Serena's Choice - Coastal Romance Series (5 page)

Serena ordered another martini
from Sandy.

“
I’m going to go back home
after this,” she told him. “I’m sure you can take care of
everything.”

“
Yeah, I close every night,”
Sandy said.

Serena finished her drink and
went back to Joe to tell him goodnight.

“
I’ll see you tomorrow night,
Joe,” she said.

“
Oh? That’s good, Serena,”
he said with a wink and a smile.

Chapter
Four

Nonna was making breakfast in the
morning as she had every day of Serena’s life growing up on Luna
Bay. It would do no good to tell her not to.

Serena sat at the kitchen table
with a cup of coffee while she waited on the eggs and toast.

“
Nonna?” she said.

Her grandmother turned away from
the skillet and looked at her.

“
I’ve been thinking,”
Serena said.

Nonna turned off the skillet and
sat at the table, looking at Serena.

“
I’ve been thinking that I
need to come home. I need to work at Rossetti’s.”

Nonna stood back up and went to
the stove. She put eggs and toast on plates and brought them to the
table.

“
I don’t want you to give up
everything you’ve worked for to come back home right now,” she
said.

“
I’m not giving anything up,”
Serena said. “I’m not even happy at Bridgewater’s. The chef is
never there and everything is on me, without any of the glory. I’ve
been looking for something else, and I think Rossetti’s is the
answer.”

Nonna took a bite of egg and
drank a sip of coffee.

“
Are you sure about this? You
know I need you and it fills my heart with joy that you would want to
work at Rossetti’s again. But are you sure?”

“
I’ve been wanting to cook
Italian again and the chef won’t allow that. It’s really just
what I’ve been wanting. So, yes. I’m sure.”

Nonna got up from her chair and
walked over to Serena and gave her a hug.

“
Thank you, cara. I love you
for doing this. But if you decide it’s not what you want, you can
always change your mind.”

“
I know,” Serena said. “I
probably need to give Bridgewater’s some kind of notice. I guess
when Jimmy and Olive leave I can be here by then.”

“
I’ll go ahead and interview
the sheriff’s daughter,” Nonna said. “I don’t have much
choice right now. Maybe she would make a better waitress. We’ll
see.”

They ate their eggs and toast for
a few minutes.

“
I know there’s probably some
things you’d like to do at the diner,” Nonna said. “You’ve
got a lot of experience now. You might want to make some changes, and
I’m all right with that. Rossetti’s probably needs some changes.”

“
Thanks, Nonna,” Serena said.
“Thanks for having faith in me. I wouldn’t change anything that
would change what Rossetti’s is.”

Nonna looked relieved.
“Rossetti’s is going to be yours one day, so do whatever you want
to. I trust you.”

After breakfast, Nonna said she
was going to the diner to work lunch. This was her regular routine
and she didn’t need Serena. She could drive herself and she could
run her own restaurant for lunch. Serena was relieved to see Nonna
bouncing back into the strong person she always had been. She knew
Nonna was devastated by the sudden loss of her child, but she dealt
with it in her own way and moved on to get the job done.

“
I’ll call Bridgewater’s
while you’re gone. I don’t look forward to that,” Serena said
getting up from the table. “And I’ll get the dishes, Nonna. I do
know how to do dishes.”

At ten, Serena called
Bridgewater’s. Jody, the head of the wait staff at lunch, answered.

“
Hey, Jody,” Serena said. “Is
Scott around?”

“
Hey, Serena. I’m so sorry
about your mother.”

“
Thanks,” Serena said. “How’s
it going around there?”

“
There’s major news. Major.
But I’ll let Scott tell you about it.”

A few seconds later, Scott picked
up.

“
Serena!” he said. He
certainly did sound excited to hear from her.

“
Hey, Scott. Sorry I’ve been
out of touch.”

“
We understand completely.”

“
I need to tell you something,”
Serena said, but Scott was already talking.

“
We fired Daniel,” he said.

“
You’re kidding!”

“
Not kidding. He was hardly
ever here, and then some goons showed up one day to the restaurant
looking for him. Turns out he’s been gambling and built up quite a
debt with it.”

“
So that’s what he’s been
so involved with,” Serena said. “Makes sense now.”

“
Of course, I’ve noticed for
a while that Daniel hasn’t been pulling his weight. The owner and I
were talking about firing him anyway. I’m just sorry you had to
cover for him so long. That really wasn’t fair to you.”

“
Thanks for saying that, Scott.
What are you going to do?”

“
The owners and I agree. We’d
like to offer you the head chef job. You deserve it after everything
you’ve had to put up with. We are prepared to allow you to add some
entrees to the menu. Some Italian entrees. The owners think that
would be a big sell and sort of rejuvenate Bridgewater’s.”

Serena couldn’t believe what
Scott was saying. The head chef job at Bridgewater’s would be a
major career move that would put Serena’s name on the map. But she
had already told Nonna she would be staying. She had already
committed herself to Rossetti’s. But for a moment, she envisioned
herself as the head chef of Bridgewater’s.

“
Serena?” Scott said. “You
there?”

“
Yes, I’m here. That is a
great opportunity and I appreciate so much your offering it to me.
But I’ve decided to stay in Luna Bay. My grandmother and our family
restaurant need me. If your offer had come before everything
happened, I would have snapped it up.”

“
It should have come much
sooner, Serena. I know that,” Scott said.

“
I know you’re going to be in
a bind, but I know you’ll find someone very talented to take
Daniel’s place. I wish it could be me, but the timing is just not
right.”

“
It sounds like your mind is
made up,” Scott said. “I’m disappointed. I’d like you to
continue to be part of Bridgewater’s team. But I understand.”

“
I need to come back and pack
my apartment up. I’d be happy to come help you out for a few days
while I’m doing that. But I’ve got to get back to Luna Bay as
soon as possible.”

“
I’m not going to say we’re
doing okay without you, but we’re getting by. I think you should
just go ahead and make your move. I know your grandmother needs you
even more than we do.”

“
Thanks, Scott.”

When Nonna got home after lunch,
Serena told her she was going to Atlanta the next day to clean out
her apartment. She would be back in a few days, just as soon as she
was finished. She didn’t tell Nonna about the job offer from
Bridgewater’s because it would just make her grandmother feel
guilty. She and Adrianna had such high hopes for Serena’s career.
But Adrianna’s untimely death had changed everything.

She worked the dinner shift and
left the after-dinner crowd to Sandy and Mark. Her grandmother was
already asleep when she returned to the cottage. The moon was getting
fuller and Serena sat on the back porch with a glass of wine,
thinking about her incredible day and what lay ahead. She wondered
what had caused Jeff to come to Luna Bay for her mother’s funeral.
It didn’t make sense to her, to the relationship they had. She
would have to call him when she got to Atlanta to let him know of her
plans. He deserved that much now.

As usual, Nonna made a
substantial breakfast the next morning. Afterward, Serena left the
dishes to her grandmother—Nonna wanted to do them—and packed her
suitcase for the trip to Atlanta. At the door, she hugged Nonna and
told her she’d be back in a few days.

“
I’ll try to figure out how
to replace Jimmy and Olive while you’re gone,” Nonna said.

Serena drove the five hours to
Atlanta, grateful for the down time to think. More than once, she
started crying as she remembered her mother. As far back as she could
remember, her mother had attracted men. Serena knew this, even if she
didn’t understand it when she was small. But then, as she grew
older, she did understand what it meant. She did understand why the
men kept hanging around. Adrianna was beautiful and vivacious. She
had a light all her own and everyone else, including Serena, was
happy just to bask in that light.

Adrianna was like Sophia Loren,
with her own Italian American spin on it. But she had little interest
in the men that ogled her, the men that hung around her just hoping
for a look, a laugh. She dated some of them, but Adrianna had loved
only one man, Serena’s father, and no other man would ever measure
up to him. Adrianna died loving only that one man. It was both sad
and sweet.

Serena herself had never
experienced that kind of love or anything even close to it. She’d
dated Tony Meadows her senior year of high school and afterwards,
before she went to culinary school. She’d lost her virginity to
Tony, but she hadn’t loved him deeply. He had loved her more
strongly, begging her not to leave Luna Bay. He asked her to marry
him, and she turned him down. He had not taken her rejection well,
and by the time she left, he was angry and refused to talk to her.
She hadn’t seen him since.

Then Serena was so busy with
school and work, that she only dated casually or had brief sexual
relationships. Nothing had changed about that. Jeff was just one more
in a long line of that type of relationship.

Serena lived in a fourplex that
was in a sea of fourplexes, designed to attract young professionals
making their way in Atlanta. It wasn’t that far from Bridgewater’s,
which is where Serena spent most of her time. As she walked into her
apartment after being gone for several days—a lifetime ago, it
seemed—Serena saw the place with new eyes. She had never even
bothered to truly decorate and make the apartment her own. Now, it
seemed sterile and out of a box. The furniture was nice enough, but
there were very few personal pieces that bespoke her personality. It
was like no one really lived there. What had happened to Serena? Why
had she allowed herself to live such a half-lived life?

She was tired from the trip and
dropped her suitcase to the floor. The only thing to eat was cereal
and a little milk, which she ate without thinking before she went to
her bed and fell asleep.

The traffic was heavy the next
day when Serena went to Wal-Mart for boxes and other storage
containers. It was always heavy in Atlanta and Serena was not going
to miss it. What made her think Atlanta was a good place for her? She
was starting to wonder if Nonna and her mother’s dream of culinary
school for Serena was even her own dream. Why did she have to go to
culinary school? She already knew how to cook Italian food, which is
all she wanted to do now. Maybe that dream of Nonna’s and her
mother’s was misguided or an unfulfilled dream of their own. Serena
could not say that she had been particularly happy going to culinary
school, then getting into the rat race of the chef world.

She stacked the packing
containers and materials in the living room and surveyed her
apartment. There was no reason to take all of that furniture to Luna
Bay or anywhere else. It wasn’t the kind of furniture that one
would want throughout their lives, the kind one would want to drag
around from place to place, setting up household after household. She
didn’t need the furniture. She didn’t want it.

Without the furniture to deal
with, Serena started packing her things in boxes and containers. Most
of the things she had that she wanted to keep were in the kitchen.
Pots and pans and other kitchen implements. She cleared out her
closets and dressers, she packed her few books and knick-knacks, and
she was done. It seemed impossible, but she was done. Was this really
all she had to show for her life? It was only three o’clock.

Goodwill agreed to come by the
next day to remove her furniture and dishes and glasses she had
packed. Then it was time to call Jeff.

“
I wanted to let you know that
I’m leaving Atlanta,” Serena said when Jeff answered.

“
Leaving?” he asked.

“
Yes. I need to help my
grandmother now. Rossetti’s won’t survive if I don’t. At least
I don’t think it will.”

“
I’m sorry to hear that,
Serena,” Jeff said. “How is Elena?”

It sounded weird to hear him call
her grandmother Elena.

“
She’s doing okay. She’s
back at work and being strong, like she always is.”

“
She’s a great lady,” Jeff
said.

“
Yes,” Serena said, feeling
awkward and wondering when she could get off the phone.

“
When are you leaving?”

“
I’m already packed. When
Goodwill takes the rest of the stuff tomorrow, I’ll get on the
road.”