"So I guess the guys in this town run on the large size?" Max asked taking a seat and another bite of his burger.
"What gives you that impression?" Chuckled Lyle.
"You mean other than that compact behemoth having a dad that makes him small and you saying that "Big Don" that clears you out of mac and cheese on a daily basis?" He chomped on a handful of fries, not wanting them to get soft.
"Hey, don't insalt Picasso." Lyle scolded. "But yeah, we do tend to grow 'em big around here. We men here are spoiled. Ain't we Marla?" He shouted back to the kitchen.
"That you are. But you deserve it. This town, it'd be nothin' if not for big, strong men. No ma'chinery could work as fast as them. Though many would be faster if they weren't carrying around them barrel bellies all the time. But they still deserve the pamperin'." Marla yelled back.
"You don't seem that big to me." Max said, eyeing Lyle appraisingly.
"Nah. I'm not built for the hard labor of the orchards or farms. That's why I'm workin' the books, register, and waiterin' for here. Still hard work, but I prefer helpin' feed the town rather than meself." He eyed Max just as appraisingly as he'd just been eyed. "Hey, you mind I ask you a question?"
Max raised an eyebrow but nodded as he took a bite of the veggies. They were almost room temperature by that point.
"When Marla gave Picasso those pies, you seemed upset about that. You got a problem with how we runnin' things around here?"
Max set down his fork, his face turning stern. "I do admit, I didn't like that. You see, I'm in the business of buying and selling restaurants. Flipping them, if you will. That means..."
"I know what that means." Snapped Lyle. "That ain't how we do things 'round here."
"I see that. And I also didn't even mean to wind up here. I wasn't looking for a new restaurant here. Like I said, I was on my way to a convention. I do know that not every business model works for every restaurant or town, but this one is clearly working for here. Regardless, I am a businessman, so seeing products given away for free does go against my nature and training. I wasn't going to say anything though because this isn't my restaurant, I wouldn't consider buying it until I'd done a lot more research, and Picasso is going to fix my car. I'm sorry if that upset you. It wasn't anything personal."
Lyle frowned at Max's explanation but nodded and pointed at Max. "You better not go stickin' your nose into the Apple Jack's business. We got a good business here and if it means we ain't gettin' more publicity outside a' town, then so be it."
Max held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I was just passing through. I couldn't buy every restaurant even if I wanted to, and I don't want to. But I know better then to stick my nose into the ones I don't want to buy. Even more so than the ones I do. I've lost a few deals by sticking my nose in before the deal was done. I've learned my lesson there."
Lyle sniffed at him. "Okay. But you better not do anythin' to upset Picasso or Marla. Eddie would kill you for upsettin' Picasso, Eddie's Picasso's Pa, as would the rest of the town and Marla would kill you herself. She ain't lost a single fight in her life."
"That's cause you ain't good competition." She shouted back, laughing.
Lyle scowled back at the kitchen. Turning back to Max, he nodded at his plates. "Anyway, you better finish eatin'. That pie ain't gonna eat itself and you can't have it till ya cleaned yer plate."
Max glanced down to see how much was left. He internally grimaced at the sight of a quarter of his burger left, a third of his fries, and half his veggies. His gut was already full to capacity but he did consider it part of his job to try out all as many special items as he could wherever he went. Assuming he could stomach them, but usually when he couldn't, it was because they were truly disgusting. This wasn't anywhere near that quality and if the pie was even half as good as the cider, he wanted to try it. The only problem was he was rather full. He'd already had over a pound of food and wasn't sure how much space he had left.
"If you're having trouble, take a minute and take a few sips of the cider. That usually does it for Big Don." Lyle suggested.
Max nodded and did as suggested, taking small sips of the still warm cider. "Maybe I should settle my bill while I wait to make some more space?"
Lyle nodded and went to the register.
Max was surprised to see it was an old fangled register, not a computer. "Um, don't take this the wrong way, but do you take plastic?"
"Of course. What sort of backwater podunk do you think we are?" He pulled out a card scanner. "There is a seven percent processing charge." Lyle burst out laughing as Max's jaw dropped.
Lyle tapped in the items and handed Max the scanner. Max raised his eyebrow and looked up at Lyle. "Somethin' wrong?" He asked, slightly annoyed.
"Are you sure this is right? It seems a little... low... in price."
"Let's see. Bacon steakburger, that's $8.75. A glass of cider, that's $1.75. The pie and first glass of cider are on the house as an apology for the damage to your car. So that means your total comes out to $10.50. Yep. Everything seems right. Don't go bitchin' about our prices."
"No, no. They're just far lower than I'm used to. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a mistake. That's all."
"You better not. Now how's that stomach feeling?" He took Max's card and ran it, handing it back to him as the reader printed the receipt.
Max looked down. "It's better."
"Good." Lyle used a fork to slide the burger onto the plate with the fries and veggies. "You finish up while I get that pie prepped and the other dishes washed." He headed into the kitchen. Max sat there, staring at his burger. Stealing his resolve, and his cast-iron stomach, he worked on finishing it.
It took him a minute but he finished his burger. As he started on the fries, the lights flickered. "Everything alright?' He asked as Lyle came back out.
"Yeah. Just the storm. Finish up and we can get you to Sally's inn. Don't know how much longer the power will be on and Sally is waiting."
"Could I get a to go box maybe?"
Lyle sighed. "Marla isn't gonna like that, but okay. I'll put the pie in it as well." He reached under to grab a container that he took into the back and came back a moment later with a slice of pie in it. Max noticed Marla glaring at him over the doors as Lyle slid the last of the fries and veggies into the container.
"Just trying to make sure your Miss Sally isn't waiting to long." Max told her. "It's rude to waste food and to leave ladies waiting."
She glared a moment longer before ducking back again. Lyle smirked at. "Nice recovery." He whispered.
"Recovery? Those are words to live by. There's no wrath like a woman scorned and sometimes, they do scorn easily." Max said quietly, chuckling.
Lyle nodded in agreement. "You've got that right." He sealed the container and put it in a plastic bag. "Marla, we're headed out. I'll stop back by before heading home to make sure everything's alright." He yelled back.
"Okay. I got everythin' covered now, but that would be appreciated in case this storm causes damage."
"You got a car parked around back we're going to use to get to the inn?" Max asked as he followed Lyle to the door, his briefcase in hand.
"Nope. Don't got my license. Big Don refused to issue me one after I ran over the town sign. Twice." Even in the dim light, Max could see his face redden in embarrassment. "We're gonna have to run for it. Normally you can see the inn from here, but not tonight. Just stick close to me." Grabbing a yellow parka from the coatrack, he put it on and pulled the hood up. "You ready?"
Max held his jacket over his head and his briefcase close to his chest as he nodded.
Lyle nodded. "Let's go." He yelled as he charged out into the storm and deeper into the town.
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