Chapter 8: Finding a New Place

Jason

Leaving the resort at the height of the season probably was not my best move, but Linda has reopened all my emotional wounds and I just could not face her. I probably could have returned, but by the time I had calmed down three days later I was in a small fishing town on the Gulf Coast and sampling some truly terrible seafood at lunchtime at a little diner near the docks. The place was nearly empty and I had not noticed when a grizzled man with a grey beard dropped into the chair across from me.

"It can't be that bad," he said. "It's my mother's best recipe."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "It's heavy and way to greasy for seafood. Add in the fact that the fish is overcooked so much that it's dry, and I'm afraid I now have a perfect understanding of why people aren't packing the place demanding lunch."

The man looked a bit upset. "And I suppose you can cook better than that?" he said, rising up from his chair.

I sighed and shook my head. "Look, I'm not here to fight. If you want proof, let me finish this, and I'll run your kitchen for dinner service tonight. After that, we can talk."

The man looked at me and laughed. "A boy like you running the kitchen here? The men on the trawlers would pay to see this. Better be ready to fall on your face, sonny."

Fifteen minutes later I was looking over an extremely filthy and disorganized kitchen and wondering what I had gotten myself into. The stocks of seafood were good, but there was little in the way of vegetables or spices. I probably wasted nearly an hour trying to figure out the menu that was in place before asking the man if I could make changes. His only reply was a snort of amusement, so I quickly wrote out a couple chefs' specials for the entry chalkboard and began trying to clear an area of the kitchen to cook in.

The dinner staff turned out to be a young lightly colored black lady who appeared to be my age. She performed double duty as hostess and waitress while the old man stood behind the poorly stocked bar and watched. The bar did have a few men of his age sitting at it, but the place remained quiet even once dinner service started.

The old man might have told others, but it appeared that few decided to brave the boy's cooking because that first night only twelve people showed up. I was disheartened by the quality of the food I was sending out as it was well below the standard I wanted to set, and even below the quality of the seafood itself, but the lack of fresh produce and spices had limited my options.

Interestingly, the waitress kept coming over and smiling at me as I sent plates out to the four tables of guests who did attend. The smile was small and tentative with the first table, but by the time I had finished a crisped snapper grill for the last table her smile was bright enough to light the room by itself. Still the pace was slow enough that I was even able to continue with some cleaning and organizing between tables.

When the last diners left, the young waitress came into the kitchen, and dragged me to a table almost throwing me into a chair. There were still a couple men sitting at the bar drinking, but she immediately started questioning me.

"Where did you come from? Are you going to stay? Can you cook like that every night? Are you really willing to help grandpa?" came rattling out of her mouth faster than I could answer.

She finished her series of questions and then looked closely at me. I waited a moment to see if she was going to continue and then replied. "Um ... Hello. My name is Jason. As for the staying, that would be up to the old man behind the bar. I haven't really thought that far."

The girl seemed upset for a moment but then started with another rapid-fire speech. "Oh, but you must stay. Everyone was saying that it was the best food served here since Grandma Nellie died three years ago. Grandpa tries, but he's not a cook. Besides, you are cute. You can do so much. You have to stay."

I was taken back as the girl leaned over the table to look me directly in the eyes. She was bending over the table, and her tight-fitting waitress top had slipped down to give me a clear view of the tops of her full breasts. I felt myself getting hard and was trying to formulate an answer when the old man from lunch stepped out from behind the bar.

"Calm down Tameka," he called out. "I was going to see if the young man wanted to stay, but it's got to be his choice." He walked over to the table we were sitting at, and I could now see a faint familial resemblance between the old white sailor and the young black lady accosting me. He obviously noticed me making the comparison and laughed. "She's my daughter's daughter. Dumb girl decided that she had to try out one of the ghetto boys. Last I heard she was working in Houston in one of the clubs, so Meke stays with me."

"Grandpa!" the girl shouted and swatted at him with a towel she had been using to wipe down tables. "You aren't supposed to tell anyone about that!"

The man grumbled, but smiled and winked at me before continuing. "Well, I will admit that I was wrong, everyone seemed very happy with the food, so if you want, the kitchen is yours. Can't offer much, just sixty dollars a day, but if you need a place to stay my old boat is just a short walk, and you can crash in one of the cabins. They are small, but it will save you from having to find a hotel."

I had to be surprised that my luck had brought me to a struggling diner for the second time, but the man's smile appeared genuine and the offer appeared generous. I took a moment to think about it before replying. "Well, the offer sounds good, but if you really want me to serve good food, I need to have authority to purchase better produce and such, and I insist on having Mondays off."

The man looked at me and laughed before putting his hand out and saying, "Deal." I took his hand to return the handshake as Tameka wrapped her arms around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

After my experience with the resort, I had some idea of the process of setting up new sources of produce and food. However, the kitchen had clearly suffered from several years of neglect as well, and the next morning found me scouring surfaces and clearing out a series of inedible concoctions stored in various locations. The rocking of the boat had proved to be soothing and my nightmares had failed to surface for the first time since I had seen Linda up in Wyoming, so I had renewed energy. I had pretty much cleared out the main area I was planning on using when the old man wandered in and found me. He looked around the much-improved kitchen and said. "You did all this? This place hasn't been this clean since Nellie first talked me into purchasing this back before Tameka was born."

There was a slight tear in the man's eyes and I waited patiently as he slowly looked through the kitchen. He paused a long moment as if perusing a fond memory before turning to me. "Oh, I came down to tell you that I've called ahead to the markets. They'll know who you are. Just tell them that Nathan is your boss and they will bill me as normal. I'd like you to cook for lunch as well as dinner. Lunch from eleven to two, and dinner from five until about ten."

I looked over at the clock and realized that it was only nine-fifteen, so I could probably make a trip to the market and still get back in time to prepare lunches, if I hurried. I turned to the man I now knew to be Nathan and replied. "Lunch today might not be the best, but if I hurry I can probably make something happen. Where are the markets I should visit?"

Nathan smiled and gave me directions. The market keepers proved to be very helpful and I made it back to the diner with time to change the chalkboard of specials and start preparing food before Nathan returned to open the doors. Tameka appeared just as he did that and once again served as hostess and waitress. As it was the night before the crowd was small, but Tameka's smiles never wavered and on a couple occasions I could hear laughter from out in the dining area. Nathan spent most of the service behind the bar, and preparing drinks for the diners.

I wanted to ask either Nathan or Tameka questions after the meal, but both vanished immediately, and rather than search for them I returned to my cleaning and food preparation activities. The kitchen really needed a through steam cleaning to remove some of the accumulated grime, but at least it no longer looked in imminent danger of failing a health inspection. I even had time to pencil up a new menu, which would take advantage of some of the local and less expensive produce available in the market.

Dinner my second night in the diner was much busier than the previous night, which surprised me at first until I remembered that it was Friday and therefore a night many people would eat out. Tameka seemed beside herself with glee as the diner got crowded and Nathan finally had to come out from behind the bar to help clear tables so that his granddaughter could concentrate on serving customers. I was grateful that he had allowed me to remove certain hard to prepare items from the menu as I barely managed to keep up with the press and found myself wishing for a decent assistant cook.

In the end, everyone seemed to leave happy. Nathan was actually smiling as he watched a few old timers finish off drinks at the bar, when I finished shutting down the kitchen and prepared to leave. The men there gave me a loud and cheerful toast, which had me blushing as I exited the diner and then followed the well worn path down to the docks and Nathan's boat.

I guess I should describe Nathan's boat. It was a battered old sloop, obviously well used and weathered. The craft had a pair of small cabins, one in the front and a second one near the middle of the ship with the stern taken up by the motor which was used while in port or calm winds. I had taken the front cabin, thinking that it might be quieter, although Nathan warned me that the rocking might be stronger up there. It was small, but I was keeping most of my items in my car and only bringing clothing into the room at this time.

I had stepped into my cabin and was removing my shirt when a pair of arms wrapped around me and knocked me down onto the bed. I barely managed to get my hands up to protect my head from running to the wood wall of the cabin. I had gathered my strength and was preparing to spring backwards when I heard a very feminine giggle in my ear.

"Now, what are you going to do?" a voice purred as the arms relaxed slightly. I fought to roll over in the bed. I had finally got onto my back when I realized I was now shirtless and in the arms of Nathan's granddaughter Tameka before she bent her head down and tried to suck the air out of my lungs with a kiss.

I fought her off, and finally managed to break the kiss with a gasp. "Tameka! What are you doing here?" I cried as I looked down and realized she was wearing only an extremely scanty bra and panty set.

Tameka giggled. "What does it look like silly? I want you to stay, and I figure the best way is to seduce you into not wanting to leave." She rose up a little and then slid down my body before stopping to unbuckle my belt and remove my pants. I was still fighting to comprehend the situation when I felt her lips touch my cock and darkness momentarily washed over my heart.

There was a moment where I nearly threw Tameka out of the cabin, but instead I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back up towards my chest. "No, Tameka. That has bad memories for me." I whispered out as I held her against my chest. I had not realized that the act would be so devastating, and I was trying to avoid shaking with the intensity of my emotional reaction.

Tameka allowed me to hold her for several moments before pushing against my chest and looking me in the eyes. "How am I supposed to seduce you into staying then?" she asked.

I looked down at her and something in me told me that I could not refuse. With almost a sigh I rolled us over so she was lying on the bed and then slid down to remove her panties. "All you have to do is want to be with me," I said as my tongue flicked out to tease her pussy.

"Wait," Tameka gasped as my tongue found her pussy wet and ready. "I was supposed to be the one pleasing you." At this point she moaned passionately and I felt her fingers grabbing my hair and pulling me deeper into her pussy.

The next few minutes I attacked Tameka's pussy as she thrust her body against my tongue. My reward for these efforts was a scream that must have awoke anyone within three miles and a rush of liquid from her pussy as she came.

Tameka finally pushed my head away from her pussy and then pulled me up to look me in the eyes. "Damn. I come here thinking I'm going to give you a little blowjob to convince you to stay, and instead you give me the tongue lashing of a lifetime. They should force you to wear a warning label." She looked down and noticed that my cock had become hard while I was seeing to her and smiled. I was trying to figure out the smile when I felt her heels on my back forcing me forward and a moment later my cock was rubbing against the entrance to her vagina. "Don't worry, I'm on the pill," she said as her legs forced me to thrust deep inside her.

Our coupling was almost savage in its intensity. Tameka kept begging me to fuck her harder, and I was already fired up after listening to her moans and screams while I tongued her pussy. Surprisingly my cock held out for about five minutes before I came with a groan. Tameka was panting and moaning throughout the experience but I heard a small gasp and noticed a smile as my cum shot into her pussy. I rolled off her and squeezed next to her in the bed as I tried to recover. Tameka was still smiling and holding on to me as I sank into the cushion. Deep in my mind was the thought that I should say something, but the long day and the lack of sleep during the previous week caused me to fall asleep quickly.

If I thought Tameka was going to be there the one time and then leave, she very quickly disabused me of that notion. I was awakened some hours later as Tameka gave me a hand job and then lowered herself onto my cock to ride me cowgirl style. She fell against me after we came together and I drifted back to sleep wondering why she stayed. The next morning found me wrapped up in her arms and she fought to keep me in bed when I tried to leave to head to the small ship's shower.

"Stingy. Don't you want to make Tameka happy?" she grumped moments later as I stumbled back from the shower to start putting on some clothing.

I had to laugh as I looked at a naked Tameka wrapped in the blankets we had slept in. "I thought making you happy required turning your grandfather's diner around. And if I'm going to do that, I need to get to the market to purchase everything I'm going to cook for today and tomorrow. Fresh ingredients result in happier customers."

I was shocked by the size of the smile Tameka gave me. "You think you can do it?" she asked as she bounced to her feet, heedless of her nudity. "Can you bring the diner back?"

"I can only try," I replied. "But you don't have to do anything for me. I like cooking and to be in charge of a kitchen at my age is a dream."

Tameka only stepped forward to kiss me. "If you help my grandfather, you'll never get rid of me," she whispered into my ear. I would have said something, but she then pushed me towards the cabin door with a laugh. I went off to the market with my mind still a whirl about this openly sexual and friendly girl.

I should have remembered how busy things got at the resort because the weekend proved to be a hurricane of change and fury. I estimated the amount of food I would need based on the Friday crowds and what little experience I had, but had not counted on word of the improved food spreading rapidly. Saturday's attendance left few empty tables and when I collapsed into the bed of the boat that night, Tameka collapsed next to me and asked me to massage her feet. That foot massage led to a long slow sex session which proved far more fulfilling than anything Patricia and I had managed. Tameka shocked me when I noticed tears in her eyes, but my queries as to why were ignored.

Sunday was even busier, and Nathan came to me as I was finishing the last few dishes and asked me if I thought we'd need another cook. I admitted that I would not mind an eager and willing assistant, and he muttered something about getting an ad into the paper. I barely had the energy to nod and definitely didn't have the energy to undress as I collapsed into the bed after removing my shoes. Tameka was already in the bed, and also still fully clothed, but we still wound up in each other's arms during the night.

Monday, I received a lot of insight into both Tameka and Nathan's lives. I was used to sleeping in on Monday's, but Tameka forced me to wake early and then hurried off to shower and dress. I was still trying to get my eyes fully open when she dashed off the boat and vanished into the morning fog. I was a bit saddened by her sudden departure so after a brief shower, dressed and headed up to the diner to see what I could do to prepare for the week. To my surprise Nathan was sitting at a table and looking over some old pictures. He called me over and asked me to sit next to him for a moment.

I found that he was looking at an aging series of wedding pictures. It took a moment before I realized that the young man in a navy uniform was him. "I enlisted right out of high school," Nathan said as I looked over at him. "Wanted to see the world, I told my family. Although I ended up working deep in the engine room of an aging destroyer and didn't get to see much during my term. Did meet Nellie though, and the proudest day of my life was when she said 'I do' as I put my ring on her finger."

Nathan seemed a bit maudlin, but continued. "Nellie was a great gal," he pointed the lovely brunette bride who had a smile much like Tameka's. "We managed to stay married for forty plus years until cancer claimed her three years ago. She gave me two wonderful sons, one rather rebellious daughter, and now I now have six fantastic grandkids. We struggled a lot in those early days; I was working as a boat and ship mechanic, but never really enjoyed it. Nellie however loved cooking for people and dreamed of a diner. Once the kids were old enough, she talked me into risking my retirement into establishing this diner, and for nearly twenty years everyone came to this diner and got to taste some true to life Cajun seafood cooking. Your style is a bit different, but this last weekend all the old regulars stopped by for the first time since Nellie died. It was a wonderful tribute, and I brought these out to remember her by."

Nathan was fighting tears, and I found it hard to keep from tearing up myself. The pictures were extremely romantic and I have to admit that Nellie and Nathan made a lovely couple. The box Nathan carried proved to include pictures of his two sons, both now working for shipping companies on the east coast, Nathan proudly reported. Also included were pictures of his daughter, Tameka's mother. She seemed to be unhappy in the pictures, and the pinched face and near constant frown detracted from an otherwise lovely lady. I was even surprised to find that the box contained a picture of a radiant Tameka wearing the traditional cap and gown of a high school graduate.

Nathan laughed as she saw me looking at that. "Yes, she graduated back in June. Not top of her class, but she impressed quite a few teachers at school. Goes to community college now, she does. Takes classes in the morning until ten-thirty, then rushes back to host lunch. After that she takes an afternoon class to keep up before returning and participating in dinner. Been doing fairly well at it too. Managed two A's and a B in the fall. I just wish she had more time for herself."

I wanted to ask questions, but Nathan slumped over and went to sleep still holding the box. I carefully took it from his hands and placed it on the table before heading back into the kitchen to quietly review my plans for the week.

The next three months were the best of what I now consider my exile. The crowds at the diner built quickly and Nathan ended up hiring three assistants for me who rotated through the schedule as well as a full half dozen waitresses. Tameka's smile led the entire staff and both staff and guests regularly enjoyed in laughter and jokes during meals.

Tameka had not forgotten me and although I was soon to learn that she had her own room at Nathan's house, she somehow moved into my cabin on the boat and did her best to leave me, in her words, "the most sexually satisfied chef in the Gulf." I was not going to let her be the only one giving though, and her frequent loud cries of pleasure must have become quite an entertainment to locals in the area. I worried more than a bit about how Nathan might respond especially if he saw the smiles and blushes Tameka sent my way during service, but he merely laughed and would start up a rather bawdy banter when he visited the kitchen.

Tameka and I also started to spend time together away from the diner. With her classes and my hours, it was hard, but just about every Monday evening found us relaxing on a beach, or sitting in a park as we enjoyed a picnic lunch. She knew the area well, and not a week went by that I was not introduced to some little corner of her world.

I might have stayed at the diner had not Nathan suddenly suffered a massive heart attack on April second. Although we called for an ambulance immediately the paramedics told us that he was most likely dying as the rushed him to the hospital. Tameka attempted to contact her uncles, but both were in Europe on business trips and before anyone realized what was happening Tameka's mother swept into town and started making changes.

She went by the name of Maryse, and tired to present herself as some cultured woman. She had not aged very gracefully, and the only resemblance to the old pictures Nathan kept was the pinched face. The smooth and silky looking skin of a young white girl of eighteen now appeared pock marked and blotchy. She refused to wear a bra, and her rather hefty breasts had a definite sag to them. Her hair was cut extremely short, and had a lank unhealthy look to it. I also noticed that while Tameka usually dressed neatly, her mother rarely worse anything that did not look slutty or seductive. She seemed to scorn her own daughter, something that appeared to be returned as I noticed that Tameka always insisted on calling her Mary. Her first actions were to put the diner up for sale, as well as the boat, and to start moving new furniture into Nathan's house. My position as cook was gone once she closed the diner, and I quickly found myself being followed by some large black men that appeared with the woman.

I ended up sticking around for a week hoping that Nathan would get better and spending much of time at the hospital trying to comfort Tameka. We knew it was unlikely he would leave, and when a doctor came out and quietly asked for Tameka, she fell into my arms sobbing.

Nathan's death ended up closing a chapter of my life. I wanted to stay for Tameka, but her mother had a couple of her 'friends' come and politely ask me to vanish. I could not leave without saying goodbye, so after packing my belongings back into the SUV, managed to follow Tameka to the college. We said our goodbyes with a hug and kiss while leaning against her car, and she broke my heart by whispering "I love you." into my ear. I looked into her eyes before kissing them closed and promising her that somehow, I would return and take her away from her unhappy memories.