We walked upstairs and found Megan spinning in her chair. When she saw us, she jerked to a stop. I just ignored her. I sometimes did that too, so I was in no position to give her a hard time. Besides, I needed her to watch Coby and Little David for another week during finals.
We stepped into the conference room, where we found new cell phones in boxes.
“What are these for?” I asked.
“Cell phones that will work internationally,” Caryn said.
“His current one won’t?” Dad asked.
“This one offers unlimited international texting with data that’s pay-as-you-go. David’s getting one because of international calling,” Caryn told me.
“This new phone works in both Cuba and Japan?” I asked.
“Yes, and it’s cheaper than setting up an international calling plan with your current carrier,” Megan explained. “As it turns out, your current carrier doesn’t even offer service in Cuba. This isn’t cheap, though, so don’t overdo it. It’s twenty cents per minute. Another carrier charged a monthly fee for their plan, and it was still fifty cents per minute.”
Megan took my current phone and hooked it to my new phone to transfer all my contacts and apps.
“What do you plan to do with this phone once I get back from Japan?” I asked.
“You can keep it for whenever you travel, or we could use it as a corporate phone for someone who only uses it as a phone,” Caryn said.
“You mean like my dad or grandma. Better yet, the recruiting phone,” I suggested.
Dad had been listening. I could tell he liked the idea of saving money on his monthly phone bill. This new phone would never work for my mom or me since we used way too much data.
Now that my phone for Cuba was set up, we could talk about other stuff.
“You couldn’t miss the front parking lot,” Caryn said, and we nodded. “We had them do it this weekend. They also did the Quickie Mart. We’ll walk down there before you leave. The owner was willing to shut down for the weekend while we made the improvements.”
“How’s the food going?” I asked.
We’d started to hand out food to people that needed it.
“We gave out three bags this week. They were also given information about the food programs available. One of the employees at the Quickie Mart had a good idea: she suggested that we add bags of dried beans and rice,” Caryn said.
“It’s inexpensive and filling. I remember when you were a kid, we ate a lot of that sort of thing,” Dad said.
I smiled because cornbread and beans was one of my favorite meals. Mom always complained that Greg and I could eat for an army, and she had to find something that would fill us up.
“Don’t ask me about what to give them. I think you can figure it out,” I said.
“Okay. Field trip time,” Caryn announced.
She took us down to the restaurant. Mary Dole was there, talking to a bunch of people sitting in the new chairs which were lined up in a couple of rows facing her. She smiled and waved at us as we came through the doors.
These folks were obviously the people Mary had hired to form the waitstaff, cooks, and so on. I was surprised to see Jan’s serious, interested face among them.
We walked back towards the kitchen and setup areas, not wanting to disturb Mary. I turned to Caryn.
“Jan Duke?”
“Yuri’s grandma came in with her when we were taking applications, and your grandmother happened to be there. Mrs. Antakov asked if Jan could apply for a waitress-slash-hostess job. She took your grandma aside and explained that she wanted Jan to learn about work, but she wanted her to be supervised by women Jan looked up to. Your mom, Mrs. Dole, and your grandma all fit that category.”
I was bemused.
“My grandma? How does Jan even know her?” I asked.
“Oh, your grandma and Yuri’s have become thick as thieves since they met each other. I think it’s a ‘kindred spirits finding each other’ kind of thing. You just weren’t around enough to notice.
“Anyway, Mrs. Dole was concerned that this was all Yuri’s grandma’s doing, and that Jan would be resentful. It turns out it was Jan who suggested it in the first place when their family was talking about plans for the summer and beyond. Yuri’s grandma just … facilitated.
“And Jan’s qualified. They were looking for a smart, pretty girl from the high school, who was motivated, to work as a waitress and fill-in hostess. Jan fits the bill to a T,” Caryn said.
I nodded, still a bit puzzled, as we continued the tour. You just never knew …
The place looked great. They’d gotten ninety percent of the downstairs done. It looked like an updated version of Granny’s. I was impressed.
“How long until they open?” Dad asked.
“They want to do a test run next week and only open a couple of hours in the mornings to work the bugs out. The grand opening will be either next Friday or Saturday. They’re going to hold an invitation-only event to get the word out, and it’ll be free. Then they’ll open the following Monday,” Caryn said.
