Page 34 of Love's Home Run

“Well, things have and can change,” said Ross. He crumbled up the paper bag that had held their lunch. “If you drive by the bin, I can pitch this inside.”

“Deal,” said Melissa, relieved their conversation had ended.

###

At home, Melissa texted a message to Dirk. “Sorry to hear about your uncle. Anything I can do?”

About an hour later, she received a reply. “Working hard. Will call when I can. Thanks.”

Feeling much better, Melissa headed to work.

###

It was a slow Wednesday night, so Melissa encouraged her father to take the evening off. He worked as hard or even harder than she, and as August was nearing the mid-point, fatigue was setting in for all of them at the restaurant.

As Melissa cooked and kept the kitchen organized, she didn’t have time to think about her personal life. Being the head chef was like being a conductor of an orchestra. It was her job to shout the orders to the staff and to make sure food was being cooked to time the arrival at the pass together. Each person at a table had to receive their meal at the same time. The hot items had to be hot, and the cold ones had to be cold. Tasting occasionally to make sure the blend of seasonings and flavors was right was also part of her job. It was tricky cooking fish. If not carefully watched, it could quickly go from raw to overdone.

When the evening rush was over, Melissa was ready to step outside for a breath of fresh air. Standing by the kitchen door, she saw storm clouds rolling in. If the forecasters were right, they were due for some thunderstorms, which would, hopefully, clear out some of the humidity. She patted her forehead with her handkerchief, loving the cooler air outside the kitchen.

Staring up at the roiling sky, she hurried to get everything cleaned up. No matter how messy the kitchen might become, every night, it was cleaned until spotless. Keeping a kitchen in order was part of being a good chef.

Inside, the staff had begun the process. “Thanks, everyone,” she said, picking up a spatula to scrape off the residue from the grate of the indoor grill.

With everyone as anxious as she to beat the storm home, they made quick work of it. By the time they were done, her mother was closing the door on the last customer.

“I’ll help vacuum in the morning,” said Melissa to her. “Why don’t you go home? There’s a storm coming. They said it could be a wicked one.”

“Thanks, sweetheart. I think I will,” her mother said.

Melissa walked out of the restaurant with her, checked the sky, and dashed to her car, hoping to make it home in time.

###

In the middle of the night, Melissa’s cell phone chimed. She stirred in bed, annoyed. Who would be calling her at such an early hour?She grabbed her cell. “Hello.”

“It’s Dad. You had better get to town as quickly as you can. Fins is on fire.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

With shaking hands and a sense of horror, Melissa managed to get dressed and hurried to her car.

Backing out of the driveway, she saw how peaceful her neighborhood looked, and, for a wishful moment, she could almost imagine her father had made a bizarre crank call.

But as she tore down the road toward the center of town, she heard sirens coming from neighboring villages and knew it was all too real.

That sense of reality didn’t compare to seeing her family’s restaurant going up in flames. Her stomach wrenched, and she struggled to hold in its contents.

She parked her car as close as possible, got out, and looked for her parents.

They were standing in the street with a crowd of supporters watching the flames. Melissa’s heart began to beat so fast she thought she might faint or throw up. She rushed over to them. “Oh, my God!”

“The fire department is here, but it’s not looking good,” said her father. His grim expression told its own story. “I suspect we’re in for a total loss.”

“What happened?” she asked.

White-faced, her father shook his head. “We don’t know. Some think the fire started in the attic and that lightning may have struck the building. But most restaurant fires start in the kitchen. The fire department will investigate.”

“All our life’s work gone,” her mother said as tears ran down her cheeks.

---