Habitude, page 9
“CEO? Wouldn’t that be something?”
“That is the plan, sir.”
“An attainable one, too.” Faith places her hand on Jonathan’s arm, squeezing gently. She smiles at him, then at her dad.
“It will come in due time.” Jonathan pats Faith’s hand.
“That’s wonderful, Jonathan. It’s great to have such ambition.”
“Yes, sir.”
Diane and Hope come back into the dining room carrying serving bowls and platters.
Jonathan can’t help it. With wide eyes, he blurts out, “If this is a simple Sunday dinner, I’d love to know what Thanksgiving looks like!”
Frank and Diane both laugh. Frank explains, “She definitely feeds us very well, no matter what day it is.” He pats the small rotund area of his belly that’s only shown up in the last few years.
They take turns spooning servings onto their plates, passing the bowls and platters around the table. Then they all begin to eat.
Jonathan is very aware of the family aspect. This dinner is something they do every week because they’re family. It’s something he missed out on growing up without his parents. He missed it the most when he first went to live with Aunt Suz. As he grew older, he just accepted that he would no longer have the feeling of family, but here he is, feeling like he’s a part of Faith’s family.
They have included him in their conversation and laughed at his jokes. They’ve been so welcoming. Even Hope, in her own way. She might have been giving him a hard time, but she wouldn’t be doing that if she didn’t love her sister. The love in this home is very apparent. Jonathan can clearly see what has made Faith such an amazing woman.
“So, which came first? The girls or the café?” Jonathan asks.
Diane laughs. “We may have gotten that question a few times.” She glances at her husband smiling. “First was Faith, then Hope, then Love’s Café. You could say they came in order.”
“It takes a lot to start any business, but a restaurant is a huge undertaking. You guys have done such an incredible job at making it successful.”
“Thank you. We had to sacrifice things, especially in the beginning. We don’t pretend that it was easy, certainly not easy on these two.” Diane gestures to Faith and Hope.
Frank continues for Diane, “They were eight and ten when we first opened the café. At first, we tried to keep our home life and business life separate, but we soon figured out that it was impossible. We needed to be at the café working, but we also needed to spend time with the girls. Diane’s parents were a great help at the time, but we knew they shouldn’t be raised by their grandparents.”
Diane interjects, “Plus, learning hard work from that age isn’t a bad thing. They have both been instrumental in getting the café up and running and keeping it there. Hope is our restaurant manager, and Faith works there in the summers still.”
Jonathan enjoys hearing about how Faith grew up, “I started going there in high school. I told Faith I was surprised I hadn’t seen her there before.”
“What did you say your last name was?” Frank is curious.
“I hadn’t mentioned it. My last name is Hall.”
Diane gasps. “Oh, dear. You’re Jonathan Hall?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Jonathan fully understands the revelation she just had and braces himself for the sympathies he’s about to receive.
“We met your parents a time or two. Terrible tragedy that was.” She shakes her head. Wishing she could forget how heartbreaking it was. “We’re very sorry for your loss, dear.”
“Thank you.”
Jonathan isn’t quite sure how the conversation went in this direction, but having a café in a small town would mean they know most everyone that lives there.
Hope takes a drink from her bottle of beer. “It would seem that Luna Shores is too damn small.”
Jonathan almost chuckles. It’s as if Hope has taken the thought straight from his head.
“Hope! Watch your language at the dinner table,” Diane scolds.
“I’m not fifteen, Mom. If I want to swear, I can.”
“You may be able to, but I ask you to refrain at the dinner table.”
“Fine.” She visibly rolls her eyes. Jonathan reminds himself that she is the baby and younger than Faith, even if it is just a couple of years.
Faith decides to change the subject. “I’m stuffed. Thank you, Mom. That was delicious.”
“You’re welcome, honey.”
Smiling, Jonathan adds, “Yes, Diane. This was the best meal I’ve had in a while.”
Faith looks at him surprised. “You’re a great cook in your own right.”
He looks at Diane. “I know, but you can’t beat a mother’s cooking.”
That one statement puts into perspective what it is Jonathan must be feeling, at least a little. Her heart breaks for the eight year old version of him that had to go through all of that. And for this version of him to have to endure life without his parents with reminders constantly barraging him. Faith simply says, “No, you can’t.”
Frank pushes his chair away from the table, “How about we go sit in the den?”
“That sounds splendid, but first, Hope, can you please help me with the dishes and getting left-overs put away?”
Hope’s face drops once again, the annoyance very apparent. “Yes, Mummy.”
Faith grabs her crutches and stands. Jonathan follows close behind just in case she needs help. Frank leads the way into the den.
Jonathan notices that even though the outside of the home is definitely mid-century, the inside has been updated quite nicely. Faith comes to the two steps down that will take them into the sunken- in den and pauses.
“How can I help you?” Jonathan asks, concerned softly placing his hand on the small of her back.
“Can you go down in front of me to make sure if I slip, you can catch me?”
“Most definitely.”
Jonathan rushes down the steps before her, standing in front of her, ready to catch her if necessary. Frank watches from his arm-chair, with remote in hand. Slightly amused, slightly impressed with how attentive Jonathan is to Faith.
Once Faith is safe on the grey carpeted floor, she continues using the crutches to hobble over to the couch. Jonathan sits beside her and places his arm around her.
“Have you used crutches before?” Jonathan asks.
“Why? Does it seem like I haven’t?”
“No, you actually seem quite steady on them. I am worried about you being on them too much and getting sore, though.”
“I’ve used them before. I’ll also make sure to sit in my chair for the majority of the day tomorrow. Though that may be difficult while teaching kindergarteners.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Does your chair have wheels?”
“It does…”
“You could simply wheel everywhere.”
The three of them laugh at the thought.
Hope and Diane come into the room sitting down in chairs opposite the couch.
“Frank, we don’t need to have the TV on right now. Let’s visit while everyone is still here.”
Frank gestures to the TV. “The baseball game is on, though.”
“Dear, you can always stream it later.”
“Yes, my beloved.”
Diane looks at Jonathan. “So, tell us more about yourself. What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“I don’t have too much of that, ma’am. My work is quite demanding. That’s something I’m thankful Faith is so understanding about.”
“Please, call me Diane. Faith would understand since she’s been working and going to school for years now. It’s probably strange for her to have any free time on her hands.”
“I enjoy my free time that much more now because of the years I spent being busy.” Faith says.
Hope chimes in, “You know, you can always pick up a shift or two at the café. The dinner rush has been crazy lately.”
“I’m really good with only working there in the summer. I very clearly remember how busy things get for dinner.”
Jonathan thinks about this a moment and asks, “Have you guys ever thought of adding outside seating?”
Diane laughs a bit, and Frank says, “That is something that’s currently in the works actually.”
Diane continues, “It was a matter of figuring out where to put it. Being on Main Street, it gets busy, and we figured most people don’t want to sit on the sidewalk.”
Frank interrupts, “Nor should we block the sidewalk.”
“Right. Anyway, we figured we could easily put it out back. It will take some rearranging inside the café, but nothing too serious.”
Frank adds, “You see, we need the outside customers to still have access to the bathroom inside. The servers also need to have access to the tables outside, obviously.”
Diane continues, “All that is to say we are working with an architect and general contractor to remodel a bit so that we can do just that.”
“That will be really nice, I’m sure.”
Faith is enjoying the conversation and how much Jonathan is a part of it. She’s sure Hope will come around at some point. Most likely not tonight, however.
Hope’s phone starts ringing, and she answers it. Her answers are short with a bit of an emergent tone. Her parents are watching her intently, concern in their eyes.
She hangs up and announces, “I’ve got to go. There was a water main break right down the street from the café. There’s no running water.”
Frank stands, “I’m coming with you.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She says as she grabs her purse and keys, Frank kisses Diane quickly, and they drive away in Hope’s car.
“Well, there is never a dull moment when you run your own business.” Diane says to Jonathan.
“I can see that. You guys understand not having much for free time, too, then.”
“Very much so. Faith, dear, how is your foot feeling?”
“It’s OK. It hurts. Jonathan has done an amazing job at taking care of me.”
“That’s great.” She looks at Jonathan, “Thank you for that.”
“It’s my pleasure ma’am.”
“Please, call me Diane.”
“I’m sorry. I will. I’m so used to saying ma’am. My aunt Suz always insisted.”
“I don’t think I’ve met her before.” Diane says a little puzzled. She feels like she knows nearly everyone in Luna Shores.
“No, I don’t think you would have. She’s mostly a homebody. She never had any children, just me, and we hardly left the house.”
“I’m sorry, dear.”
“It’s simply how life happened for me.”
“We can’t control how it happens, only how we react. All things considered, Jonathan, it seems like you have a level on your shoulders.”
“Thank you, Diane.”
Faith decides it’s time to change the subject. Jonathan doesn’t need a constant reminder of his parent’s death, and that seems to be coming up a lot tonight.
“Mom, I’ve been thinking about switching to teaching first grade for next year.”
“Isn’t teaching pretty much the same no matter the grade?”
“Well, yes, and no. The first graders have a bit more structure and focus more on reading and comprehension.”
“Right. I guess the biggest difference would be jumping into teaching high school or something.” She smiles.
“That is true. I could never see myself as a high school teacher. I prefer the little ones.” Faith holds her hand to show the short stature of the kids she teaches.
“Get them before they’re corrupted.” Jonathan chuckles to himself.
Faith rolls her eyes and playfully elbows him, “Something like that.”
“I’ve always been proud of you, dear. Being a teacher is difficult. Some children don’t have the best home lives. You get to see that first hand.”
“I do. I just want to be a bright spot in their day.”
“You’re definitely the bright spot in my day.” Jonathan smirks, thinking of this morning. Faith’s cheeks turn a slight shade of pink before she speaks, trying to ease the tension she hopes her mom didn’t pick up on.
“When did you guys start working with an architect? You hadn’t mentioned it to me before tonight.”
“We started looking a couple of weeks ago. We managed to get a couple of quotes, and then the ball started rolling quicker than we could have imagined.”
“It is exciting, though.” Jonathan offers.
“Very much so. We simply weren’t expecting it. The schedule should be perfect for a June open, which would obviously work out well with the weather.”
Unexpectedly they hear Frank and Hope walking back into the house.
“How did everything go, dear?”
“It’s getting fixed. We had to close for the night. The water should be back on tomorrow.”
“That will be alright. Sunday nights are typically pretty slow.”
“Hope kicked everyone out, and I made sure the place was secure.”
“Despair, it isn’t nice to kick people out.” Faith says jokingly.
“They didn’t want to leave.” She shrugs her shoulders. “We had to wait for them to finish their meals. Luckily most took the hint and asked for boxes to take home, but there’s always those stragglers.”
“Well, that’s good, darling. It’s never fun to have to close early, but if the health department came and there were customers there and no running water, we would have gotten into a fair bit of trouble.”
“Yes, Mummy, I know.”
Diane looks to Jonathan and says with a proud smile, “She’s been taking classes at the community college for business management and running a restaurant.”
“That’s great, Hope!”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Well, mom and dad, I think Jonathan and I will get out of your hair. I have a couple of things to take care of for school tomorrow.”
They all stand. Faith gingerly works her way up the steps and to the front door. Frank and Diane take turns hugging them both. Then Hope follows them outside.
“This was a good dinner. It was nice to see you, Doubt.” She looks at Jonathan. “I’m going to have to come up with a name for you.” Narrowing her eyes on him she continues, “That is if you ever come back again. Although, Jonathan isn’t much to work off of.” She says that last part with disdain dripping from his name.
“I’ll be back again.” He assures her.
“We’ll see.” She purses her lips.
Jonathan opens the door, and Faith sits. He takes her crutches and puts them in the back seat. Hope bends down, giving Faith a hug. “Take care of yourself. I don’t like seeing you hurt.”
“I’m OK, and I will. Thanks.”
Jonathan gets in on the driver’s side. He starts the car as Hope closes Faith’s door.
“Am I taking you home then?”
“Yes, please. You are more than welcome to stay for a little bit, but I do have some things to do.”
“No, as much as I would love to spend more time with you, I will let you get your stuff done.”
“Thank you, Jonathan….for everything.”
Faith couldn’t be happier with the way dinner went. Jonathan seamlessly handled meeting them all, even Hope, who definitely could have been nicer. She knew her parents would be gracious, but it seems as if they have accepted Jonathan with open arms. She couldn’t have asked for a better evening with Jonathan and her family.
Chapter 16
Magnitude
Noun; the importance, quality, or caliber of something
Jackie sees Faith going into her classroom early Monday morning. Without skipping a beat, she quickly walks to Faith’s room, ready to hear all the details from the weekend.
“So, tell me all about your weekend.” Finally realizing that Faith is using crutches she follows with, “Oh my God, what happened?”
Faith recaps the weekend, explaining what happened to her foot. She tells her everything about dinner at her parents and how respectful Jonathan had been with giving her the time she needed to get prep work done the night before. She doesn’t mention the conversation with Tom for now. That isn’t a discussion for school. Faith does briefly mention the whole Candi debacle, though.
“I can’t believe Hope was so rude and what was with that Candi chic?”
“She was simply Hope. I’m not sure if she will ever grow out of that.” Faith gives Jackie a look like she should know better. “That whole thing with Candi was just out there. I couldn’t have even prepared myself for that!”
“It’s good Jonathan handled Hope well! Sounds like he handled Candi pretty well too.” She chuckles. “Do you need anything to help with staying off your foot? Your armpits are really going to hurt by the end of the day if you are standing with those crutches the whole time.”
“My chair has wheels. I should be fine. I’ve got a couple of students that are huge helpers, they will come in handy.”
Just then Kay Obrecht walks past her door. Faith and Jackie look at one another. Without saying a word they both understand they need to watch what they say. Kay doesn’t care for Faith. As far as Faith knows she hasn’t done anything to warrant Kay’s disapproval.
“Well, we should hang out after school, maybe grab some dinner.”
“That sounds good.”
“No plans with Jonathan tonight?”
“Getting together during the week can be difficult. He’s usually working pretty late. Besides, you know how much I like my sleep.”
“I sure do. See you later. If you need anything, let me know!” Jackie walks out of Faith’s classroom and heads a few doors down to her own.
Faith’s day seems to drag. The kids are behaving well enough for a Monday, so she’s grateful for that. The clock seems to be ticking slower no matter how many fun activities they do.
She was right, her helper students really did save the day. It was so cute how they were all very concerned when they walked in the door. Some days as a teacher you feel like you don’t make a difference, as if it could be anyone standing up there, but today wasn’t one of those days luckily.
