Page 1 of Reaper

Chapter 1

Lark

May2022

Rolling my shoulders, I try to work out the kinks that seem to have taken up permanent residence in my neck and shoulders the past few days. We’re down a couple of servers, so I’ve taken on extra shifts to make sure we’re covered at my family’s supper club, Great Bear Supper Club, until we can hire more staff. Besides, I’d prefer to be the one to take on extra shifts rather than Ma or my grandparents.

Despite the tiredness coursing through my body, achy limbs, and feet, a smile tugs at my lips as I look down at the diamond engagement ring on my left hand. A few weeks ago, we threw a party for my grandparents’, Charlotte or Lottie as she likes to be called and Charlie, 60thwedding anniversary. Or as I call them, Granny and Pappy.

As the party was winding down, my boyfriend, Aiden Cox, and I were walking around one of the paths on my family’s property. He led me to my favorite spot, a large stone overhang in theforest that overlooks Great Bear Lake, the supper club, and a portion of the surrounding forest. It was in that spot that he dropped to his knee and asked me to marry him.

While I have some hesitations about marrying him, I still said yes. I love Aiden, but I’m wary of his father, Richard Cox. The Cox family is very well known in this area as they own a few businesses, one of which is a major real estate company. I know Richard has had his eye on my family’s land for a number of years, but Aiden swears he won’t let his father do anything with my family’s house, the supper club, or to our surrounding land. While I have my backup plan, it still helps ease my mind that Aiden is insistent on that point.

The thirty acres that we live on have been in our family for many generations. While our house isn’t the first one that was built on our land, it’s the one that my grandparents, Ma, and I all live in. Our house is an old two-story farmhouse that’s a little over ninety years old and nearby is our family’s supper club. The supper club started with my great-great-grandparents on Pappy’s side. My great-great-grandpa Raymond finished building both our house and the supper club in 1931, complete with a prohibition speakeasy and everything underneath the supper club.

I first heard our family’s history when I was six years old and was surprised that Grandpa Raymond was able to build both the house and supper club because the Great Depression was still going on then, not to mention the Prohibition was still in full effect.

It was then that Granny told me that we came from old money and that our family has always been known for helping out the community as needed. In fact, we’re still well known for helping the community—taking part in charities or charity drives and donations.

As for the speakeasy, well, much like me, Grandpa Raymond loved to make his own beer which he sold alongside other alcoholic drinks that he’d set up a supply line for.

Granny told me that Grandpa Raymond wanted to build something for our family’s future generations to have and so that they always have a place to come back to. He could have hired out-of-town contractors for both of the builds, but instead, he opted to help families in our community by hiring local tradesmen to build a new and bigger house for our family and to also lay the groundwork for our supper club. He then hired more people from the community to help with clearing portions of our land for the buildings.

The idea for our supper club came from when Grandpa Raymond visited family and friends in New York a year or so prior to him breaking ground on the buildings. While there, he fell in love with their lunch car wagons and restaurants as well as their supper clubs and, of course, the speakeasies. When he came back, he pitched his ideas to his dad and before long, plans were in the works.

Instead of going the diner or lunch car route, Grandpa Raymond went the supper club route. When he was digging out the area that would become our cellars, he paid a few close friends to make it bigger than what the plans had stated, but they had to be careful about doing so because of regular inspections.

When it was finished, about eighty people could be easily seated inside the supper club to enjoy affordable food while also experiencing a finer dining experience with music, and later in the evenings, dancing.

And I’m not talking about the type of dancing you’d find in the dance halls that were also popular, and unpopular, during that time.

Grandpa Raymond and Grandma Olivia were determined that their supper club would never have that type of reputation.Instead, couples frequently enjoyed a few dances after they finished their meals to songs by the likes of Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong, and many others.

The music from the main part of the restaurant helped filter out the sounds that came from the cellars, or the speakeasy portion of the club. Both Grandpa Raymond and Grandma Olivia ran the supper club together, however in the evenings, Grandpa Raymond would frequently check in on the speakeasy to make sure things didn’t get out of hand.

That was part of the draw to our speakeasy.

It wasn’t a place for people who only wanted to get drunk, create problems or get a little handsy in public. Instead, it was a place where cigar smoke permeated the air as patrons sat and chatted with friends and family over a nice drink.

I still think that was part of the reason why they didn’t get caught. People knew that if word got out about the speakeasy, that their one place to have a calming drink after a hard day would be gone. As such, Grandpa Raymond was very selective of who he let in and if anyone caused any problems, they were taken care of and silenced.

I was always curious what they’d do to the people that caused problems, but neither Grandpa Raymond nor his son, Grandpa George, would tell me. And after a while, I figured I didn’t really need to know. Both of them had major protective streaks when it came to their family members, friends, and their business. I have a feeling that anyone that betrayed them might have been silenced.

Permanently.

Sighing contentedly, I look around at the supper club.

For the most part, it never really changed over the years until the spring of 1995. That was when Ma and Uncle Mark finally convinced Granny and Pappy to update the décor.

Gone are the chandeliers and art deco designs that used to grace these walls.

In their place, there is a more relaxed cabin feel now.

In addition to making the supper club feel and look like a cabin, they also put in larger windows all throughout the building to bring in the beauty of Great Bear Lake and the forests surrounding our property. Additionally, a deck was added for outdoor seating. Since we own the land surrounding our house and the supper club, it was easy to keep the woods and wildflower fields as they were for the views.

Customers loved the changes and more relaxed feel while still being able to experience affordable family dining but with a touch of a finer dining experience that they had before.

Ma also redid the decorations near the entrance. She put up pictures of our family’s history, how the club looked when it opened, and even a condensed version of our family tree that includes highlights about those that have worked at the supper club. Uncle Mark helps us out sometimes on the weekends, but during the week he works as a mechanic in town at one of the auto body repair shops. Granny and Pappy still work here even though they could technically retire, but whenever I or someone else asks them about it, their response is always the same. Working here isn’t a chore for them. It’s their passion and their love.