Chapter 36
Sunday afternoon, Sally received a call from Ann letting her know that the mural was done and that she should bring Dan over to see it. They rushed to the car and headed over to the pizzeria. As he drove, Dan said, "This is going to be it."
"What do you mean?" Sally asked.
"I get to see the pizzeria as my customers will see it for the first time," Dan said. So far, the pizzeria hadn't been complete. Now all of the pieces were in place and he'd get to experience the full effect.
"I didn't think about it like that," Sally said looking over at Dan and seeing how excited he was about the whole thing.
As they pulled into the parking lot, Dan looked up at the sign. It had the picture of the smiling kid eating a slice of pizza and Parker's Perfect Pizza off to the side. The windows framing the front door had Parker's Perfect Pizza painted on them. On one window, there was the caption, "A fun place to eat where the rules are slightly bent." On the other window, there was the caption, "You can't eat a pizza with a frown." The door had the hours of operation painted on it.
They walked up to the front door and found that it was locked. Dan unlocked it and entered the pizzeria. Just inside the door, he froze and looked around stunned by what he saw. Sally stood next to him with her mouth open. The mural was amazing. The pizzeria looked huge. It was as if the walls had disappeared.
After recovering from his initial shock, Dan asked, "Where's Ann?"
"I don't know," Sally answered with a frown. She had expected to see her at the front door waiting to greet them.
Dan walked towards the back of the store. He found Ann in the empty play corner. She was curled up on top of her sleeping bag. She was out cold. Putting a finger to his lips, he softly said, "She's asleep."
"I don't think we should wake her. She has to be pretty tired to have fallen asleep like that," Sally said looking at her lover with affection.
Nodding his head, Dan looked around the room checking out little scenes shown in mural. Each wall presented a different kind of scene. The side of the room closest to where he stood looked like a backyard. He went over to examine it a little closer.
One little portion of the back yard was filled with a birthday party. Little girls looking very prim and proper were all seated around a table graced with a humongous birthday cake. All of the candles were lit and the birthday girl was posed to blow them out. Behind her, little brother stood with a garden hose in his hand. The mischievous smile on his face was ample warning that the little girls were about to get wet. Off to the side, Mom was running towards him with her hands up in the air and a look on her face that said she knew she was going to be too late to stop him. Dad was giving the little boy a thumbs-up.
Not too far from the birthday party was a scene of a dog in a tree with a cat underneath it. The dog looked terrified and the cat had this grin on its face that told the whole story about how the dog ended up in the tree. A squirrel was throwing a nut at the cat. A bluebird was looking upon the scene obviously puzzled.
The park scene filled the long side of the room. There was a sign that read, 'Don't walk on the grass.' The word 'don't' was crossed out. There was a kid tiptoeing away from the sign with a can of paint in his hand. A policeman was standing with his back to the kid unaware of what had gone on behind him.
There was a scene with two campers running out of the woods. Sasquatch was chasing them waving a fishing pole around in the air. Behind Sasquatch was a herd of photographers tripping over each other. Flashbulbs were going off on their cameras, but each camera was pointed at the ground. Parked nearby was a British double-decker tourist bus with a sign reading 'Big Foot Tours.' The tourists were all facing in the wrong direction to see Sasquatch.
In another part of the park there was a picture of croquet game. Grandpa was holding his cane like it was a golf club and he had just completed a long drive. A squirrel was flying through the air with a shocked look on his face. A rabbit was pointing at the squirrel and snickering. Grandmother, with a croquet mallet in her hand, was posed as if she was about to knock the rabbit though a croquet hoop.
There was a little path through the park. One scene showed a carriage being pulled by a man with a weary expression on his face. A horse wearing a top hat was in the seat cracking a whip to urge him to move a little faster. Behind the driver was another pair of horses dressed up like a bride and groom. A gopher was watching the scene scratching its head.
The third wall was filled with interior of a house. It was a disaster. There was a broken vase on the floor with two adults pointing at each other. A little child in a playpen was shaking his finger at them. A little bird was on the edge of the playpen with one wing cupped over its mouth like it was telling the child a secret and the other wing pointed at the adults.
There was a lamp that was bent and twisted with the bare bulb showing. Next to the lamp, a guy with a bright red nose was wearing the lamp shade. He was wrapped up in the curtains which were attached to curtain rods that were hanging with one end pulled off the wall. He had a finger up in the air as if he was delivering a speech. A young boy was taking his picture with a camera.
A teenage boy was running out of a darkened room. There were lipstick marks all over the boy's face and he looked terrified. An old woman wearing a ratty blue bathrobe was chasing him. She had her arms open and her lips pursed as if she was trying to kiss him. Off to the side, a pretty teenaged girl was pointing at the boy and laughing.
There was a scene with a girl chewing on her fingertips watching a scary movie on the television. The television had a picture of a woman about to be surprised by a monster. A young boy wearing a gorilla mask had his arms up in the air behind a couch. He was about to pounce on his sister. Behind the boy was a monster about to jump on him.
It was hard not to laugh at some of the scenes. It seemed to him that every where he looked there was something funny. All of the frustration at having to work around Ann disappeared. It had all been worth it. When Sally came over to him, he said, "Welcome to Parker's Perfect Pizza."
"This is amazing," Sally said. She pointed over to a corner and asked, "Did you see the scene with the woman tying the villain to the railroad tracks?"
"Not yet. I think it is going to take a year to see all of the little details she's put into this mural," Dan said.
"Let me go to the bathroom and then we'll wake her up," Sally said.
"Okay," Dan said. He walked around room looking at the mural. If people didn't have a good time there, he didn't know what it would take.
Sally came out of the bathroom laughing so hard that it she was finding it hard to walk. She pointed in the direction of the bathroom and said, "You've got to see what she did in there."
Dan went into the bathroom and nearly fell over. The walls were covered with paintings of advertising posters. One of the posters showed a before and after image of a woman. The before picture was of a gorgeous woman. The after picture showed a very frightening looking old hag. The caption read, "Evil Cosmetic Company. Bringing out the real you." Another poster had a dozen bear traps scattered around a barbecue grill on which there was a steak cooking and the caption, "Evil Cosmetic Company. We're in the business of helping you catch that man."
He walked out of the bathroom chuckling. Curious about what he would find in the men's room, he decided to check it out while he was in the area. On the wall was a painting of a short man and a tall man. The short man was standing at a urinal that was impossibly high and the tall man was standing at urinal that was at floor level. When Dan stood at the sink, he realized the picture was visible in the mirror.
Painted over the real urinal was a very serious looking sign. Curious he stepped over to it to check it out. It read, "Flush twice. The competition is a long way from here." Laughing, he stepped out of the bathroom.
He joined Sally over where Ann was asleep. She said, "She's out cold."
"I'll carry her to the car," Dan said bending down to pick her up.
As Dan carried Ann to the car, Sally said, "Thursday, right?"
"What's Thursday?" Dan asked as stood beside the door of the car.
"Moving day," Sally answered while opening the car door for him. His face was turning red.
Everything that had to be moved at the restaurant was already in place. Dan wondered what was going to get moved, but he'd be more than happy to help them. He dimly recalled a discussion about rearranging the living room. Setting Ann down, he said, "Sure. Moving Day. Thursday."
By Wednesday night, Dan couldn't believe what was happening. His cell phone was ringing every thirty minutes from people wanting to know when the pizzeria was going to open for business. He had forwarded the landline for the store to his cell phone so that he wouldn't miss any important calls. As he went through the last minute work of getting the store ready for business, people would stop by and look in the window.
The whole staff was there for the final meeting. There was one other cook, two dish washers, and six waitresses. Everyone had been trained and now it was time to wait until the doors opened for real. They were all wearing blue jeans and t-shirts with 'Parker's Perfect Pizza' written on them. Dan said, "You'll be pleased to know that everyone is off work tomorrow."
Since almost every conversation that day had been interrupted by the telephone ringing, Kevin said, "I think I'll call in and order a pizza on my day off."
Dan laughed and said, "I've been getting a lot of those calls. I've got a feeling that we're going to be very busy when we finally open the doors for business."
"You can say that again," Sandra said. She had been stopped in the parking lot on the way in by someone wanting to know if they were open for business yet.
As if on cue, Dan's cell phone rang. He interrupted the meeting to deal with another potential customer wanting to know if they were open for business yet. It only took two minutes to explain that they were opening on Saturday. Touching the button on his earpiece to end the call, Dan said, "I think our initial advertising campaign was a success."
"You gave away enough pizza to feed an army," Kevin said shaking his head.
"As I'm sure you heard me explain over the phone, we open Saturday at ten in the morning. I'm throwing a little celebration party Friday night for my friends. You're all going to work that night because it is going to be a big party. I'm expecting between a hundred and two hundred people to show up," Dan said.
"That many?" Kevin asked. Cooking enough pizzas for that many people was going to be a lot of work.
Nodding his head, Dan said, "That's right. It will be standing room only. We'll take turns cooking the pizzas."
"No problem," Kevin said.
"We're going to be offering the full menu. That means salads, spaghetti, meat ball sandwiches, and dessert items, too. We'll see how it goes," Dan said. He hoped that it wasn't going to be a disaster. This little party was going to cost him between five hundred and a thousand dollars.
Vicki, one of the other waitresses, asked, "What will we be doing?"
Dan said, "That's a good question. We won't be charging for anything, so no one has to work the register. However, I want everyone to take a turn at the pizza station. This place is basically self service so the rest of you will be going around keeping it clean. Collect the empty pizza pans because I'm pretty sure that we'll be going through them like mad. As people finish their mugs of root beer, collect the mugs. I've only got two hundred of them. We're going to have to wash them and chill them as fast as possible. Restock items when they start to get low. Have some fun."
"You can bet on it," Sandra said with a grin. She was looking forward to the grand opening as much as Dan. She had a feeling that this was going to be a great place to work.
Dan said, "One last little announcement before you can go. I want to extend an invitation to each of you to bring your family over to the Friday night celebration."
"Really?" Sandra asked excited. She couldn't wait to show off where she worked to her parents. They didn't quite believe her when she described the place to them.
"Yes, really," Dan said with a smile.
"That is so great," Vicki said. She was in her late twenties with two young kids in school. She had taken the job to help out with the family finances knowing that she would be able to be home when the kids got out of school.
Mildred was an older woman who had retired from working in a cafeteria. Her retirement benefits hadn't been nearly enough. After a lifetime of living from paycheck to paycheck, she had discovered that she needed to do better than what social security provided. She was working part-time to supplement her retirement money hoping that she could walk that fine line between having social security and losing it. She smiled and said, "I'll bring my husband."
Dan smiled and said, "Great. I'll see you all at four on Friday afternoon."
Dan slept late Thursday morning choosing to wake at ten in the morning. He felt the little gift of laziness was justified because it would be the last day that he'd be able to sleep in. The pizzeria was going to be open seven days a week and he expected to be there for every one of them for the next six months or so. He sat on the edge of his bed thinking about thirteen hour work days and seven day work weeks. Shaking his head, he said, "I better enjoy this day while I can."
He threw on his robe and stumbled out of his bedroom looking forward to a bowl of cereal. It was going to be nice sitting around the house all alone. He tripped over some boxes stacked in the hallway. Blinking his eyes, he looked down at the boxes and said, "I wonder where those came from."
His stomach growled and he resumed his trip to the kitchen. Scratching his stomach, he entered the kitchen. He stopped short as he closed his eyes and yawned. Seated around the kitchen table were his mother, Diana, Ann, and Sally. Amused, they watched him roar out his yawn.
Sally giggled at the sight of him with his hair messed up, his hand under his robe scratching his belly, and his mouth wide open in a yawn. Nudging Ann, she said, "He's so sexy."
Diana smirked and said, "So that's what it is called."
Surprised to find everyone there, Dan stared at the four women feeling like he had been caught taking a piss with the door open. His mother was supposed to be at work. Diana was supposed to be at school. He knew that Sally was normally off on Thursdays and Ann usually worked from home, but he didn't expect to find them sitting in his kitchen. He asked, "What is everyone doing here?"
"We're here to help you move," Ann said with a smile. She looked at Dan and realized that he had no idea what was going on.
"Huh?" Dan wasn't quite sure what they were talking about. There was a dim recollection of Thursday being moving day, but had thought it had something to do with rearranging the furniture at their apartment. He had planned to wander over to their house to help them move furniture later that day.
Nodding her head, Sally said, "Once you get your business started, you'll be too busy to move. So we're here to help you move while you have time."
Diana smiled at her brother and said, "Surprise."
Ann leaned over and whispered something in Sally's ear. Sally looked at Ann and shook her head. She leaned in and whispered something in Ann's ear. Ann looked at her and shook her head. Both women started at each other. This was the perfect setup for a comedy routine, but it was too serious for that. Each woman had thought the other had talked to Dan about moving in and Diana was telling them how much he was looking forward to it.
Dan's mind usually worked well in the morning. For some reason, this morning was an exception. Standing there at the door of the kitchen wearing his bathrobe it seemed as if his mind shut down. Confused, he asked, "Where am I moving?"
Ann laughed at the expression on his face and said, "You are moving in with us."
"Okay," Dan said scratching his head. He was pretty sure that he should have remembered discussing this with Ann and Sally, but he couldn't recall such a discussion ever taking place. He said, "That sounds like a good idea."
"I think he's still asleep," his mother said watching his confused reaction. Diana had told her that all of the arrangements had been made.
Shaking her head, Diana said, "Don't worry. He hasn't had his morning cup of coffee yet."
"Coffee? I need some coffee," Dan said, his mind starting to kick back into gear. He walked over to the counter to pour a cup of coffee. It seemed to him that he was living off coffee.
Barely able to keep from laughing, Diana said, "We'll pack up his room while he's eating."
"That's good idea," Sally said thinking that it would give them a chance to talk without Dan overhearing.
The women rose and left the kitchen as one. They headed directly to the boxes that had been piled outside of his bedroom. Once there, Ann pointed at Sally and said, "I was sure that you talked to him while I was painting the mural."
"I was sure that you had talked to him while you were painting the mural," Sally replied.
Ann looked at Diana and said, "You didn't tell him we were coming over this morning, did you?"
Diana looked around innocently and asked, "Was I supposed to do that?"
"Do you mean that he had no idea he was supposed to move in with you today?" Dan's mother asked as the clues finally came together.
"That's right," Ann said. She was pretty sure that she had talked to him about today being moving day.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Sally laughed and said, "The look on his face was priceless."
"Yes, it was," Diana said. She had actually been looking forward to seeing his reaction when he came out in the morning to find them all waiting for him.
Dan's mother looked at Diana with a frown and said, "That wasn't very nice."
"I only did it because I love him," Diana said. Although Ann and Sally had each said that Dan had agreed to the move, Diana had suspected that Dan was clueless with regard to the plan. She hadn't acted on that suspicion.
"How does that explain it?" Ann asked.
Diana looked at her fingernails and said, "He wants to move in with you, but he's so wrapped up in the pizzeria that he can't remember to mention it. So, I took his place in passing the messages back and forth. Well, mostly back."
"You said that he wanted to move in with us," Sally said frowning. She didn't exactly appreciate Diana playing games with them. Of course, if they had discussed the matter with Dan then things would have been a lot different.
"He did say that, didn't he Mom?" Diana replied.
"Yes, he did," her mother answered recalling the discussion at the table. Knowing what Diana had done was wrong, there was only one answer left to her and that was the truth. She said, "He said that he would love to move in with you."
"See, no harm no foul. Everyone is happy," Diana said as visions of having her boyfriend spend the night flashed through her mind. She added, "And I get to..."
"He's not spending the night for at least two weeks. You should have told your brother," her mother said interrupting Diana.
"I didn't do anything wrong. He wants to move in with them," Diana said. She viewed her actions as helping him.
"You've been manipulating your brother's life," her mother replied.
"No, I haven't," Diana said.
Ann said, "Yes, you have."
"I have to agree with your mother," Sally said. She had a fear that Dan wasn't going to be too happy with them for taking charge of his life. She had been so sure that Ann had talked to Dan about moving in with them. He hadn't made any kind of comment when she had talked to him about moving day.
Diana looked at the other three women wondering if they were right. She wanted her brother to be happy. Too much of his life had been spent being miserable and he had a real chance at happiness now. She didn't want it to slip out of his grasp because he was too busy pursuing one aspect of it.
Dan was at the table drinking his coffee and eating some cereal. As he shoveled the cereal in his mouth, he was trying to decide if he had been dreaming or not. He decided that the entire discussion had not been a weird dream and said, "I think that I'm going to like living with them. It is just kind of sudden."
It was well after midnight when Dan slipped out of bed and went into the living room of the apartment. He sat down on a chair and thought about what was happening in his life. He wasn't upset at his sister despite the trick she had played on all of them. He really liked the idea of living with Ann and Sally. The reality of it was even better than the fantasy.
Most of his thoughts kept returning to the pizzeria. He knew that he was facing a lot of long hours. Second guesses kept plaguing his thoughts. He wondered if he had hired too many people. He wondered if he was charging the right amount for the pizzas. There was the fear that he had miscalculated how much each pizza cost to produce and the business would lose money with each sale. There were so many things that could go wrong.
Ann's soft voice interrupted his thoughts when she asked, "Are you upset with us?"
Turning to look at her, he said, "No. I'm just worried about the pizzeria."
Ann moved up to behind him and started to massage his shoulders. She said, "I used to sit over there and stare at that painting worried about our relationship with you. I used to think of all the ways that it could go bad."
"You were worried about nothing," Dan said.
"I know," Ann said knowing that he was feeling a lot of stress. His shoulders were really tight. She said, "You're worrying about nothing right now."
"There are so many things that can go wrong," Dan said.
"You'll fix anything that goes wrong and make it right," Ann said. Her efforts to massage his shoulders weren't being very effective.
Dan shook his head and said, "I owe the bank a hundred thousand dollars. I can barely comprehend that much money."
"You'll pay off that loan," Ann said.
"It is a lot of money," Dan said. He kept thinking about all of the other expenses that would come up in the business. To pay off that loan, he'd have to sell more than a million dollars worth of pizza. No matter how he sliced it, that was a lot of pizza.
Deciding that more drastic measures were required to get his mind off of his worries, Ann moved around the chair and sat in his lap. She asked, "Are you happy?"
Dan kissed her before he answered, "That's the really sick part. Despite the fact that I'm scared to death, I'm very happy."
Lazlo Zalezac