Only You

Chapter 11 His Kiss

Rena spent the next few days working in the restaurant. If she was going to convince Ian to cross her mother then she really needed to build a case. The first thing she noticed was that Clarissa was very visible in the restaurant, and the only time Ian was visible was if he knew that Blake was in the building. The second thing she noticed was that business was booming for The Chicken and Waffle Inn. The third thing she noticed was that Blake was in the building too much; he needed to spend more time at the coffee shop. She was furious with Ian.

"Mrs. Madison, is this how it is every day? I mean, Mom is going round the tables checking for customer service issues, and she's back there helping you to make sure that the orders are put out correctly. I've seen her several times sitting to catch her breath and then she's up again. Does Ian help at all with customer service?"

"If the staff takes a matter to Ian, he tells them to bring me the problem first, and if I can't handle it to take it to Clarissa. To be honest, Rena, I've got my hands full just keeping the staff cooking and putting out a quality product. Have you seen how much we've grown?"

"Yes, it's incredible."

"Blake's got Ian trained really well in operations, but he just doesn't take part in the daily activities unless Blake is around."

"What do you mean by operations?"

"He takes care of the payroll now. He does all of the ordering for the supplies. I handle all of the orders for the food. Blake's finally got him trained to the point where he can use the accounting software without needing Clarissa's assistance. Thanks to Blake, he is showing up every day instead of being here only a few hours a week."

"What do you think he should be doing that he's not doing?"

"He spends too much time on the computer. He should be out and about making sure that health inspection needs are in order, instead of leaving that to Clarissa. We had some temperature issues that needed to be addressed a few weeks ago and one of the freezers broke. He just waited until Blake got around to dealing with it. Clarissa couldn't because she was in chemo. He should be working with me to make sure that the staff is adequately cleaning. I'm in a million places at one time."

"We don't need any problems with health inspectors. I will do a detailed check of the facility this afternoon and I'll take care of this."

Just as Rena was about to go back into the office to address Ian, she saw Clarissa leaning against the wall looking faint. She quickly walked over to her.

"Mom, you're not looking well. Why don't you sit down a moment?"

"I'm fine. Just go back to doing whatever you're doing."

Clarissa walked away and headed for the kitchen. Watching the stubbornness of her mother made Rena wonder if her acts of stubbornness were any different. For years she'd told herself that she had a right to hold on to her anger. For years she'd told Blake she couldn't come home because of Clarissa. As she watched her mother walk away, she was beginning to see that she was looking at herself.

About an hour later, she saw her mother leaving with Eldred. Mrs. Madison walked up to Rena and tapped her on the shoulder.

"That's how she handles things, Rena. When she's not feeling well, she calls Eldred and he stops whatever he's doing and cares for her."

"While that shiftless brother of mine is not paying any attention!" She stormed down the hall and burst into the office. Ian was playing a video game on the computer. Rena was screaming so loud everyone in the building heard it. She snatched the computer plug out of the socket.