Night Life {Watty Awards Finalist 2012}

Chapter 25

"Welcome to Steve and Netty's. My name is Nicole and I will be your server for the evening. Can I start you off with a drink?" I asked.

"Can I have an iced tea? Lemon on the side," the customer responded.

"One iced tea, coming right up. Here's the menu. I would recommend something on it, but all of it delicious," I said. The woman smiled at me.

"Great, thanks," she said. I smiled back and then turned on my heel.

"Coming through! Watch out!" Randy exclaimed, raising a tray of food over his head to let me pass.

It was the new diner's opening night. After working on the new restaraunt for over two months, it was finally ready to be opened to the public. Steve and Jeanette decided to open it in time for the dinner rush, which would bring in the most customers. That morning, we had all assembled early to receive instructions. We had all been jittery and excited and nervous, all praying that this new restaraunt would be a success.

"All right, guys. Today's the day," Steve said, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I can't believe it," Luke said, looking around.

The place looked amazing. The wooden floors gleamed with their new finish. The walls retained their old glamour. The seashell tables made a statement about the theme. The bar area had been redone to include chalkboards with the specials of the day. The window that gave the view of the ocean had been expanded to give a spectacular view of the inspiration of the new restaraunt. And the pictures. My pictures.

My pictures were hung up strategically on the walls. One was framed with a seashell frame. It was the one Caleb had taken of me. I had made all of them in black and white, except for the biggest one, which I had taken of the sunrise over the ocean. This picture was in full color, showing all the vibrant colors that the sun gave off. The waters sparkled realistically, almost as if they were tangible.

Advertising for the new restaraunt took a few weeks. After Steve and Jeanette decided on a name, Randy made fliers which we hung up all over town. Oliver took an ad and posted it in the paper he wrote for. Reese made a blog post about it. The rest of us handed fliers out by hand and one night, Jaime and I even went to The Bean Scene to perform a 'poem' about the new restaraunt. We had been kicked out, of course, for soliciting, but at least we got our point made.

We had all worked hard to create the product that was before us now. We worked days and nights, staying up late, arguing and agreeing, fighting and helping. We had put our all into this project because we wanted to be satisfied with it. And now that it was finished, we realized it had exceeded expectations.

Right before opening the new diner and cafe up, Serena and I put a board up outsid and Jeanette and Steve put out little postcards on the tables. These were to inform about the fundraiser. I had taken a picture of Liam on one of my visits and put it on the board. I thought it was a really amazing picture. I had walked into his ward and his curtains had been pulled back. He was sitting with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed and staring out the small window that was over his bed. His eyes were distant and his expression was sad. It was the perfect pity-inducing picture.

 Currently, everyone was here except for Caleb and Serena. Caleb wanted to make a last minute visit to the hospital to show Liam a picture of the finished restaraunt before we opened it. Serena needed a ride, so Caleb was going to pick her up on the way.

At the moment, those of us that were here were running around, getting and delivering orders and chatting with customers. The place was full of life and people and chatter. It was just like old times.