The European Enigma (LSD, #9)

11. The Danish Danger

The Danish Danger

"Today is a good day to have a great day.", Agnes laughed.

Her laugh didn't change Gregor's grim expression: "For you, every day is a great day, Agnes. When someone tells you to go to hell, you jump with joy to discover a place you've never seen before."

Margo was delighted too: "I agree with Agnes. I love this restaurant too. It's in the best spot in town, and it will only need a few drops of paint and some decoration. If we work hard, we can open in one or two weeks from now. I suggest we change the name to Danish Delight. It's perfect."

Edith danced on the bar: "And we put on happy music to cheer everybody up. We'll be dancing all day. This place is so nice. It's everything I've ever dreamed of. We're going to be so happy here."

Gregor had a different opinion about happiness: "Happiness is more than what's written on a bag of sugar, Edith. There's a lot to do here: cleaning, washing dishes, making coffee, and running around. I'm not sure if it will make me happy, doing all that for the rest of my life."

Edith stopped her hokipoki and sat down on the bar: "Come on, Gregor. Be a bit more positive about this. Agnes is right: today is a great day, perhaps the most important day of the rest of our lives; an anonymous sponsor (I suspect he has something to do with that Gregor look-alike that helped us win the gold medal at the European Games) has offered us the unique opportunity to open this breakfast restaurant. We can take it or we can leave it, but I say: let's take it."

Margo sat down next to Edith and confirmed her friend's opinion: "Danish people are the happiest in Europe, and this little town near the beach is where the happiest people from Denmark live. This can't go wrong, Gregor."

Agnes took her place on Edith's other side: "You have to think positive, Gregor. We're a team. Together, we can do anything. This is a piece of cake: chocolate cake, hazelnut cake, perhaps even strawberry peach cake, homemade. Who can resist that? And we're not just going to sell coffee and croissants; we're going to give shiploads of happiness with it too. I want the text «I can make you feel good» on every coffee cup. I want sugar bags with happy thoughts. I want every customer to leave happier than he was when he came in. If we can do that, it's impossible to fail."

Margo agreed with her: "You have to visualise this, Gregor. We open at 06:00 and close at 14:00, just after lunch. That way, we'll have the entire afternoon and evening to do what we like. We need two people in the kitchen, one behind the bar, and two waiters, but we can take turns and have different jobs every day. We'll have to work on the weekends, but we can take our day off during the week when it's not so busy. And we'll work at a place where every client will always be happy to have a good time. Can't you think of anything better than this?"

Edith continued: "Do you remember that offer from that gentleman who tried to buy our loyalty during the European Games? He offered us a place like this in the South of France. Of all places! The French cuisine is awful: hardly any food for high prices. Did you ever taste the world-famous Danish pastry? Did you try the delicious Danish beer? Do you know how good the dairy products of this country are, the cheese, the fresh milk, and the butter?"

"Those French croissants were great, though. We should sell French croissants here too. Everyone loves them.", Agnes said.

Gregor shook his head: "There's always a risk. There's always the danger that everything goes wrong. We don't know the laws here. We don't speak Danish. Do you know anything about taxes and permissions? We don't even know how to cook a chocolate cake."

Edith interrupted: "BAKE a chocolate cake. You don't cook it, you bake it."

"That's what I mean: we have no idea about this breadwinning breakfast business. I don't even know how to make coffee.", Gregor complained.