“I wish I would’ve understood how to be a better parent all those years ago. My mistakes are crystal clear as I’m getting older. I put a lot of pressure on you, but I didn’t mean to. Not that I’m trying to make excuses.” He dropped his head. “When we lost Matty—” He cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m happy to run Red’s as long as my body and brain allow, then we’ll figure it out. I don’t want you spending a lifetime doing something you don’t want to.”
My eyes fell closed as I tried to control the emotion overcoming me. I’d been waiting to hear those words from Dad for so long.
“I’m not planning to stop working there right away, but I’d like to ease up on my hours to dedicate more time to Mystic Rind.”
Dad’s expression turned serious as he nodded. “Of course. I was being serious about carrying your cheese, by the way. I get too stuck in my ways sometimes. It took Sparky’s doing whatI couldn’t to make me understand. Beth always knows how to get me to pull my head out of my ass.” Dad reached over and plucked a piece of cheddar I’d let age for six months.
I grinned. “We need to find someone who loves the diner to take it over. I’ll help you find that person. Just because I don’t want to run the show doesn’t mean I’m not invested in Red’s sticking around for several more generations,” I said earnestly.
“It’ll take us a while to find the right person. Someone who loves this town as much as we do and has a passion for serving food and chatting their days away.”
At Amos’s loud laugh from the other room, Dad and I looked in that direction. Dad tipped his head significantly toward the living room with his eyebrows raised. I nodded and grinned. The solution had been staring me in the face, but I supposed I couldn’t have allowed myself to even consider it until everything was out in the open.
“Maybe the perfect person is right under our noses.”
Amos cautiously entered. “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s about to be a mutiny on our hands if we don’t get some of Mickey’s cheese into their bellies.” He studied our expressions and an adorable wrinkle formed in his brow. “What did I miss?”
EPILOGUE
MICKEY
6 months later
Despite having woken up before five this morning and spending most of the day talking to people, I was exhilarated. I practically skipped down Maple Street from my car to Red’s. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone how my day had gone.
When I entered the familiar door I’d pulled open thousands of times throughout my life, I saw Dad and Amos standing behind the ticket machine at the grill. It wasn’t busy due to the usual mid-afternoon lull.
“It still prints the paper orders?” Dad’s eyes were wide in surprise as he watched a little black machine print out tickets and Amos hung them on the ticket holder that had been there for decades.
“Exactly. When it comes to your workflow while you’re working your magic at the grill, nothing has changed. Except now there’s a record of your orders digitally so we can easily see what’s most popular and when things sell more or less, which helps with inventory and even accounting.”
Dad whistled. “Those retro covers you got for those little order-taking tablets don’t make them stick out like a sore thumb.”
Amos’s smile was smug, and Dad laughed.
“You’re such a little shit.” Dad spoke the words like he’d said, “You’re fucking brilliant.”
Some days I thought Dad loved my boyfriend more than me. They were two peas in anextremely outgoingpod. I loved it.
I slid onto an empty stool and watched my boyfriend bring Dad into the twenty-first century in a way that didn’t force Dad out of his comfort zone. Amos taking my spot as Red’s successor was the perfect solution, and everyone was thrilled about it. Even the Flynns.
There had been some moments of doubt when I’d wondered if this would put too much pressure on our new relationship, or what would happen to Red’s if things ended terribly between us. But we’d had a lot of conversations with each other and Dad and all agreed that even if Amos and I didn’t work out—which seemed less and less likely with each day we spent together—he was still the best person to take over Red’s.
Amos knew what the diners meant to Maplewood and had a passion for it that I didn’t possess. He would keep the spirit of Red’s alive into the future. I completely trusted that. And with him at the helm, I still got to be a part of it in a way that best suited me.
Now that I was down to working part-time at Red’s, my relationship with the place and my dad had improved dramatically. I was able to focus on the parts I loved about the business without getting burned out.
“So you keep telling me,” Amos teased.
Ingrid sighed and leaned against the counter next to me. “I never thought I’d see this place upgrade to digital orders. Amos could convince a Husky it needs a winter coat.”
I laughed, which caused Amos and Dad to turn toward me.
Amos rushed around the counter to me. “How did it go? Did you sell out? Did people love your cheese?”
I stilled his questions with a quick kiss. “It went amazing. I sold out halfway through the day but stayed to talk about my cheese. People said they loved it. Thanks for your help this morning. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
