A Baked Ham by Jessica Beck

an
emergency of epic proportions, our doors stay open as long as the sign says
they should be.”
    “That’s my girl,” Moose said with
a grin.   “Victoria, I think Jenny might
need a little help cleaning up out front.”
    “I’m on it,” I said.   Jenny was our late afternoon and early
evening waitress.   During the day she
took classes at the community college, and after she left us she normally
pursued an extremely active social life, but she was a sweet girl, and a real
asset to the diner.
    I peeked my head out and saw that
we were out of customers at the moment, and Jenny was sweeping the floor.
    When she saw me, she said
apologetically, “I hope you don’t mind, but I got started on cleanup a little
early since we didn’t have any customers.”
    “I think it’s brilliant,” I
said.   “I’ll be back to give you a hand
in a second.”
    As I reentered the kitchen, I
said, “Moose, there’s nobody out there.”
    He’d been conferring with Greg at
the grill, and as soon as I walked in, my grandfather stopped talking
instantly.   “My mistake.   Victoria, don’t forget to come by my house
after the show tonight.   I expect an
immediate update about what happened, okay?”
    “We’ll be there,” I said.
    “Good.   Now, I need to get out of here.   I can’t keep your grandmother waiting all
night.”
    After he was gone, I looked at
Greg steadily as I asked, “What exactly was that all about just now?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking
about,” Greg said, refusing to make eye contact with me, a sure sign that he
was holding something back.
    “Greg, do you honestly believe
that you can get away with that?   How
long have we been married, anyway?”
    “That’s a trick question,” Greg
said.   “I told you before, I won’t answer
your marriage-related quiz questions anymore.”
    I laughed as I shook my
head.   “That’s really nice.”
    “What’s that?”
    “The way you just tried to divert
my suspicion.   What did Moose tell you
while I was in the dining room?”
    Greg frowned.   “I told him that I couldn’t keep a secret
from you.”
    I was intrigued now that my
husband had even tried.   “You were
right.   So give.”
    “He told me to keep an eye on you
tonight, and if anything happened to you, I should get in my car and start
driving, because if he ever caught up with me, that would be the end as far as
I was concerned.”
    I was touched by my grandfather’s
concern, but not to the point where I’d easily forgive him saying something
like that.   “Greg, you have to forgive
him.   Sometimes Moose forgets that I’m a
grown woman perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
    “I don’t see how he could ever forget that,” Greg said.
    “That’s because you didn’t help
raise me.   I’ll have a word with him
later.   I can’t have him threatening you
like that, no matter what kind of motivation he thinks he has.”
    My husband looked extremely
uncomfortable with the idea.   “I’d really
rather you didn’t say anything to him at all, if it’s all the same to you.   I don’t want him to think that I ran to you
complaining, Victoria.   I know that he’s
your grandfather, but he’s my friend, and I don’t want to disappoint him.   Do you understand?”
    “Completely.   He expects the best out of us all, and it’s
hard to let him down, isn’t it?   Okay, I
promise. I won’t say a word.”
    “I appreciate that,” Greg
said.   “Now, why don’t you help Ellen so
we can get out of here?   It’s going to be
cutting it close if we don’t hurry.”
    “Since when are you in such a
rush to get to the theater?”
    He grinned sheepishly.   “I figure that the sooner we get there, the
quicker we’ll be able to leave.”
    “I hate to be the one to tell
you, but your logic if flawed.   It just
doesn’t work that way.”
    “Maybe so, but don’t take away my
last shred of hope, okay?”
    “Okay,” I said with a laugh.