It was like someone flipped a switch
It was like someone flipped a switch and suddenly the mountain went from winter to summer with no spring in between. The Thunder Brothers planted their corn and alfalfa. Mountain bikers furtively sneaked their bikes into the park only to be turned away by Roscoe and Samson when found. And Mount Zen Cafe didn’t have a ski jacket in sight.
Angie sighed at the sudden emptiness of it all. The first two days of sunshine melted the remaining snow on the mountain. The cafe was filled with disappointed skiers who had hoped to squeeze one more weekend out of the resorts. The second three days of sunshine, Angie cleaned everything that had been neglected during the busy season. After a full week of sun, however, the cafe was spotless and abandoned.
“We should go on a vacation, Curly. We haven’t had a vacation…” Angie tried to think of the last time the two of them left the mountain, but came up blank. “…ever.” Curly peeked out of the kitchen, looking for customers, but there were none to hear him talk, so he replied, “This year’s kinda bad for it since I’m startin’ the gym in Emigration.”
Angie nodded and wiped her dry hands on her apron. “I know. I know…” She tried to let the idea go with the words, but it clung to her. “It’s just this is the first time we ever had somebody who could watch the cafe while we were gone.” Curly shook his head. “Bree’s busy with the Thunder Brothers now.” Angie shrugged. “She could watch the place for a week.” She smiled to herself at the idea of a week without waiting tables. “Or we could close up for a week.”
Curly shook his head. “A restaurant is ’bout momentum. People git into the habit of comin’ here every week or every morning for their coffee. If we shut down, even for a week, we’ll break their habit.” He folded his big arms across his chest. “Plus, Bree can’t make an Egg Thing.” Angie knew that arguing on this subject would cause a fight, but the idea of seven whole days of not coming into the cafe and escaping to another world was too appealing to her. “You could teach ‘er to make one.”
Curly walked into the kitchen with one phrase on his lips that ended the conversation. “If they knew what was in it, they wouldn’t eat it.”