"Ginger Snap"
All was peaceful on a Monday afternoon. Charles saw Hillary that day before one. She had on something casual, an unusual look for her. Her top was a blue striped tee with a gold chain belt. She had hug tight jeans with an anchor at the back pocket. And she had red sneakers.
"Well, Hillary, is it casual day at your office?"
"If you are referring to my unusual dress, then I will say no. I have a day off. My district attorney decided I am working way too much on my case. So...here I am. Now about the order of chicken and fries?"
"Right, Fox." Charles gave her the bag filled with a chicken basket. "Here we are; one large chicken basket with eight tenders, golden curly fries, sourdough rolls, coleslaw, applesauce and two bowls of macaroni and cheese."
"Thank you so much." Hillary's face glowed when she took the bag. Her mouth started to drool. "My colleague will love this so much!"
"You're all chipper, aren't you!" Emma walked over and put coconut shavings in the ice cream mixer. She was so glad Hillary had a smile on her face. "That's really great you're doing this for your colleague. Who is this person?"
"Stone." Hillary began. "Be...la! Bella Stone! She raves about your food so much! But of course, I ignored her comments. Grease is never good for the body; I keep telling her. Arteries cloggers and all."
"That's transcended fats, dear. Our oils are pure canola, made from grape seeds."
"Grapes?" Hillary asked, blinking a few times. Her cogs are turning again and her face lightened up again. "Grapes! Yes, it makes much more sense! Thank you once again!" She ran from the diner with the bag in her hand. The owners looked at once another, stunned.
"Blimey!" Charles proclaimed adjusting his hat. "That's odd! We might have another customer!"
"Maybe more if Hillary tried it herself!" Emma closed the mixer. "I wonder what got into her?"
Tony opened the kitchen door. "Hey, Mr. Mersfield, did a customer came by to collect her order?"
"Yep, paid in advance and all, Son! Speaking of son, where is Nathaniel? It's almost one ten. It's unusual for him to come less than a half hour before his shift."
"Right!" Emma answered, turning on the ice cream mixer. "He's over at the pastor's place! He's in counseling about what he heard the other night."
"Oh right..." Charles sighed as the door opened again. Wilbur entered Mavis, along with three other people. "Oy Wilbur! You have a full house of queens and jacks, ey?"
"You card!" Wilbur laughed as he showed his females guest an empty booth. Mavis waved to Charles. "Hello, Charles! My friends from England came by to visit us on behalf of Wilbur's mum. She's too frail to travel, Major Burns said."
"Major Burns?"
"That would be me, Sir." The gentleman with receding hair approached the co-owner. "I'm Major Jeremy Burns. I was Wilbur's co-worker at Kite Brothers."
"Oh yeah?" Charles went over and shook the major's hand. "It's an honor to see you and Mrs. Crane and Miss Francis. Wilbur and Mavis told us about you guys."
Emma walked over to the counter after putting the order on the kitchen window. "Charles, are they who I think they are?" She grinned over the older man as Charles laughed. "Yes, love! These are Wilbur and Mavis's old colleagues!"
Emma squealed and hugged the Major, embarrassing the soldier. Mrs. Crane walked over to her colleague. "Is there anything you want to say, Major burns?"
"Mrs. Mersfield, I presume?"
"Yes! That's right!" Emma let him go and went over to Mrs. Crane. "Oh, you must be Mrs. Cherrie Crane. Wilbur told me about you in length. I thought you with different colors of hair is so wild!"
"He told you that?" Mrs. Crane looked at Wilbur. "What a sweet man! I should introduce to you my favorite wigs. By the way, Mrs. Mersfield, how do you feel about pussies?"
The question made Emma uncomfortable. "Uh..."
Charles barged right in. "Hey, she doesn't mind pussies. Just as long as they are safe from harm, she's okay with them." He then gave his wife a wink. The wife blushed as Mrs. Crane opened her big leather pouch. Inside was her Black Persian. "I'm so glad you feel benevolent about them. I so want my pussy to be comfortable with the new environment. This is my cat, Bibi."
Emma's eyes beamed up. "Aww!" She cooed. "You have a cat! She looks so precious! Yes she is!"
"I would suggest you don't pet her yet." Cherrie informed her. "She needs to get used to you first."
"That is a proper protocol for pets these days." Major Burns yawned. "Well, Wilbur, shall we move to our booth?"
"Of course!" Wilbur replied with excitement. He walked with his shoes clacking on the floor. "You must tell us happened after Mavis and I left the store!"
Mavis and Miss Shirley Francis exchanged their own gossip as the others joined them. The latter heard Wilbur's latest command and shrugged. "There really isn't much to tell really. Mr. Kite was on holiday last year and he died right in the middle of the ocean."
"Oh dear!" Mavis cried. "Did he have a stroke or a heart attack?"
"In a way...his secretary's bikini top popped out and gave him a send-off."
Mavis's brown eyes blew up in surprise. "Wow! Well...at least he died what he loved best! Nuzzling between his favorite secretary's boobs on a tropical island! How is Miss Bakewell by the way?"
The three friends went silent. Bibi mewed in Cherrie's handbag. "Oh, Bibi, you'll have your din-din soon." She turned back to Mavis. "Well, after Mr. Kite's passing, she went on to become one of London's fashion designers. Oh, and Mr. Randell, do you remember him?"
"Yes, that loudmouth smart pervert that hit on Ms. Francis all time, right? How is Mr. Randell?" Mavis asked Cherrie.
"He resigned of being a senior's assistant. He couldn't stand another death of another senior."
"Another?" Wilbur asked. His eyelids fluttered. "Girls, how many seniors come and go after I was gone?"
"Five." Jeremy answered quickly. "Yes, it felt like our manager hired the men that are too old to work. There was one senior that only lasted a month."
Shirley nodded as Katie brought them tea. "Here we are, Wilbur. Five Earl Gray tea. Are you guys ready to order?"
"What is today's special, Katie?" Wilbur asked. Katie emptied her pants pocket and checked her note pad. "Today's special is Minestrone with butter rolls, followed by Turkey club sandwiches on sourdough with two sides."