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Charlie didn’t get along, she came here anyway. It was convenient and the food was pretty good.
    Lucy Bates swept out from the kitchen and served the man at the counter. She smiled when she noticed Sara and raced over to her table. “How did you sneak in? I didn’t even hear the bell.”
    She leaned over and gave Sara a hug.
    “I know all the secrets. I used to work here, remember?”
    “How could I forget? When you worked here I used to look forward to coming in,” Lucy said ruefully. “So what are you doing hanging around alone on a Saturday night? Where’s Luke?”
    “He’s meeting me here. We had plans to eat out in Newburyport, but my grandmother had an accident. I just got back from the hospital.”
    “Oh, dear. Is she all right?” Lillian did not have many fans in town, but Lucy’s big heart accepted everyone.
    “She’ll be okay. She had a bad fall down the attic stairs. She broke her arm and her ankle and is pretty shaken up. It could have been a lot worse, though.”
    “Yes, I guess she’s lucky she didn’t break a hip. Or get so upsetit sent her into a stroke. She’ll probably need physical therapy after the casts come off.”
    Sara sat back. “I’m impressed. You sound just like the doctor, Lucy. Are you sure you aren’t going to medical school instead of nursing school?”
    “Don’t be silly. Anybody knows that stuff.” Lucy smiled, color rising to her cheeks. “But we are getting into the heavy-duty phase now. I start hospital work tomorrow. Can you believe it? Real live patients. No more dummies in the nursing lab.”
    “Wow. That is serious.”
    Lucy nodded, looking like she hardly believed it herself.
    “I really don’t know how you do it, Lucy. Working at the diner, your school work, and now the hospital, too. Plus the kids and Charlie. I can’t even imagine juggling my job at the paper and being married to Luke,” Sara admitted.
    Lucy laughed. “Don’t worry. Luke’s the enlightened type. He’ll be doing the laundry and the dishes and walking around with the baby strapped to his chest in one of those Daddy pouches.”
    Sara’s eyes widened. “Who said anything about a baby?”
    “Lucy?” Charlie leaned over the edge of the counter and rang the little order bell until it sounded like it was going crazy.
    Lucy slowly glanced at him over her shoulder. “Yes?”
    “When you’re done entertaining the customers, there’s an order up for you.”
    “Be right there.” She turned back to Sara. “It’s just a sandwich. The man’s still eating his soup.”
    Sara was glad to see Lucy didn’t jump when Charlie barked at her. She used to just about jump out of her skin if he so much as gave her a dark look.
    “I bet you can’t wait until your nursing degree is done and you won’t have to work at the diner anymore.”
    “You got that right.” Lucy sighed. “Sometimes I think I might miss it….” She leaned over so that only Sara could hear her. “Then I say to myself, Are you out of your mind? ”
    Sara grinned. “I can’t believe you’re almost done.”
    “Me, either. I never thought I would get this far. I just took one step at a time and kept going.” She looked down at Sara and met her gaze with a serious look. “I never could have done it without you, Sara.”
    Sara felt embarrassed by her friend’s gratitude. “Of course you would. I didn’t do anything.”
    “Yes, you did. You helped me fill out all those college applications. You kept telling me I could do it.”
    “Well, maybe I encouraged you but you did the rest yourself. You have a lot to be proud of.”
    Lucy smiled quietly. “Thanks. It ain’t over till it’s over, though. I still have all this training to get through.”
    “You’ll do fine,” Sara told her. “I’m sure of it.”
    Charlie had walked to the end of the counter and now leaned over, speaking in a low growl. “Sorry to interrupt, ladies. But maybe Lucy could take a short break from socializing to wait on the tables? You