3D – What Comes Next?

“Mornin’ Sky.”

She waved back at him while her mouth was full. It had been quite sometime since Jonathan quit his job to pursue Viviana’s, but she still hadn’t gotten used to him being around in the mornings. It was a good thing. She never wanted to get used to hearing his voice and having breakfast with him. It was like getting a special treat every day. She didn’t miss those nights of their previous life when he would get home so late she went to bed before him, or the afternoons he would awake around noon. At the time, she didn’t mind because they were young and going after his dream. But now that she was older and had difference experiences, she knew eventually she would have grown tired of it.

“Hi. Sorry…you caught me with my mouth full. What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have that look on your face like something was keeping you up all night,” she said.

“Oh. Yeah. That’s true.”

“So… What’s up?”

“It’s nothing bad. I just have a lot to think about,” he said.

“Soooo…tell me!”

“Well, you know I want to open restaurants all around the world, right? So, I was just thinking about when we should open the next one. I mean, things are going great at Viviana’s, the staff are on their A-game, and we pay them quite well even though we had to raise prices to do it. I’m just not sure if now is the right time. I was thinking maybe we should go on vacation or something and see how things go without us. You know…as a test?”

“That’s not a bad idea, Jonathan. I mean, don’t get me wrong…I love working with you, but I think we could use a break. If not for ourselves, definitely to spend time together as a family. The girls have been very accommodating through all of this…well, for the most part.”

“Heh, yeah. Have you talked to Maya yet, or should I?”

“I’ll talk to her when she gets home today.”

“Good. You’re better with her than I am. I would end up yelling and grounding her until she’s 30!”

Skyla snickered at her poor husband. “Yeah…I’ll handle the girls. You make sure our business succeeds.”

“I’m not sure if I should be grateful or offended!” They laughed. “So, here’s the thing. We keep fluctuating between four and five stars! We get really awesome reviews, most of them five stars. But there’s always that one person who catches us at the wrong time in terrible circumstances and gives us a horrible review and tanks our average. I say we need to do whatever we need to do to get to the point where we can stay at five stars, then we go on vacation and think about opening the next restaurant.”

“Another excellent plan, Jonathan! What do you think we need to do?”

“Well, I’m not so sure. I think the problem lays within the service. Savannah, Watcher bless her, despite how much I try to get her to tell me how she really feels about the job, I think she just tells me what she thinks I want to hear. I think she might need some help, but somehow she’s afraid that would put her job in danger. Has she said anything to you?”

“No. I mean, I know she has some problems at home, but she hasn’t told me she’s been concerned about her job since the first day. Have you noticed anything?”

“Yeah. Service is faster when Aubrey is there to bus tables. I think we need to hire another waiter. I’ll start looking at potential candidates.”

They went back to their French toast which was cold by then. Skyla appreciated him sharing all of that with her. She didn’t think that he didn’t trust her and was keeping it inside; she just knew him well enough to know that he needed to be able to talk it out to have the confidence he needed to execute all his brilliant plans.

“Oh! Tell me about the next restaurant,” she said.

“Well, here’s the thing…”

Oh no…there’s more. She thought he was going to be excited to share the idea, but she knew that was an obstacle coming.

“…I really really really want to open a simple little ice cream shop and call it Freezer Bunnies…like what my dad used to say?”

“That’s sweet, Jonathan!”

“Yeah, catchy too. But, I get the feeling people don’t really like ice cream much around here. Heck, they don’t even order dessert! I know I should just come up with another concept, but I like this one so much.”

“Well…maybe just put it on the shelf until the right time? Maybe ice cream will work better in another area. Maybe Windenburg?”

“Maybe. I’ll have to keep doing my research. I’m just so bummed. It’s such an awesome idea and I can’t do anything with it and I don’t have any other ideas!”

“You have plenty of time, Jonathan. You’ll figure it out. You always do.”

“I’m so glad you believe in me, Sky. I’d be a mess without you!”