Post by StoryGirl83 on Aug 28, 2008 19:15:53 GMT -5
Chapter Six – Ready to Go Home
Piper smiled as she looked over the faces of the people seated at the tables and booths. “It is really nice of everyone to be here,” she told them. A quick scan around revealed, what she already knew. “I don’t recall inviting this many people though.”
Laughter rippled through the room.
She smiled. “I am pleased that so many people wanted to help me celebrate this occasion. It’s been twenty years since I opened and while I love to cook, I never would have made it this long if you didn’t love my cooking.”
“When you cook like you do, what do you expect?” A man in the audience yelled at the stage.
More laughter rippled through the crowd.
Piper managed to keep from laughing herself. “Thank you. I’m glad you think that.” She wondered how long she had to keep talking. Under normal circumstances she would have only been slightly uncomfortable; public speaking never had been her favorite thing. Had everything been normal she would have been glad to be there, enjoying all the well wishers, but everything was not normal.
Right at that moment, though, all she wanted to do was go home. Home to where her beloved older sister finally was; to where the childhood playmate she used to tag along with while he played with her sister was, alive, but for how long? She wanted to go home to where three very special family members she’d never known, except for that brief minute or so that she had her daughter, were, not wanting to waste any time if this was all the time she had.
She smiled at the crowd and just wished that they would all go away. Much as she loved her restaurant, she loved her family more and right now, they needed her. She couldn’t leave soon enough.