to bed. He never made it to bed.

At 530 the next morning Jim heard crashing and clanging coming from the store. He struggled up from where he still laid on the couch. He guiltily turned off the TV and poked his head out of his living room into the store. He stood in amazement as he watched Cheryl begin her baking. After she had the first batch of bread dough mixed and rising she turned to him with a smile. "Jim this is wonderful. I have lots more room to work than I did at home and I can do several batches of bread dough at a time... Jim aren't those the same clothes you had on yesterday?"

Jim looked sheepish and said, "Yeah. I guess I'm getting old. You worked me so hard yesterday and night before last that I never made it to bed. I was laying on the couch watching the news before I cleaned up and went to sleep. I fell asleep during the news and you woke me up when you began working this morning. I'll be back out in a few minutes. I guess I need to shower and get into some clean clothes. Sorry."

Jim went into his bedroom and began cleaning up. He never heard Cheryl as she walked into his home and rummaged around in his refrigerator. She left as quietly as she entered. When he walked up to his stove to prepare his breakfast he found a note on it. "Jim, please come out into the store for a moment before you fix your breakfast. Cheryl"

Jim wondered what that was all about but he knew Cheryl didn't usually ask for something unless it was really necessary so he went. He was afraid there was something wrong with the new equipment. When he opened the door he saw Cheryl busily working at the stove. Nothing seemed to be wrong.

When Jim walked up beside Cheryl he saw she was cooking eggs, ham and potatoes on the new stovetop. She had bread toasting in a skillet on another burner. He smiled and said, "Wow, that sure looks good but why are you cooking breakfast out here? I am perfectly capable of making my own breakfast if that is for me. I've been doing it for years now."

"Jim I didn't eat at home and I thought I would have time to make breakfast here while I worked on the bread. I hope you don't mind but I left a note for the kids to come down here as soon as they get up so I can feet them too. Don't worry, I brought food from home for them and for me. I hope you don't mind but that way I can work and still make sure they get a good meal in the mornings."

Jim felt guilty and said, "No, of course not. I know you need to take care of your children. I never even thought about their breakfast. I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be sorry. Everything here is so wonderful and I can do my baking and make breakfast here so much easier than I can at home I would really rather be here. Besides the kids don't mind. It's only a quarter mile or so walk for them and they can catch the bus right out front just as well as they can at home. It will work perfectly for us if you don't mind?"

"No, that's fine. It's a good idea in fact. Sorry I didn't think about it."

After they had finished the meal Jim leaned back in his chair. He complimented Cheryl on the food and said, "I'm glad you thought of this. I haven't enjoyed a breakfast like that in several months."

Cheryl looked a little guilty and bit her lip then she smiled and said, "Jim I have a confession to make. Oh, I needed to feed the kids but I also wanted to show you how easy it was to cook on this new stove. You saw how I managed to do that and still we have bread and rolls cooking at the same time? Jim, we have the stove top and we don't need it to bake...would you be upset if I started offering simple breakfasts? I could offer biscuits and gravy and maybe some meat and eggs and hash browns...We have the cooler to keep milk and other cool items in. I can even stock it with our sodas and get them out of your refrigerator..."

Jim laughed and said, "OK Cheryl. I know when I'm beat. Do whatever you want, same deal as with the bread. Just give me a list of things to buy and I'll make a run to town today or tomorrow."

Once again Cheryl's excitement got the better of her and she leaped into Jims arms. She gave him another kiss. Jim and Cheryl heard Sarah say, "MOMMMMM"

Cheryl dropped from her tip toes to the flat of her feet. The couple was beginning to pull away from each other. Cheryl blushed and just as she was stepping back they heard a cough. Joel said, "Unh, I know it's not eight but I saw the door open...sorry if I interrupted...Holy SHIT! When did you all do all this?"

Joel walked through the door. He stopped and said, "Hey Jim are you opening early now? This's the second day this week I've found ya all here working just after seven."

Joel looked at the dirty plates on the table then he started to speak again. Cheryl turned and led Joel to a chair. She pushed him back and brought him his first cup of coffee then sat with him and Jim as they explained to Joel what the idea was.

Joel grinned and leaned back in his chair. He said, "Wow. Gonna serve breakfast too huh. Man, that'll be great for working stiffs and some of us old codgers that are alone and don't like to cook. I'll be here with bells on and I'll pass the word. When ya gonna start?"

Cheryl looked over at Jim then answered Joel, "We aren't sure when we will have everything ready but I am ready to cook as soon as Jim gets me some supplies. I even have a small white board at home we can use for the menu and prices." She looked at Jim and continued, "Jim when can you go to town and buy things?"

Jim laughed and looked at the obviously excited Cheryl. "Well, if you would try to take care of things here today I can put off the small amount of grinding I have to do and go get the supplies now. Do you have a list ready for me?"

"NO but I'll do it right now. Can I get anything I want or is there something you don't want me to make?"

"Just keep it simple Cheryl. You know, baking supplies, breakfast meats, eggs and so forth."

While Cheryl was making the list Jim worked grinding his grain. He almost had everything ground he needed to do that day when Cheryl came to him with her list. Jim looked at it and was shocked. Not only was it a long list but it was full of many items he didn't see any use for in baking or as breakfast items. Finally he asked Cheryl about some of the items.

Cheryl blushed and said, well, I thought since we had that huge cooler and a lot of the space was going to waste...I thought we should just as well buy some things that we could maybe sell like the juice and extra milk and dairy products and so forth. I can use many of the items and most of them don't spoil rapidly if they don't sell. Do you mind?"

Jim laughed and said, "No I guess not but let's keep it down ok? I'll get these things and get back as soon as I can. But why the cake pans and the small individual 3X2X6 pans?"

"Well I thought since I was baking anyway I might make some cakes to see if they would sell. The small individual pans are to make smaller loaves of bread for hoagie buns. I need the flavorings to add to some of my baking to change the flavors. Trust me it's all useful and won't spoil before we use it up."

Finally at almost three in the afternoon Jim came into the store. He looked tired but was pleased with himself. He found Cheryl cleaning the kitchen area and said, "Damn I'm glad to be back. That trip was murder. I got more of some of the things than you asked for so I don't have to go back as often. We can store it in the back if there's no room here. Do you have to get back home now or can you help me unload first?"

When Cheryl walked outside she saw Jim's truck backed up to the loading dock. The bed of it was stacked full of dry and canned goods. The rear seating area had several boxes of refrigerated and frozen items. She stopped in shock and said, "Jim this is way more than I had on the list. Whatever possessed you..."

Jim grinned and broke into her statement. He said, "Heck Cheryl. Everyone's complaining about not being able to buy groceries and so forth here so I just picked up some canned goods and so forth to sell also. We have room to display it in the store and if it doesn't sell I can eat it myself. I didn't buy anything I won't eat."

It took almost three hours to unload the truck and stock shelves and put away the items Jim had purchased. He had several cans of food items, fruit, soup, cereal and so forth. He had even bought some boxes of candy bars and snack chips. When they were finished the cooler was filled with eggs, butter, cheese, bacon, sausage, ham and lunch meat. There were also tomatoes and other perishables. In short they had almost a full but small selection of sandwich items. Jim had also bought some potatoes, onions and other root vegetables as well as salad fixings.

Cheryl looked at the items and turned to Jim. She asked, "Jim it looks like we could even serve light lunches. Did you intend to do that? There is no way you can eat all this sandwich stuff before it spoils..."

Jim grinned and said, "Cheryl I don't care. If you want to work an hour or so longer and serve lunch we can try it. I can't see us selling much but if you want to try I won't forbid it. I just got carried away. I had intended to buy lunch items for us but I found it was so much cheaper by the case I just told them to load the cases up. My deep freeze inside the house isn't full so I thought we would put the frozen finger foods, hamburger patties and so forth in it. If we can sell some of it fine, if not I will eat it eventually. I am going to buy a glass front freezer for display out here and we will put some things in it to sell and others for our use. I will buy some ice cream to resell later also."

The two friends sat in their chairs and rested after they finished unloading. Cheryl was slowly sipping a Pepsi when she said, "Oh, I almost forgot. Did you see the paper today? Those two asshole friends of Pete's got a two year sentence for the assault on you and Calvin. They did a plea bargain so we won't even have to go to a trial and testify. The Judge suspended the balance of the sentence limiting them to time served if they remained out of trouble for the next five years. Now we can finally stop worrying about that and get on with more pleasant things."

Over the next few weeks, to Jim's and Cheryl's surprise the lunch menu was a big hit also. Business picked up for several days until it finally leveled out. They averaged selling fifteen to twenty full breakfasts and to their surprise they sold forty to fifty lunches. About the middle of the second week Jim had to purchase and move in three more tables to seat the lunch crowd. Many local farmers whose wives worked in town came in for a hot lunch and boosted business. For lunch they offered hamburgers, cold cut sandwiches and chips or baked French fries. The customer could also have a can of soup of various flavors.

As time progressed and winter roared through the area the soup option became so popular Cheryl decided to have a daily soup special. She would make one of three or four kinds of homemade soup and serve crackers or a sandwich with it. The type of soup varied daily. From time to time she would be asked for a steak or something like that. She asked Jim if she could also make a plate lunch special. When he gave permission she alternated fried chicken and the trimmings, roast and the trimmings, hamburger steak and the trimmings. Of course all the specials came with fresh homemade bread and rolls.

Now Cheryl's day began at 530 in the morning and was ending at about 330 in the afternoon. She was still paid by the hour for her work in the mill but took her original half share of the profits on the baked goods and meals she served. As the old mill began offering more and more items for the locals and tourists to purchase Cheryl's children began being called on to help out. Jim always paid them for their labor and they became almost a fixture around the store. Even when they weren't working they seemed to hang around as did their friends. Jim found himself sitting at a table many afternoons helping one or the other with their homework while Cheryl looked fondly on.

As time progressed the Wilsons Mill Café began offering pizza and finger foods too. This was a hit with the children and younger people. One afternoon Jim and Cheryl were relaxing talking in the easy chairs they had drug into the store for their free moments. After they had finished discussing business they began just visiting. Jim looked over at Cheryl and said, "Cheryl we've worked together now for about a year and we seem to get along real well. Hell, even your kids have began dropping by and spending time here with us and helping. I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds here but I enjoy your company. I was wondering if you would like to go out with me Saturday evening after we close up?"

This time Cheryl didn't even take time to think about Jim's request. She had become so used to being with Jim that it seemed the most natural thing in the world to go out with him. She didn't even say yes. She just asked, "What time should I be ready? What do I need to wear? Have you decided where we are going?"

Jim smiled and replied, "We can leave whenever you want but I was thinking about sixish. That way you could feed the kids before we left. As for what to wear, I guess that's up to you. I wanted to get a nice steak somewhere but not in a fancy place. Maybe we could go to Lonestar or somewhere like that."

That was the beginning of a new chapter in Jim's and Cheryl's friendship. By now they knew each other so well they were beginning to communicate nonverbally. Now sometimes when they walked past each other in the store they would reach out to touch. Occasionally one or the other would walk up and initiate a kiss.

After three months of weekly dating Jim asked Cheryl if she minded if they didn't have their normal Saturday date. She felt her chest tighten and her eyes watered. He voice broke when she answered. She said, "No, of course not if that's what you want."

Cheryl sat there for a moment then turned to look at Jim. She asked, "Jim did I do something? Is something wrong?"

Jim looked startled and for the first time realized Cheryl was upset. He said, "Oh, Honey, I'm sorry. Damn, I'm just being stupid. Didn't I tell you my kids were coming in tomorrow afternoon? I have to pick them up at the airport and didn't think I could get there and back before we normally left. I really didn't want to leave them here alone either. I just thought we could maybe have a family dinner Saturday and Sunday at noon...Of course I meant for you and Calvin and Sarah to come too."

Jim rose and walked to a now weeping Cheryl. He gently pulled her into his embrace and continued talking. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just thinking of efficiency and I never thought how my question might sound to you."

Cheryl smiled and reached her head out to give Jim a gentle kiss. She said, "I'm sorry Honey. I guess I'm wearing my heart on my shoulder. I am just so used to us being out Saturday night I never thought. I had completely forgotten your children were coming. Forgive me?"

"No, there's nothing to forgive you for. I'm the one who upset you. I'm sorry and I'll try to do better in the future. Unhhh there IS one thing I suppose we need to talk about. I was going to wait until after the kids were here but the more I think about it the more I think maybe now is the time. I feel like I know you much better than I did Della before we got married even though we've only been dating officially for three months. We have worked together for well over a year and seen each other almost daily during that time. Cheryl I know I love you. I think you feel that way about me too so I was wondering if you would marry me? I was going to leave a little early tomorrow to buy a ring. That's one reason I wanted to go alone besides needing the room in the truck."

That was as far as he got. A radiantly smiling Cheryl wrapped her arms around him and gave him a deep kiss. She pulled back and said, "OK Jim. I would love to marry you but I don't need an engagement ring. I will be just as happy as a clam with just a plain old wedding ring. I'll have you and our store here. I have my kids and a new life with the man I love. That's more than enough for me Honey. It's more than I ever thought I would have again when David died."

"I couldn't do that to you," Jim said. "Every woman wants and needs an engagement ring. Why don't we go to town together to pick out a nice ring after the kids leave?"

"NO. How about if we don't? I told you I don't need an engagement ring. I will go with you and pick out our wedding rings though if you want."

That Saturday Jim left in time to meet his children and their families at the airport. There was an hour between the arrival times for the two flights but that was not enough time to take his son, who arrived first, home and return to pick up his daughter. Jim and his son and his family sat in the airport and visited while they waited on the arrival of his daughter.

After the happy reunion with Patricia and her husband they all wandered into the parking lot for the trip home. The bed of the truck was full of suitcases and the cab full of happy chattering family. About half way into the hour long drive Jim slowed the truck and said, "Kids before we get home I need to talk to you about something. There is going to be a woman and two kids at the mill when we get there. You know I've told you both about Cheryl, the woman that works for me and her kids?"

Patricia and Harold both said they remembered him talking about her and Harold said, "Yeah Dad I remember. I even met her a couple of times I think when I visited before. So what's the deal?"

"Well you know I loved your mother with all my heart but it's been over two years now since she died. I asked Cheryl to marry me Thursday night and she agreed. I thought you should know before we got there. I know she will never replace your mother and I don't want her to do that but I have really fallen in love with her and those two kids of hers. We are working way harder than I ever thought about when I restored the old mill but it is all fun. We are together all day and her kids even come over evenings and we do homework in the store. I'm not lonesome any more except when she is not with me. I hope you can accept this but it is a done deal."

Patricia said, "Wow Dad. I should have seen this coming I guess. She always answered the phone when I called even some evenings after the store had closed. I could tell when you talked about her that she was more than an employee. It'll take some getting used to but if it makes you happy we don't have much to say about it. Congratulations. I can't wait to see her in person."

When Jim drove up to his home he saw Cheryl and the children sitting on the patio beside the living quarters. They rose and walked toward the truck as everyone exited the vehicle. Jim's family stood beside the vehicle and watched Cheryl walk up to him. She gave him a gentle kiss and cuddled under his arm as he turned her to everyone and began introductions. As soon as the children were introduced they wandered off and began playing as children do. Soon the adults could hear laughing and splashing as items were thrown into the stream.