The Stereotype: for sharing and blue

[sharingfantasies]

The Stereotype: for sharing and blue dolphin

Janice Hopkins was the epitome of stereotype. If you looked up the word in the dictionary, you would not only see her name listed as a definition but her picture as well. At least that was the way Janice looked at her life. At thirty-two, Janice was a divorced mother of one child, a son of thirteen years, who was currently visiting his grandparents at their seaside retirement home near Myrtle Beach, Florida.

At the age of eighteen, she had made her parents stereotypes by getting pregnant at her homecoming dance with the soccer team captain, a nice looking, self-absorbed eighteen year old with dreams of being a professional player, dreams that everyone else in town knew would never come true. When the college headhunters had come to town and skipped over his name, Jake Hopkins had gone to work with his father in the construction business. Since he had no other dreams or interests, and since Janice had been, of course, a virgin on Prom Night, they had married and moved into a tiny apartment over his parents’ garage.

Janice, whose dreams of going to college and becoming a Nobel winning journalist had just been squashed, did what she had been doing ever since she was seven years old, continued to work at her parents’ Mom and Pop market. A year later, Janice had gone to see her mother, who was now taking care of little Michael since her varicose veins made working in the market painful, for a few minutes before heading home. The market had been slow all day and rather than sit and stare at each other, her father had told her to go get her son and have the afternoon off. Janice had argued for about two minutes then gone on her way.

Climbing the steps to the garage apartment, her hands filled with baby, baby diaper bag, a gooseberry pie her mother had sent home with her, and the key to the apartment, Janice had entered the living area with her mind on juggling and not dropping any of her items. At the sight of her husband doing the horizontal mambo with the Homecoming Queen of this year’s senior class, Janice dropped the diaper bag. Luckily, she managed not to drop Michael. When the pie left her hand, it was aimed with purposeful intent for the mid-torsos of both people. Scooping up the diaper bag, she tossed the key onto the counter and with one last look at the pie covered couple, delivered her parting shot, one which today still made her proud to remember. “Oops, sorry about the pie, but I didn’t want my impressionable child to be marred for life by the sight of this porn flick.” Okay, maybe it wasn’t the greatest line, but still she thought it appropriate at the time.

She had then walked back down the stairs, strapped Michael into the car seat, picked up the both the boy and his seat and pushing shut the door of her old beat up Chevy Nova, that had been on its last legs when her parents gave it to her on her sixteenth birthday, walked over to Jake’s brand new Toyota pick up, strapped Michael in tightly, and using the spare key which she kept on her key ring for emergencies, drove to her parents’ home.

A few months later, she had the truck, her son, her freedom and a hefty alimony check from Jake. Jake had her old car, the apartment, hefty alimony payments and a pregnant girlfriend who was making noises about getting married. Janice thought that life was fair.

But that had all been a long time ago, and Jake was making three alimony payments a month the last she had heard, much to her amusement. Janice had moved in with her parents for two months then into her own apartment with her son. Her mother continued to watch the baby, Janice continued to work at the store. When her parents talked of selling the store so they could retire, Janice worked out the arrangements so that she could buy it from them. When they moved to Florida four years ago, she had moved into their house. Janice hadn’t been to visit, keeping the store open was too important, but her parents understood that and came to visit at Christmas and Easter. Michael spent the summer, non-school time with them, always coming home tanned and with his blonde hair tinged green and his green eyes slightly bloodshot from their pool. Janice always smiled, she had had the same look when she was his age and had swum at the pool at the local Y whenever she could get away from the market. Actually, Janice had never really left her small hometown, except for once in high school when she got to go to Dartsmouth, a larger town about thirty miles away, for a soccer game. A bunch of students had begged the school to provide a bus so that they could represent the soccer team at the final away game of the season and Janice had gotten permission to go along. But for the most part, she was happy with her life, the store, her town.

Janice had talked to Michael earlier that day and was feeling once again that loneliness that only his absence could make her feel. Lately he had been getting that teenage-itis attitude and it had been a relief for both of them when he had left. But that was three weeks ago and by now she was counting the days off the calendar until he returned and he was pretending to be too old to miss her, although she could hear it in his voice.

Janice turned to tell Johnny, the teen that helped her out on weekends, to help Mrs. Fargle with her groceries. Without completely turning back, she asked the next customer for the basket of groceries. Once Johnny was carrying the heavy bag out the door, Janice turned to the customer with her usual friendly smile. The male customer had his head turned slightly towards the window, his face dark against the bright sunlight streaming in through the large window at the front of the shop. He hadn’t heard her request so she repeated herself, “Basket, please.”

 

[ariosto]

.....

 

[Mayu]

Rose (Janice Best friend)

Rose was one of those kinds of girls no one understood, she was single and always have been single and was now 22. She had to grow up at the age of 8 because of all the issues in her family, it had been 9 years ago when she met Janice, she was a young mom that was single. She always admired her friend for taking care of her son alone, there was always something about her that she just loved. By the time Rose was 18 she was living alone, her parents were killed in a car accident and she had no one else. Because of the life insurance they both had on them in case something happened made her some what wealthy. Well she was wealthy there was no some what about it. But she didn't live the life of a rich person. She hated people that thought they were better then others because of there money.

She never treated anyone different, she respected everyone and didn't judge anyone, her mother taught her to know better. When she met Janice she wanted to help her as much as she could, thats why she would watch her son when she needed her for free. She had decided to surprise Janice because it had been a couple years since they were able to talk to one another, Rose was on tour in the states, her band went all over the country and because she wanted to be closer to Janice if she was needed so she refused to do different countries, she would make it up to everyone later. She took a deep breath and walked down the street where she worked, and noticed her, she was in the shadows and decided to wait until she was done with the man but decided "What the hell" She thought and walked on over, she was wearing sunglasses and she had lost a lot of weight, she smiled.

"Hey!" She said happily

(Hope you don't mind the best friends thing I can change it if you prefer)

 

[Blue Dolphin]

OOC
Darrel Farrar, 33 years old, with brown hair and eyes.
five eleven in height, and still athletic.

IC.
I stood across the street, looking back, at my new acquisition,
"Darrel`s Diner".

At last, I was back in Riversdale after almost 14 years, and this time I had money, and my own business also.
It had been quite a journey, the family had moved to New York when I was 19.
After college I went into catering, managing a restaurant, that was where I met Carla, the bosses daughter.
Two years later we were married, and saving hard, then with a little help from our families, we bought a diner, on 54th Street. We did well, the Diner was a great success, open 24/7, and never empty it seemed. The food was good, and our prices very competitive. My world had seemed complete, that is until I discovered why Carla had suddenly taken a liking to the late shift.

I came back one night, at 2 in the morning, entering through the back door, I went straight to the office, for some papers that I needed. I heard them before I saw them, Carla was across the desk, almost naked, and the cook? It does not take much imagination to realise what he was doing. I ignored them, how I dont know, but I did. I just took the papers that I needed, and went home.


To cut a long story short, we divorced, it was clean, with no animosity, as far as I was concerned, it was over, so why hang around getting grief. We sold both the business, and the house, sharing the proceeds after all outstanding bills were paid, and we split what was leftstraight down the middle, 50/50.

I had decided to go back out West, and find my roots again, back in my home town of Riversdale, and, well, maybe even invest in a business. I could not believe my luck, the old diner, where we used to hang out was up for sale. Naturally, I snapped it up. And today, the new sign had gone up at last. I walked back across the street, noticing the market a couple of doors down. I had an apartment a couple of blocks away, but I was hopeles at housekeeping, always running out of supplies.

I walked down to the market, and went inside, I was low on milk, and probably coffee too. Even though I had a new apartment, housekeeping was not my thing, I was forever running short of stuff. I soon located the coffee, milk, and the creamer, plus a couple of other items also. I joined the queue at the checkout, in a world of my own I guess, until a voice from my distant past suddenly grabbed my total attention.

“Basket, please.”

I turned to look, the girl at the checkout, she looked so familiar, I was certain that I had known her once. I realised that I was staring at her, and immediately checked myself, and apologised.

"I do apologise Miss, if I was staring at you, but your voice, I know it, I know you I am sure. From way back, my name is Darrel, Darrel Farrar. Does that sound familiar to you? We used to live here once, that was a while back now though.

 

[sharingfantasies]

Janice's hands moved the items across the electronic scanner automatically while she took her time looking over the man standing in front of her doing his own looking. There was a familiarity about him that Janice knew she should recognize but didn't, until he said his name.

"Darrel Farrar? OH WOW!. You have certainly changed over the years. Not that you were bad looking in high school but....,' her voice drifted to a stop as she blushed then laughed. Putting out her hand to shake his, she smiled and said, "Oh, you know what I mean. I am Janice Hopkins, err.. Curtiss. You were a year ahead of me in high school. I was pretty shy then so you probably didn't notice me. But I remember seeing you around. My parents used to own this store. I think you were on a league that they sponsored when you were twelve or thirteen, but I am not sure about that. Didn't I hear that you moved somewhere back east?"

Janice rang up the groceries and packed them into bags all the while she was bringing up the past. In between her ramblings, she mentioned the total and waited for him to pay.

 

[Blue Dolphin]

"Darrel Farrar? OH WOW!. You have certainly changed over the years. Not that you were bad looking in high school but....,'

That made me smile, and I nodded my appreciation of her comment.

"Oh, you know what I mean. I am Janice Hopkins, err.. Curtiss. You were a year ahead of me in high school. I was pretty shy then so you probably didn't notice me. But I remember seeing you around. My parents used to own this store. I think you were on a league that they sponsored when you were twelve or thirteen, but I am not sure about that. Didn't I hear that you moved somewhere back east?"

I remembered her immediately, and her parents, for this store had been here for years. The first name she used, Hopkins, that was familiar also. Then I remembered, a soccer freak, who thought he was God`s gift to the game, but got passed over. I wondered, had they married? Probably so, I had a vague memory of her and him being an item.

I paid Janice, and picked up my bags, there was a queue building behind me,now so I thought, and spoke to her quickly.

"It is niceto meet you again Janice, but it is a little busy in here. Tell you what, I have bought the diner down the street, and we re-open at noon on Saturday. Come along, bring your family, as my guests. Anything you want to eat or drink on the house. Will that be OK? I hope so."

 

[sharingfantasies]

Janice smiled, thinking it would be fun to try out the new diner. After all there wasn't really a lot to do in this town, so anything new was sure to make a hit among the residents. Besides it was good to support other small businesses.

"That sounds like fun. But I won't be able to come by until later. How late are you open? The store is open until seven, so if you are still open after that, I could come by for dinner maybe? But I insist on paying. A new business needs all the pennies and dolllars it can get."

She smiled again, thinking of how hard it was even now to keep the store going with the huge supermarkets that had set up shop on the edges of town. The huge stores offered everything at much lower prices than Janice could handle and stay afloat. Her store was convenient to the neighborhood, especially the older people that didn't have transportation to the other side of town, and she kept her prices as low as possible. Most of her customers came, though, because they had always come here. As the huge chains took over more and more of the country, people were acknowleging that the friendly Mom and Pop stores needed to be protected also. She was definitely grateful. She didn't know anything else she was qualified to do and she did not want to end up working for one of those chains.

As Darrel left, and the next customer moved forward, Janice chatted and swept their items across the electronic register. It had cost her an arm and a leg to change from the old register her father had used but it was a life saver in time and efficiency. It not only made the customers feel as if she was keeping up with modern times but it kept her inventory automatically, saving her hours of counting items. now she could do her ordering from the warehouses in an hour instead of taking a week of bits of time a little here, than a little there.

Her next customer was an girl that she had known since the girl's birth. Now a famous singer, she still came by occasionally to see her grandparents and friends. When in town she was good about coming by to the store and other small businesses in the area. At one time Rose had spent a lot of time hanging around the store or Janice, even babysitting a time or two, when the store was open and Janice had had to be somewhere. Janice had always felt that the younger girl had taken a liking to Janice's parents and so hung around Janice for that reason.

"Hey Rose, I see you are back in town to see your grandparents. I hear your tour is going great. Did you hear what Darrel was saying about his new place?"

Janice talked for a few minutes more and learned that Rose was on her way out of town again. Her tour didn't allow her any more time in town. Giving the younger girl a hug, she wished her luck and then moved on to the next customer.

Her afternoon was busy and it was several hours later before she had time to sit at the small desk in the back of the store and really think about Darrel Farrar and his restaurant. It was nice to have something to look forward to doing. With Michael gone, she tended to stick to the house after work.

 

[Blue Dolphin]

"That sounds like fun. But I won't be able to come by until later. How late are you open? The store is open until seven, so if you are still open after that, I could come by for dinner maybe? But I insist on paying. A new business needs all the pennies and dolllars it can get."

I smiled at her concern on the matter of dollars, before replying.

"We are open from 6am till midnight, 7 days a week normally Janice. But on Saturday, opening day, we open at noon. I will be there all day, so anytime is fine, just turn up, and you will be made most welcome."

Leaving the store, I walked back to my car. Feeling rather pleased with myself that I had met someone from the old days. Not only that, she was attractive too, very pleasant on the eye I thought. I was still amused though, by her concerns over the money, but I could understand it, Walmart and other stores had hammered the small shopkeeper in recent years. Indeed, they were a dying breed now. At least my diner had very little competition so far, and hopefully it would prove to be a great success.

I was using the New York formula, that Carla and I had found to be very successful, good quality food, at very reasonable prices. We had realised that if you did not try to rip people off, and settled for a slightly smaller profit margin, they came back, again and again.
Well, that was the theory, and I figured I would soon know, witihin a few weeks if it worked out in the west, as well as it had on 55th St..


~~~~~~~~
Saturday.

We opened at noon, with a special offer on, until 6PM. Whatever you bought, you got one free, be it a cake, a burger, or even a full blown meal. It worked too, the place was buzzing all afternoon. Then after six it slackened off a little, but I was not concerned, feeling that my diner had made its mark, judging by all the positive feedback that I had receievd.

Finally I relaxed, sitting behind the counter woth a coffee.
I found myself watching the door, wondering if Janice would drop by, as she had promised.

 

[sharingfantasies]

Janice hummed as she closed up the store, than laughed when she realized that she was humming. It had been a long time since she had gone out to dinner. Usually she just made a salad and ate it while working in the store. She was looking forward to getting out but, if she was being honest, it was seeing what Darrel had done with the place, and yes, seeing him would be fun too.

When Darrel had issued the invitation, he had said "We" so Janice was also looking forward to meeting his wife. He hadn't married anyone in town, she would have heard about that, so it would interesting to talk to someone that was from somewhere else. Sometimes it amazed Janice how people that had lived in the same town could still find something to talk about ten or twenty or thirty years later. It would be nice to have a new infusion of topics.

Locking up the store, she left through the back door, locking it also and walked across the small parking lot. Lifting a latch on a small gate in the back fence, she was grateful for the parking lot lights which she left on 24/7. There was enough light to keep the store and lot bright enough that people didn't hang out there after the store was closed and also to give her enough light to walk along the path from the back fence to the house where she had been raised.

Letting herself into the small mud porch/laundry area, she hurried through the empty house to her bedroom. Taking a quick shower, she slid into a pair of jeans and a blue blouse, tucked the ends in and added a belt and a pair of boots as worn as the the jeans. Ran a comb through her blonde hair and put a scrunchy around it. Since Janice wore it in a braid while she worked the hair now had curls and ripples in it, making it look like she had spent a lot of time in curlers or with a curling iron. She added some dangly earrings that matched the blouse, ran mascara over her light lashes, and slid a light coat of gloss over her lips.

Grabbing her purse, checking to make sure her wallet and id were inside, along with the car keys, she let herself out the front door and got into the car. As she put the key into the ignition she paused, mentally going back in time to figure out when she had used the car last, but couldn't. She knew she was supposed to turn over the engine every now and then, but sometimes time went by and it would be weeks between car uses. With a small prayer, she turned the key and groaned with the engine. Turning it off, she pressed the pedal twice, then turned the key on again, giving the engine a little gas as it turned over. There was a fine line between giving it enough gas and flooding the engine, but with a small sputter the engine caught and Janice gave the steering wheel a high-five. Then glanced at the gas level and sighed gratefully. Apparently the last time she had driven it, she had filled the tank.

Backing down the flower bed lined driveway, Janice paused long enough for Billy Monroe to ride his skateboard across her path, then waving at him, she moved into the street and headed for the diner. It felt good to be out and about. She really needed to do it more often, it was just that she was so busy at the store six days out of the week and on Sunday she caught up on housework and relaxed. Somehow, going out of the house seemed incredibly exhausting so she stayed home. Thinking back now, she realized it had been at least three weeks since she had gone anywhere and that had been to the hardware store to buy a new pushbroom for the store. With a sigh, Janice decided she needed a life.

As she pulled into the parking lot of the diner, she could see that Darrel had given it a new paint job and replaced the neon sign with the diner's name. It was interesting that he had personalized it. The old place had had the same name for years although it had changed owners three or four times in the past decade or so. Janice wondered what made Darrel decide to open a diner and what he had been doing since he left town.

As she pulled open the glass door the bright lights made her blink. Giving herself a chance to adjust, she looked around. The bench tables near the windows had been reupholstered from the burgundy red they had always bee into a dark rich brown leather. From the looks of them, the pads had been replaced also. Janice's eyebrows rose as she realized that the tables were set with real cloth napkins of bright cheerful colors. Each table had a small vase with flowers and a tray of condiments. Everything looked new and bright and welcoming. The counter had been redone and looked shiny and clean, the polish reflecting the overhead lights. A small handwritten sign posted the special for the day for all three meals and told customers to seat themselves.

Janice was impressed with what Darrel and his wife had done with the place and from the looks of the employees they were excited about working her or at all. Jobs didn't open up often in this town so new employment opportunities were always welcome.

As she walked past the counter seats and tables, she glanced at the dishes of the few customers sitting there. The food looked good and the portions adequate. She was about to slid into a booth when she spotted Darrel sitting at a back booth, a cup of coffee in front of him. Walking over she paused, until he lifted his eyes from the paperwork in front of him. She knew all about the amount of paperwork it took to keep a business going.

When he looked up, his expression changed from one of "how can I help you" to a smile of welcome. Janice would have had to been blind not to be impressed with how the smile changed his face from goodlooking to downright handsome. She had forgotten about that or else it was something that had developed as he had matured.

With a smile on her own face, she reached out her right hand, which he automatically took but questioned. "Congratulations, Darrel. You have done wonders with the place." Janice could feel a small tingle slide up her arm which startled her. Tucking her hands into the tight pockets of her jeans she went on, "The fact that you have this many people in here after eight means the word has gotten out. Usually most of the town has rolled up the sidewalks and turned off the lights by eight. It will be nice having somewhere in town that is open later besides the fast food places out by the freeway exits. How did your opening go?"

 

[Blue Dolphin]

The day had gone well, very well indeed in fact, we had opened at noon to a line outside the door. My initiative of offering the first ten custometrs a free meal, followed by the buy one get one free promotion, that would run till 6PM.

It would cost me money I knew, but more importantly, it would establish my diner as a good place to go. Or at least, that was the plan. And by mid-afternoon, my plan seemed to be working. Not only had we been almost permanently full, but the feedback was good. many comments on the quality of the food, and promises of return visits too. And the clientele was mixed also, teenagers, families, even some seniors, which made my day. I wanted Darrell`s Diner to appeal to all, be they young or old.

Things eased off a little after 6, when the promotions finished, but we still had a healthy customer rate. Around 8PM, I sat in a booth at the back, with a list of the takings up to 6PM listed, comparing them to the cost. I figured I was out by around a thousand, which was fine, that was what I had budgeted for. To do TV, radio and newspaper advertising would have cost me much more than a thousand bucks. Not to mention that there is no recommendation finer, than that by word of mouth, which ha dalready been promised, and often.

Suddenly I sensed someone, standing by me, "probably a new customer, unsure of things" I thought to myself.

Turning to look, I saw that it was Janice, holding out he rhand to me. I was delighted, the thought having crossed my mind that maybe she had decided not to bother. But no, she was here, and a very large smile filled my face, as I stood up to greet her.

"Congratulations, Darrel. You have done wonders with the place. The fact that you have this many people in here after eight means the word has gotten out. Usually most of the town has rolled up the sidewalks and turned off the lights by eight. It will be nice having somewhere in town that is open later besides the fast food places out by the freeway exits. How did your opening go?"

"Janice!!!!, You came at last, thank you so much, please take a seat, I will call over the waitress. Wow, now I am even happier, a great day here, and then a good friend drops by as well. What more could a man ask for. I am pleased you like my place, Janice, it has been hard today, but worth it. As you well know, its not easy running a business on your own. It was not too bad in New York, my ex-wife would share the workload, but here, its all down to me, sink or swim, and no one else to blame."

I grinned at her, noting again just how pretty she was, and how she had looked after herself.

"So Janice, how has your day been, busy, I hope so, for we fellow business people need to support, and look out for each other dont you think?"

 

[sharingfantasies]

Janice laughed as Darrel gave her back the words she had spoken earlier about helping each other out. She slid into the bench across from him and told him about her day, although truthfully, there wasn't much interesting to tell him. Still it felt good to have someone to share with.

A waitress came over and Janice ordered a burger, fries and a malt. Although the menu had a wide variety of food, everyone knows the best way to tell if a restaurant is any good is by their hamburgers. While they waited for her food, Darrel told her about his day, the last minute frenzy just before opening and the different characters that had come by.

It was fun to share and the food was great. Janice wasn't sure how much Darrel's company had to do with her opinion of the food, but it sure seemed terrific. Glancing around to the few patrons in the place, she could tell that people were enjoying whatever dish they had ordered.

Janice reached across the table with her right hand extended, "Congratulations, Sir, it would seem your restaurant is going to be a success." After they shook hands, she sat back in her seat. "Honestly, Darrel. the place is great, good food, service, ambiance. People will come back again and again. I can't believe what a great variety you have of meal choices. I am impressed."

She popped the last fry into her mouth, drank the last of the malt and sat back with her hand on her stomach. "Ugh, too much good food!" She grinned at Darrel, hiding her yawn. Checking out her watch she was shocked to see how late it was. "I am going to need to get home soon, but thank you so much for inviting me over. I am really excited for you. It is a great place."

 

[Jason_2006]

way cool story. i skimmed it, but i cant wait to settle down and read the entire thing.

 

[Blue Dolphin]

Janice ordered the standard "lets see what this place is like" meal of burger, fries, and malt.
That was fine with me, for I was certain that we would pass the test , enough poeple had been telling me so already throughout the day.

Halfway through her meal, she shook hands with me, and congratulated me on my place, for which I thanked her, with a big smile. To be honest, and I was sure that she did not realise it, Janice had made my day.

Yes, the diner was a great success it seemed, but there had been something lacking, spmething personal, and I was not sure what it was. Until that is, I sat watching Janice eat her meal. It was that personal friendship, little intimate moments, not necessarily romantic or sexy. Just moments when two friends touched base, giving each other comfort, without really being aware that this was happening.

Janice leaned back in her seat, patting her stomach in appreciation, which again raised a smile from me. Until she looked at her watch, and I realise dthat the few moments of magic that we had been sharing, were about to end.

"I am going to need to get home soon, but thank you so much for inviting me over. I am really excited for you. It is a great place."

I stood aside, making way for her to leave the booth, and ready to escort her to the door.

"I understand Janice, family stuff comes first, always, as it should. And I thank you, for I truly enjoyed the last half hour or so. And I hope that you will come back again, with your family also, and, if this is not too presumptuous, now that we are friends again, I would really like it to stay that way."

I held the door open as she left, smiling as I watched Janice walk away, and wondering to myself, if I was being just a little foolish here.

 

[sharingfantasies]

She could feel his eyes on her back as she walked away and wondered if he felt the same pull of attraction that she did. When she had agreed to stop by tonight she had thought that he was married. It had been a surprise to hear him say he was divorced, Janice just wasn't sure if she thought it was a good surprise.

Her life was pretty set between the store and Michael and Darrel could complicate things. Did she really want to deal with the responsibility of trying to make another person happy? While she missed the company of a male companion, there was a huge difference between a friend and a lover. Would there be time to have a relationship between the store and his restaurant?

Janice laughed as she pulled out of the driveway. Perhaps she was getting just a wee bit ahead of herself. She didn't know the first thing about Darrel or his private life. Showing interest in her could be the same interest he showed to all his customers. He certainly knew how to make get a restaurant going. When she heard he had run one in NY, she hadn't been sure he would remember his rural small town roots. But the man had a hit on his hands, so he knew something about the business.

As she settled into bed for the night, she admitted that she admired him for leaving one restaurant to start over from scratch. All she had done was step into a business that had been running for forty years and keep it going the same way it had been going all that time. It was her parents that had started it up from scratch, kept it going in the lean times, created a customer base that remained even after Wal-mart moved into the area. All she did was keep doing what she had been doing since she was a child. She loved the little market and the customers she served, but she couldn't call it a challenge. Thank goodness for Michael, now there was a challenge that topped all challenges. Her last thought of the evening was wondering if Darrel had any children.

The next morning, the store was abuzz with customers all wanting to exchange opinions about the new restaurant in town and its owner. The Jackson sisters, two sweet ladies in their eighties, sat on the bench outside holding court. From the sounds of the bits of conversation Janice could hear as she took care of the customers inside, Darrel's place was a hit. The opinion poll seemed to feel that the ambiance was just right, bright and cheery but not McDonalds bright. The food was better than the food at the Country Club, which until this moment had been the measuring stick for all food places in town. The prices were just right for the amount of food one received and the senior discount meant that a person could eat and have enough leftovers for lunch the next day. This last point rated very high among the voting populace who's ages ran from Mr. Dankin at 94 to Bobby Mercer at the youthful age of 69.

Janice did have customers and neighbors that were younger but at this time of morning they were usually at work or busy with young children. The older people seemed to do their shopping in the early morning, while mothers of young children did theirs just after nap time, and the others came in the evenings after work. And of course the place filled up ten minutes after three with the afterschool crowd. There had been a huge run on Pokemon trading cards last week as everyone was trying to find one special effects card. Janice was not looking forward to later that day, they had bought every card in the store and her supplier hadn't sent a new batch yet. Janice was so concerned about the wrath of a half dozen eight year olds that she was half seriously thinking about closing down the place and hiding at home until five when they would all be home at dinner. She was even considering going to Wal-mart and buying out their stock. Forget the saying that "hell hath no fury like a scorned woman". Janice would put her half dozen junior customers facing no Pokemon cards against a horde of scorned women.

Although the Queens' court had increased Janice's business for the day, she managed to find a few minutes of time to rest her feet, call Michael, and even eat lunch. Somewhere in there had also been a few minutes to think of Darrel and wonder if his second day was as busy as his first. She wondered if he was thinking of her.

 

[Blue Dolphin]

Those first few days of Darrel`s Diner were very hard work. My plan was to quickly extablish a customer base, and a broad one, covering all age groups and sections of the towns people.

I did a couple of interviews, local radio and TV, in between working double shifts. This thing was ging to be a success, even if it killed me. The one bright spot had been Janice, coming to my place to eat. She had seemed to enjoy herself, and I had enjoyed her company also. Had the business been already established, I would have had the time to go see her, and thank her in person.

There was so much to do though, ringing suppliers, with complaints, setting out my stall as to exactly what service I required. Keeping my staff in order, smiles at all times, and telling them, that the customer was King, for that was where their wages came from.

By the end of the week, things were settling down, a routine was being established, and at last, I felt that now I could relax, and start to think of other things. And the first thought that I had was Janice, and the fact that in some ways I had neglected her. I called the local the florist, and had them send her a bouquet of flowers, nothing too fancy, and a note from me.

Some flowers for the lovely lady, and, an apology from me dear Janice. Things have been more than a little hectic here, but they are settling down now. My apologies for not calling in to see you, and my hopes that you will allow me to take you out to dinner some night.
Darrel.

 

[sharingfantasies]

After the first day of gossips buzzing about the new restaurant in town, things settled back down to normal for Janice. She worked long hours, talked to Michael, marked the calendar until he would return from his grandparents'. She also thought about Darrel, a lot. Although she hadn't gotten a chance to go back, she knew how he was doing from the running commentary of her customers. Apparently most of them had gone back at least once more, some several times, and the food had been just as good. Janice wasn't surprised. Darrel was the type of person to be successful at anything he attemped. Seeing him had been nice, wonderful actually, and Janice was still dealing with the aftermath of the affect he had had on her hormones. She hadn't had her hormones affect this much by one person since.... well since she had had a crush on him when they were in school. Even Michael's father hadn't caused her body to react at this level.

Working hard and staying away from the diner were Janice's way of getting her hormones back in submission. The amount of embarrassment she would feel if her somehow Darrel got an inkling of her hormones out of control was enough to make her push and shove until they were safely back in the locked box in the back of her mind. Even if Darrel was interested, which he wasn't, she worked too hard, had a son to raise, she didn't have time for some one-sided hormonal outburst.

It had taken Janice all week to get herself under control and convince herself that she was not going to make a fool of herself. Then the flowers came and all her hard efforts were as naught as her hormones immediately broke loose and surged at the note. He wanted to take her to dinner. That was different than coming over to check out his diner. He wanted a date. With her. She could feel her lips stretch into a wide, cheshire grin. Her hand pressed against her chest where her heart felt as if it were beating right out of her ribcage. She had a date with Darrel!!

Oops, she came down suddenly. She had gotten ahead of herself. He had asked for a date, they didn't HAVE a date. Laughing at herself, she shook her head. She had to actually respond to his note first. She found a crystal vase and put the flowers in it, then still chuckling, she picked up the phone and called the restaurant. The person that answered the phone said that he was in a meeting with the chef, so she left her number and went back to her inventory, dancing down the aisle of canned fruit where she had left off her counting to accept the flowers.

 

[Blue Dolphin]

After chef left the office, Rosita, the head waitress came to see me, to let me know that Janice had called. I smiled and thanked her, and then I had a quiet word with Rosita.

She had started to wear her skirt a little shorter, and really gone to town on her make up. At every opportunity, she would brush past me, and smile, obviously she was coming on to the boss.

"You are very good at your job Rosita, but... while I am very flattered at your attention, unlike my ex-wife, I never mix business with pleasure. Nevertheless, it is nice for our customers to see my staff looking good, and you are a hard worker, whom I value very much. So Rosita, do we understand each other now?"

She looked a little crestfallen, but she did manage a smile, and a little nod before she left the office. Now I had time to think about Janice, and decided to take walk down to her store. It was busy as usual, and I waved through the window to her, as she smiled at me. I read the notice on her door, with the opening hours, before popping my head inside, and calling to her.

"Can we talk at closing time Janice? I will come here to meet you."

 

[sharingfantasies]

A familiar face walked past the window and Janice waved to Darrel, curious as to why he wasn't at the restaurant and excited to see him at the same time. She had expected him to come in but all he did was stick his head in the door. Still, she stopped ringing up the groceries on the counter in front of her long enough to smile and call out, "Sure, sounds good. I will see you here about 8 then."

Janice turned back to the counter only to meet the eyes of Maribelle Jackson. Uh oh, she thought as she watched the mental gears turning in the sharp eyes of her friendly and gossipy customer. Thinking to stave off questions and gossip, she lightly spoke, "That was nice of him to stop by. It will be interesting to see what he wants later tonight. Now, about these bananas. Are you sure you want four pounds of them, Miss Maribelle?"

As Miss Maribelle talked about a new recipe for banana bread, Janice felt maybe she had averted a small implosion, listened and encouraged the dear lady to expound on her recipe. At the same time she wondered what Darrel had on his mind.

 

[Blue Dolphin]

"Sure, sounds good. I will see you here about 8 then."

I smiled to myself, as I walked back to my diner, hoping that I had not unwittingly embarassed Janice, but, it was too late to worry about that now.

The next few hours went slowly, incredibly slowly, as I checked the time every five minutes it seemed. By seven PM, I could stand it no longer, and left the diner, to go to my apartment.

I showered, and changed, not because I was expecting to take Janice to dinner tonight. Rather because I wanted to look my best for her. I mean, this wasnt a date, I was just going to meet her out of work. Hopefully to discuss a date, a dinner date.
It was strange though, in some ways I felt like a teemager again, all awkward and shy, which was stupid, I was grown man now, and Janice, she was an adult also.

I made my way to her store, arriving about two minutes before the appointed hour. Still a little unsire as to what I would say to her, but , at the same time, I was delighted that she had agreed to talk to me.

 

[sharingfantasies]

Janice swept up the store and put out the trash, then made sure everything was locked away in the small safe she kept in her office. Picking up her purse and keys, she sat on the counter facing the front door waiting for Darrel to come by. She couldn't help feeling a little sappy at the warm glow that radiated from her center when she saw him pass by the window on his way to the door.

Jumping off the counter, she reached the door at the same time he did and laughed when he jumped from surprise. "I am sorry to startle you, I didn't mean to. But you sure jump well," she grinned. "I'm not sure what you wanted to talk about but would you mind if we did it at my place?"

Janice's face turned bright red as the grin on Darrel's face made her realize what she had said. Stumbling over the words, she tried to clarify her meaning. "I mean... I meant... you know, to talk." Her shoulders lifted and fell on her deep sigh as his grin got wider at her words. Janice knew that he knew what she had meant, but, for some reason she had never understood, she had always fallen into the puddle of double entendres even though she really wasn't aware of them until the guy started to grin. Although as any female over the age of 13 can tell you, guys are so busy thinking about sex that they can make a double entendre out of a molehill. Still, she wished she would either catch them before she said them or not get so embarrassed so easily.

She waited for his agreement before locking up the front door of the shop and leading him around the corner of the building and across the parking lot to the gate to her backyard. He looked around as if he was checking his memory against the reality of now. Darrell like most of the kids that had grown up in the area had at some time passed through the doorway to the house as her parents were forever inviting kids over to have homemade cookies, play ball in the huge backyard or just to drink some cold lemonade on the dog days of summer. Janice hadn't even known the names of half the kids that trooped through her house and had often hung out at the store or in her bedroom when the place got too crowded or rowdy. Part of her had enjoyed having such popular parents and part of her had resented the constant trail of muddy footprints and hands that had, to her, taken some of the attention from herself. Even then she had realized how silly the feelings had been as her parents had doted on her, not spoiled but doted. Still the feelings had appeared at various times and she had covered them up by leaving the house or falling into a book where she could block out reality and live vicariously through the life of some character in a story.

Janice led the way through the backdoor and into the kitchen where she started the coffee maker. Darrel seemed as lost in the past inside the house as he had been outside. While she put purse away and watched Darrel look around, she couldn't help wondering what he was thinking.