Chapter Text
6 months after Bobby’s funeral
Samuel and Beatrice Carter were enjoying a delicious meal at restaurant not known for producing delicious meals. Living in a small town, the restaurant choices were skimpy at best. So Noah’s had been their place to go in spite of the mediocre food. It was a quaint little place with a tropical theme.
Beatrice’s usual choice of shrimp scampi was beautifully sautéed and seasoned. The delicious dirty rice and asparagus with it were cooked beautifully. She looked over at Samuel, who was enjoying chicken alfredo. “Does your taste better than usual?” she asked.
Samuel nodded. “It’s delicious. Creamy without being greasy and the chicken is even spicy.” He looked at her, a little puzzled. “The noodles are done perfectly, not soggy. Yours?”
“I can’t believe how good this.” She tasted another shrimp. “It’s like one of those fancy restaurants in Los Angeles that Athena takes us to.”
Since Bobby’s death 6 months prior, they had visited Athena often. Beatrice was worried about her daughter even though Athena appeared to be coping well. She knew her daughter and knew that grief was deep in Athena’s soul.
In fact, both Beatrice and Samuel had been very fond of Bobby and were grieved at this death. They had a rough start because Bobby was white, but Bobby’s devotion to her daughter had won Beatrice over. And then finally observing what a good man he was.
“Excuse me Miss!” Samuel beckoned to the waitress. “The food is delicious tonight. Do you have a new cook?”
The waitress, her name tag said Cherry, was a pretty woman that looked like she was in her late 20’s. “Yes sir. His name is Peter Wade, and he is so nice!” She smiled at them both. “And he’s really handsome too, for an older man.”
Beatrice rolled her eyes. “I’m more concerned with his cooking ability than his looks.” She cast a stern look at the young girl. “And so should you be.” Cherry looked down but couldn’t suppress a smile. “Yes ma’am.”
An older man walked out from the kitchen to look over the dining room. His gaze went over Samuel and Beatrice without a flicker of recognition. He was white and tall and very handsome. He also bore a striking resemblance to Bobby Nash.
“Samuel!” Beatrice gasped. “Look!” She pointed at the man.
“Oh, that’s Peter.” Said Cherry. “He always checks out what’s going on in the dining room when he gets a minute.” She waved at him and he smiled, beckoning to her. “Excuse me, I’ll come back and check on you.” She hurried over to Peter Wade and they began a conversation to far away for the Carter’s to hear them. But they could see her giggling and moving closer in to Peter. He moved back, keeping a proper distance between them.
“Whoa” said Samuel. “He’s the spitting image of Bobby.”
“It’s unbelievable.” Beatrice agreed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that actually was Bobby.” They observed Cherry as she placed her hand on Peter’s arm. Peter looked uncomfortable then patted her hand and gently removed it.
She looked at Samuel. “Do you think…” Her voice trailed away. “It’s impossible.”
But Samuel looked again at Peter Wade. “I think we ought to talk to him. Find out more about him.” Samuel looked troubled. “It’s not possible, but damn he’s an exact replica of Bobby”.
Cherry returned to the table. “Sorry about that. Did you enjoy your meal? Would you like some dessert or coffee?”
“Some coffee would be nice for me.” Said Samuel. “Bea?”
“Yes, I think it would be nice.” She agreed. Then turned to Cherry. “Would it be possible for us to meet Mr. Wade? We really enjoyed the meal.”
“I can ask him. If he’s not too busy in the kitchen he may come out for a few minutes.” Cherry shrugged. “But I can’t guarantee it.”
“Please ask him to come at his convenience.” Samuel smiled his winning smile. “We’d like to thank him.”
Cherry nodded and went back to the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with their coffee. “He said he’ll be out in 5 minutes.”
“Thank you. We’ll just enjoy our coffee while we wait.” Samuel gave her a credit card to cover the bill. It only took a minute to get that settled, and they sat back to wait.
It was closer to 10 minutes before the man called Peter Wade approached their table. “Good evening. I understand you wanted to meet me?”
Both Samuel and Beatrice stared at the man. Even his voice was a copy of Bobby’s, along with his smile.
“Is everything ok?” Peter asked, confused by their silent stares.
Samuel recovered first. “Yes, I’m sorry. You bear a striking to resemblance to my son in law. It just surprised me.”
Beatrice chimed in. “We just wanted to tell you how delicious the meal was. A vast improvement.”
Peter smiled. “I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’ve just started here and I’m hoping to get more of a crowd in.”
“With food like this, the word will get out quickly.” Samuel told him. “It was amazing.”
“Would you mind if I took your picture? Maybe in front of the sign over there? I can get my grandson to post it on our community Facebook page.”
There was a flicker of something that went across Peter’s face, but it was gone before Beatrice could identify it. “I’m not much for taking pictures” Peter said, “But I’ll make an exception for restaurant promotion.”
“Thank you”
All 3 walked over to the register where the restaurant name Noah’s was prominently displayed.
“Bea, you stand next to him to make it homier” Samuel instructed.
Beatrice dutifully stood next to Peter and put her arm around him. When he put his arm around her she felt a shiver go through her. He even “felt” like Bobby.
Samuel snapped the picture quickly. “Thank you” he told Peter. “And thank you for a delicious meal.”
Peter smiled. “I’m so glad you liked it. It’s my pleasure to serve good food.” He nodded at them both. “Good night and thank you for coming.” He strode away towards the kitchen.
Beatrice turned to Samuel. “Samuel, I know it’s crazy. But that’s Bobby.”
Samuel didn’t disagree. “I know it’s crazy and impossible. But I agree.”
As they headed toward the car, Samuel broke the silence between them. “So, what do we do? Do we tell Athena? It’s so crazy, I don’t know what to do.”
Once in the car Beatrice answered. “We have to tell her. She probably won’t believe us. But we have to get her to come here and see.”
Samuel nodded in agreement. “But how?”
“Send her the picture. She won’t be able to resist coming to see this man.”
Samuel sighed. “I don’t know Bea. Maybe we’re just wrong and this would be cruel to her.”
Beatrice was stubborn. “I’m telling you, I had my arm around him. I don’t know why he didn’t appear to recognize us, and I don’t know why he says his name Peter Wade. Much less why he is cooking in a restaurant here in Florida. But I know that man is Bobby Nash. I feel it in my bones.”
Samuel contemplated everything he’d seen and heard. “It sure seemed like him. But how? Why would he be here? It makes no sense.”
“If Athena comes, we can figure it all out.”