Queenie's Cafe by SUE FINEMAN

work one to nine, and you can eat here, too.”
    “Alll riiight! Is it okay if Sleepy lives with me now?”
    “Sure. You can have Doc, too, if you can find him.”
    “Cindy said he ran away.”
    Laura hadn’t seen Doc since she’d come home. He’d probably gotten killed on the highway or tangled with a wild animal. Whatever happened, he was gone, and Sleepy would have a good home. Rusty loved animals.
    Rusty left and the regulars started to stream in. Laura told everyone about the Sunday brunch, knowing word would spread quickly in this little town.
    Laura continued working with Luke, but she paid attention and tried not to run into him again. She didn’t have time to play his games. She had a business to run.
    “Laura, is business picking up or is it just my imagination?”
    “It’s picking up. Maybe I can pay off the new carpet this year and paint the outside. And then, I’ll start buying new furniture.”
    Luke set a stack of dirty plates in the sink. “What kind of furniture? Booths? Tables and chairs? What do you want?”
    She rinsed out her towel and leaned back against the counter. “I’d love something a little old-fashioned, maybe dark wood.”
    “Old-fashioned, as in some round tables, some square with fold-up extensions, and old style chairs that don’t match?”
    “It sounds nice, but I don’t need any more debt.” She walked back to the dining area to wash off tables while Luke talked on the phone.
    He came out smiling. “We’ll see the furniture on Monday. It’s Chubby’s old stuff. We put it in storage when we remodeled the barbecue place.”
    She couldn’t afford furniture now, even if it was used, but he looked so pleased with himself she relented. “Okay, we’ll go look Monday morning, but I have to be back in the afternoon to get things done around here.”
    <>
     
    Early Sunday afternoon, Marv came in for lunch. “Laura, there’s a man sitting outside in his car staring at the building.”
    She walked to the window and pulled up the blind. Corbin sat in his silver Toyota sedan, his mouth gaping open in shock, staring at Laura’s inheritance. He wore a white shirt and tie, so he’d probably come here directly from church. She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she’d ever been in a church, but he took his mother every Sunday.
    Her eyes shifted slightly until she spotted the tiny woman sitting beside Corbin. Her mouth moved constantly, and Laura could only imagine what she was saying. The café looked like a flamingo exploded on it, spewing feathers and internal organs in a haphazard pattern. The locals didn’t say anything about it because they knew she was doing her best, but Corbin must be shocked.
    More of the regulars came in, and Laura moved away from the windows to take orders. Would they come inside or just sit out there in the car and stare? Maybe they thought the café was too disgusting to come inside.
    She’d never met Corbin’s mother, and right now she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
    She finished taking orders and retreated to the kitchen. The bell on the door rang and she called, “Be right with you.”
    Luke came into the kitchen. “Hi. Need some help?”
    “Sure.” She pointed to the orders. “You can get their drinks while I make the sandwiches.”
    Luke had just left with a tray of cold drinks and two coffee cups when the bell on the door rang again. Corbin was on the small side, but next to his mother, he looked huge. She couldn’t be five feet tall, and so slender she was almost emaciated. She glanced around the café and curled her upper lip. Her lips started moving again, but Laura couldn’t hear a thing, because she was whispering to Corbin. Laura didn’t need to hear her speak. Her expression said everything. The woman didn’t want to be here. And Laura didn’t want her here. She didn’t want either of them here, but she couldn’t throw them out.
    She finished the sandwiches and pushed the plates over the counter to