It’s been a week since Charlene asked Tom out for dinner at La Quins. Since she asked him out, she paid for the meal. He did insist on paying for it, but she suggested that he pays for the second date.

Which there was a second one, along with a movie. Tom took her to a nice Italian restaurant where she tried eggplant rollatini which was something she has never had. She wasn’t much of an eggplant eater, but after eating that dish. She would order the dish again.

When she walked into the office, Henry could tell that Charlene was glowing and just smiles. He hasn’t seen her this happy, since she adopted Tonya. Him and his wife received pictures from Tonya and Prue. They were enjoying themselves at camp.

Henry knew when the girls return from camp, they were going to be busy with their catering business. He has been asked by some of his friends where the girls were. Ever since they won the teens cookoff contest. They have been hired to do a lot of catering jobs.

Henry looks at Charlene as she sat at her desk and worked on paperwork for the motorcycle shop. He knew she took care of the garage first and the motorcycle shop afterwards. Tammy and Ralph have taken the day off, leaving Terry and the two-part timers they hired to help out.

As for the garage, it was doing steady work. They were making a small profit and their customer base has increased.

“I can’t believe how well we are doing, Henry.” Charlene looked up and over at Henry.

“That’s good. How is the auto lot doing?” Henry knew Charlene kept the records for the car lot.

“It’s breaking even. There are a few cars you need to take to the auction. They just aren’t moving.” Charlene knew that the people around town weren’t interested in those cars.

“Well, since I don’t have to much money tied up in them, I’ll drop the price.” Henry bought the cars for cheap.

“I figure you would do that. Let me know what the new price is and I’ll adjust the online price for them.” Charlene has gotten into making web sites for Henry and the girls.

She took a few online courses and watched a few YouTube videos to learn how to make the webpages and site. Now that they had an online presence, it was helping the shop, the car lot and the motorcycle shop. This way, they could offer discounts and cheaper prices on certain services.

“How serious is it getting between you and Tom?” Henry looks across the desk towards Charlene.

“It’s still too early to tell, but I like him.” Charlene hasn’t liked a lot of people.

She knew the real test will come when Tonya comes back from camp. She’ll see how Tom handles seeing her as a mother/sister to Tonya. That will be the true test of their blooming relationship.

A smile appears on henry’s face as he goes out into the garage to help. He knew Charlene had the office. As for her relationship with Tom. That will take some time to develop.

Charlene goes back to work and busy herself with paperwork. She knew she needed to get everything done today. She still had to go and get some parts.

Downtown:
Tom watches as people go about their business. Occasionally, someone would stop to buy a hot dog or sausage from him. He gives a free meal to a veteran that stops by to chit chat with him. The older man was a Marine that had been injured overseas.

He thinks back on his last date with Charlene and smiles. They had gone to see the live version of the Little Mermaid. Tom found out that Charlene has never been to Disney world and liked Disney movies.

He noticed that she didn’t care that much for the movie. As for himself, it was okay, but nothing to write home about. The live version of Beauty and Beast was better.

Afterwards, he dropped her off at her house. The restaurant they went too, had impressed Charlene and he managed to talk her into eating something she would normally not touch. He loved Italian food and he found out that she loved Chinese food.

He liked Chinese food as well. He planned on taking Charlene to The Peking Wall for dinner. He also couldn’t wait to meet Charlene’s little sister Tonya when she comes back from camp. He saw some of the pictures Tonya sent to Charlene.

Around noon time, business picks up and is kept busy. His little hot dog cart was popular with the office staff and some of the businesses around the area he set up at. He knew Charlene kept busy with how many books she maintained for all the businesses she was either a partner or landlord of.

A few police officers Tom was friends of stop by for lunch. Officer Williams has been hearing some rumors about Tom.

“Hey Tom, a little birdy told me you started dating that girl over at the Grease Monkey.” Officer Williams watches as Tom fixes his hot dog.

“We’ve gone on a few dates. Should I be concerned about anything?” Tom looks at his friend.

“Are you kidding? That girl has been a big asset to the police department. Her garage gives discounts to cops and firefighters. You should get to know her better and not let her go. Also, be nice to her as well. Because, a lot of us think of her like a daughter.”

“I’ll do that.” Tom knew his friend was making sure that he knew they were looking after her.

Grease Monkey:
Charlene looks at the time and figures that with all the work they had going on. The guys might not want to take a full hour break. So, she orders six large pizzas and sodas to go with them. This way, the guys could take a short break and eat. She wouldn’t subtract the time for break form their paychecks.

After placing the order, she goes out into the garage to let the guys know.