“Not half as much as the judge hurt her,” I said with a grin. “Bones is a good lad. I think I’ll give him a raise. Do you think it’d be an idea to give him a uniform as well; a red and white check overall or something? I think all the boys might wear a uniform. It’d give the joint tone.”
She laughed. “Darling, I’m so glad you like your old gas station. There was a time—”
“Forget it,” I said, taking her hand. “It’s fun, but it wouldn’t be fun without you.”
“Honest?”
I nodded. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be still kicking around as a bum.”
“I have an idea,” she said, looking at me out of the corners of her eyes. “Now, don’t say no until I’ve explained. How would it be if we opened a restaurant ? We could use the waste ground by the house. It needn’t be an elaborate building. We could serve meals out of doors. Barbecue cooking: chicken, steaks, spareribs, the way we know how to cook them, salad and things. I’d love to organize it all if you’d let me.”
I stared at her. “It’s a terrific idea,” I exclaimed. “However did you think of it?”
Her face brightened. “Oh, I wanted to help. I know I run the house, but I’d rather make some money. Shall we?”
“We’ll find out how much it’ll cost to put up a suitable building first thing tomorrow,” I said, and we forgot our surroundings in the discussion that followed.
After a while, I noticed Clair wasn’t concentrating. I looked at her, saw she was flushed, said: “What’s on your mind, honey? Got an attack of grippe?”