"Mel," Derek groans, "You know the food and wine service perfectly now. What's wrong?" he asks. The night before, I'd stuttered over the drink pairing although it was one that I'd known. Fortunately, the couple I was serving hadn't ridiculed the fact.
"If you don't have confidence in your recommendations, how can you expect the diners to?" adds Paige. I notice Hayley watching from her usual table.
"I know. I'll do better," I say. Paige pats me on the back, and we get back to setting up.
It's been a month since I was hired to work in Felicitá. I'm enjoying every minute of it. There are times when I make the most ridiculous mistakes, but it's happening less often. At least, that's what the others are saying.
I focus on folding the napkins and getting the table ready for the place settings. This part of the job is always calming. All the work that goes in before the diners even arrive never ceases to amaze me.
"We have a large reservation this evening," Belle says. Her gentle voice carries throughout the restaurant.
"How many?" asks Paige. She might need to rearrange some of the sections.
"Seven," answers Belle. "They'll be here at eight o' clock." Paige nods and looks at the seating sections.
"Alright, we'll put them in Derek's section," says Paige. From what I've observed, Derek is great with larger groups. He can be really genial.
"I'll get the placards," Derek says. The rest of us go back to setting up.
"Mel, tell Jared to get started," Paige says. I nod and move towards the kitchen.
Jared is the head chef in Felicitá. His large frame and movements had alarmed me at first, but he is actually a really sweet person.
The thing is, he loves to experiment with new food before the diners come in for the evening. He gets so involved in his plans that he forgets when to start getting prepared for the meals that are actually offered in our menu.
"Jared, it's time," I say. As I suspected, he is deeply concentrating on what looks like a mess to me.
"Taste this," he commands. Then, he shoves a spoon in my mouth before I can say a word. It's good. Whatever it is. His new dishes always are.
"It's great," I mumble around my full mouth. "But, you need to get started." Jared smiles.
"Always coming in when I make a breakthrough," mutters Jared. "Help me clean up?" he asks.
"Isn't that what they're for?" I reply, pointing to his assistants that are scattered around the kitchen.
"Ah, they're all a useless bunch," he grumbles. I laugh.
"Come on, Jared, don't be like that," one of them yell. Jared's always like this. Grumpy on the outside but really caring.
"I'll be outside," I say.
"Fine, fine. Go. Leave me with these hooligans," says Jared. I exit the kitchen.
The rest of the staff seems to have the tables and settings in order, so I decide to stay out of the way for the last few minutes. Instead, I go over to Hayley.
She's sitting at a table right next to the kitchen reading a book, and I take my place beside her. Hayley looks up at me and then goes back to her book.
"Slacking off?" she asks me. I cannot help the smile that crosses my face. I've come to love Hayley's bristly attitude.
"They're all finished," I reply. She shrugs and goes back to reading. This one's about a princess whose sister is kidnapped by the king of another kingdom. Hayley's voracious appetite for books has us going to the library at least twice a week.
YOU ARE READING
An Unexpected Serving
ChickLitMelanie Fox is a waitress. A shy, introverted waitress. She doesn't expect much from herself or her life. So when she gets offered a job at a classy restaurant, Mel has no doubt that she should refuse. That changes when she gets home and finds someo...
