Life is a game!

"ONE STAR?!?"

"What now Cindy?"

"That damned food critic from The Commercial Appeal. He gave the restaurant a one-star review. That asshole!"

"What'd he write?"

Cindy murmured unintelligibly as she skimmed the newspaper. "The fried chicken was of obvious low quality with generally bland flavor, the collard greens were drenched in oil (and not in a good way), and the sweet potatoes tasted fresh…from the microwave."

"What the hell! Earl, we don't even have a microwave in the kitchen!" Cindy huffed in disbelief at the review. She continued reading: "With lack of creativity, low quality ingredients, high prices, and undistinguished service, Cindy's Cafe is a needless addition to the Memphis meat-and-three scene. The only thing memorable about my experience at Cindy's Cafe is that I'll remember to never go back. One star."

Tears filled Cindy's eyes as Earl got up from his recliner to try to comfort her.

"It's just one guy from a newspaper that nobody reads anymore. Everyone goes online now anyway, and you've got 4.2 stars on this Yelp website. Who cares about that review?"

"Earl," Cindy wiped away a tear from her left eye as she placed her readers snug on the top of her short, wavy blonde hair. "We don't even have a microwave."

Earl kissed her forehead and embraced her. "It's ok darlin'. Just forget about it and keep cookin'." Cindy rolled her eyes and turned around towards the kitchen, her natural inclination.

Cindy had opened the cafe just six months prior, using equity from their home to open the business. After 26 years working as an administrative assistant at the Shelby County Auditor's Office, and seeing their youngest son graduate from college, it seemed as perfect a time as ever. And business had been relatively good. She was making money, not a lot, but certainly more than breaking even. She was keeping herself busy, running the restaurant every day but Sunday, allocating well deserved time for rest and of course church, where she had taught Sunday School going on two decades.

As Cindy prepared supper for Earl and herself, she couldn't stop thinking about who the critic might have been. How could she have not seen him? And what would it have mattered anyways? She always treated every customer with respect. Treat ever'one with kindness, her Mama would always say, Ya just ain't sure who's a preacher or a lawyer, and ya gonna need one of each at some point in ya life to be ya advocate. What great advice Mama always gave.

STAY TUNED FOR NEXT CHAPTER