"Good evening, madam. How are you enjoying your meal with us?" Van smiled at the woman sitting at the table near the center of the room.

"Oh, it's wonderful thank you, Mister Wolfe. And who might this charming young man be?"

The 'charming young man' spoke up before his father could get in a word. "I'm Tito. This is my daddy." He looked proudly up at Van, who grinned back. The woman was obviously touched by the affectionate atmosphere between them.

"How sweet! Your wife must be so proud."

Van paused the slightest second before he nodded, the smile still on his face. "I hope that she is."

Across the room, he saw Judy and the new waitress--Stroma--serving a couple. There was no trace of Judy's usual apathy as she smiled brightly and joked a little with the patrons. Van grinned wryly to himself. Given the choice he wouldn't have paired someone as new as Stroma with Judy, but they were so overworked this season that there wasn't much choice.

"...and the Chef's Special for you, sir, is that right?" Judy confirmed the order with the patrons with a cheery flourish of her pen on the pad she held in her hand. "That will be out to you as soon as possible. Oh, and this is Stroma, a new waitress here. She's shadowing me to learn the ropes. Please don't hesitate to call either of us should you need anything else."

"Thank you, Miss Judy." The husband and wife were obviously quite taken with Judy's friendly demeanor. Nodding, she turned and sashayed away towards the kitchen.

"Okay, I have another table to get to, so take this into the kitchens to Arlo," she murmured to Stroma, the bored expression back on her face. Without waiting for an answer, she ripped off the order sheet, pressed it into Stroma's hand and left.