“Oh,” he said and then stroked his chin. “I don’t think we have any openings now. If we were to give you a job here, we’d have to let someone go.”
“No, no, that’s not necessary,” Amy replied right away. “I don’t want to take anyone’s job. I can look elsewhere.”
“Are you sure?” William asked.
“Yes,” Amy replied.
“Well, thanks anyway, Will,” Nikki said.
“Maybe you can ask Paul,” William suggested. “His restaurant is busier.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Nikki replied even though she wasn’t looking forward to seeing Paul again that day. She had been rude earlier, and the feeling wasn’t sitting pretty with her. “Thanks again.”
“Anytime,” William said, returning to his duties.
“Is the other restaurant like this one?” Amy asked once they were in the car.
“Pretty much,” Nikki replied. “This one is miniature-sized compared to Paul’s. They have the same decor and settings.”
“Nice.” Amy smiled as she stared out the window.
Nikki wasn’t sure what was going on in Amy’s mind or when she might decide to leave, so she wanted to take the opportunity to introduce her to Trish.
“Hey, so I was thinking,” she began tentatively as her heart thumped. “I was planning to visit Trish again later today. How about you come with me so you can meet her.”
Amy didn’t respond for a couple of seconds. “Didn’t you say she’s in a coma?”
“Yeah, but the doctors said that she might still be able to hear what’s going on around her. I know she’d be happy to hear your voice if that’s true.”
“That would be kind of weird for me,” Amy replied softly. “Maybe another time.”
The disappointment hit Nikki hard, but she couldn’t disclose how much. She understood what Amy said, but she had really hoped she would agree to that.
“Is that going to be a problem?” Amy turned to her and asked matter-of-factly. “Like, is that a condition to my staying at the house?”
“No,” Nikki replied emphatically. “I know that’s not something either of us can rush, so I’ll let you go at your own pace, but I’m not going to force you to go or chase you out if you don’t. Like I said, the house and inn are yours too. Legally, no one can chase you out of either of them.”
She was almost sure she saw a sigh of relief escape Amy before she turned her face once more to the window and avoided Nikki’s eyes.
That was just as well. Nikki didn’t want her to see the first signs of tears that she had to quickly blink away.
Paul greeted them as soon as they entered the restaurant, and he looked at them both, from one to the other, like he was expecting bad news. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing serious.” Nikki laughed nervously. “Amy wants a job. There’s none at the other restaurant, so we were wondering if…”
“Absolutely,” Paul said with relief. “You scared me for a minute.”
“Really? You have an opening?” Amy asked excitedly.
“I do. This is a very busy time of year, and I was considering hiring another server, so today is your lucky day,” he beamed.
“Thank you,” Amy gushed.
“No problem,” he told her.
“What do I do? Is there like an interview or something?”
“We just had it.” Paul laughed. “I already know you know how to wait tables. Here, let me introduce you to the maître d. He’ll show you around.”
