Lynnia (9 page)

Her dismissal was met with laughter as she hung up on her two older sisters. She couldn’t help but chuckle in response to their response. Lynnia looked at the young woman and thanked her for the discount.

“The next time you stop in, let the hostess know your name. I’ll have something special waiting for you. Thank you. Have a good afternoon.”

The girl smiled through the tears that she fought to keep at bay while Lynnia was in her presence. Lynnia didn’t get out of the door good before the girl was on her phone.

“Aunt Daphne, guess who was just in here? The owner of L. Norton’s Cuisine! I know. Yes, I gave her a discount. I know. I told her. I miss momma too. Yes. Can we? Tonight! I’ll call and make the reservation. Thank you. Okay. Love you, too.”

Lynnia was on her phone as soon as the girl disconnected her call.

“Hey Carli. I’ll be by soon. You might have a call for a reservation for two tonight from a young lady named Katie. Ask if she works at Gage’s Consignment Shop. Her aunt’s name is Daphne.”

“Hold on a moment,
hermana
. L. Norton’s Cuisine, Carlita Pauling speaking, may I place you on hold for a moment. Thank you. What were you saying L?”

Carlita’s Puerto Rican routes came through whenever she spoke to Lynnia. When she spoke to those that weren’t close to her, she dialed it back. She hated when people acted as if they couldn’t understand her just because she had a bit of an accent.

“Once you ask what the girl’s aunt’s name is or verify where she works then make note that she isn’t to be charged anything. Whatever she orders is free. If she’s with her aunt this evening, then her aunt’s meal is free as well. If there is a group, give her a gift card for $50 off the meal.”

“Ever generous, you are, L. Is that all?”

“You would’ve done the same thing if you’d been with me today. She says she’s a regular.”

“Wait … Katie Howe and Daphne Gage? Oh yes, there here at least once a week. I should’ve recognized the name when you said the name of the shop. They have a standing bi-weekly order. It’s usually Katie for dinner though. Her aunt comes in every so often to have a sit-down meal with her. I’ll take care of it. I have another call coming in on the restaurant line.”

“Thanks. See you in about an hour.”

Lynnia couldn’t believe she didn’t recognize the name of the company from her books. She kept tabs on those that were regulars. Was she that pre-occupied that she wasn’t keeping up with things like that anymore? That just wouldn’t do. She needed to hurry through her list. She had a dinner to get prepared for and she had only a few hours to figure out what she was going to make for dessert. There was no way in hell she was going to openly admit that she’d actually forgotten she was supposed to bring the dessert tonight and not the entrée. It had to be good too. Chyra usually had like six that she brought with her when she was in charge of the sweets for the evening. Shaking her head at her own wonderful forgetfulness, she looked at her list and groaned.

“I’m never going to get all of this done in time. Something has got to give.”

The problem with statements like that was the fact that they usually came back to bite the speaker in the ass as Lynnia would find out in the coming weeks.

Chapter 5