Happily Ever After

Thirty Two- The Frannie Special

Kris

It's been a whirlwind of a life the past few weeks, with the season winding down and the hopes of playoff baseball next month I know it's going to get even better. My first season as a Major League Baseball player was coming to a end and I wasn't sure how to feel. There's been so many good moments that's happened in the last six months, I don't even think I truly understand just how much has changed.

And after a lot of signed checks and long conversations I became a partial owner of Connies Cafe and we got to keep it open. I didn't know the first thing about running a business or what it means to be a partial owner, I just knew that my favorite place in this whole world got to stay open and I was lucky enough to be a part of it.

I walk into the cafe early this morning per the request of Connie. I find Joe and Maggie in the back in their usual spot talking with Jenna. You would think she still worked here with how much she still hung around this place.

"Miss Jenna" Joe screams and I smile. "Kris is here" he finishes.

Jenna reaches over and playfully hits him in the arm as he laughs at her reaction. "You're lucky Jen is sitting over there because I would have hit you a lot harder" Maggie shuns.

"Hasn't stopped you before" he reminds her.

"Good point" she claims as she kicks him under the table. He lets out a grunt as I just laugh.

I don't know what I would have done without these two making me smile all these days.

I walk over and give Jenna a quick good morning kiss before sitting across from her next to Maggie. There wasn't any food on the table which I thought was peculiar for these two. They get the same thing every single time so their food is usually waiting for them. But this time is different.

"So what's going on" I wonder.

"We don't know" Jenna admits. "Connie called us all here but she disappeared to the back a while ago and hasn't been back since" she explains.

"I'm here" she announces as she comes out of the back. She had a plate on her hand as she walks over to where we were all sitting. She places the plate on the table and I look at her weird.

"You called us here because you made food" I ask.

"It's not just any food. It's-" she starts.

"-pulled pork with Mac and cheese" Jenna whispers. Her eyes fascinated on the plate in front of her.

"Is this some kind of weird breakfast thing you want us to try. Because I'm interested" Joe admits.

"This was Frannies favorite meal" Jenna claims and the room falls silent. I can see the tears in her eyes as she looked up at Connie. "When Frannie worked here she wanted to serve this all the time but she was afraid people wouldn't eat it up here. It's a southern thing, there's not much more we like more than mac and cheese and pulled pork. And while putting them together may sound weird it's actually very good.

So she would make this for herself here and make me a sandwich too. We would sit in the back and talk about how we were going to bring southern comfort food to the Midwest. Help y'all see what good eatin' does for your soul.

She died before she ever got to introduce stuff like this to anyone. While I couldn't cook to save my life she knew how to do it and do it well. This was what's she made the best, it always tasted like it came right out of Texas" she says. She had the biggest smile on her face as she explained it.

"This is what I want to put in place in honor of Frannie" Connie explains. "It's a Frannie Special and comes with the sandwich and waffle fries since those were her favorite too. While she wasn't able to be around to see her food be introduced to the public I'm happy I can still pass on the things that made her smile. She had the most amazing smile" she sighs.

"That she did" Maggie agrees.

"I wish I could have met her" I admit and Jenna smiles at me.

"Oh you would have loved her. She was so wise and so sweet, even after everything that happened to her. I would like to think that if her past didn't catch up to her she would have ruled the world" Jenna claims.

"Now that's a world I want it live it" Joe insists.

So we all try the food which was surprisingly really good. Like it's 8 am and I am ready to finish this whole sandwich by myself good. Once the recipie gets a unanimous vote to go through Connie works on changing the menu to have Frannies special on there. She was going to do some promo and get the word out, let everyone know who Fran was and what she means to this restaurant. She got Jenna this job here and if it wasn't for her and Connie I would have never met the love of my life, I would have never gotten a daughter and this season would have been so much less interesting.

While I have no idea what my intentions were to keeping this place open, I knew I had to. Connie was a great woman doing great things. Helping people get jobs and back on their feet like what she did with Jenna. People like Joe and Maggie want a place to come to where they know they're welcome and they have a connection to. People like me need a place like this where I know I'm safe and I can relax around here. I don't have to be more than who I am and I love that about this place.

After hanging out and celebrating the life of Fran we all go our separate ways. I follow Jenna over to her place to hang out with Mary before I had to get over to Wrigley for a day game.

"Does Mary remember her mom" I wonder.

"Only the good parts that I tell her. I show her pictures and make sure she knows she made her momma so happy. Nothing meant more to Fran than her daughter, she was so in love with her. And while the drugs took a lot from her it never wavered her motherly love. Even when she was completely out of it she took care of Mary somehow. In no way she was a model citizen, but she was a great momma who had a lapse in judgment from time to time" she explains.

"Well I'm happy we get to keep her memory alive so people like me can get to hear stories like the one you told earlier" I admit.

"I have plenty of stories to tell about her" she laughs. 

"You loved her a lot, didn't you" I wonder.

"I still do. She was the only person to show me a real love up until the time you came here. She was my rock, my support system, my everything for so long. She tried everything to protect me from our parents and she gave up so much to take care of me. I wished she could have seen her from my eyes, then I know she would still be here" she sniffles.

I lean over and wipe the tear off her cheek. "She was just as lucky to have you" I promise her.

She smiles as she softly placed her hand on top of mine.

I was so lucky to have someone like Jenna in my life and someone like Frannie watching over us.