Song of the Mountain

Sierra sat in the breakroom, carefully assembling a koto on the table.

"Oh my, where did you get this one?" asked Anita as she walked in with her lunch.

"A friend loaned it to me. This one has a more traditional sound, so it might help me remember some things," Sierra replied, focusing on tuning the instrument.

Anita took a seat opposite her, unwrapping her lunch. "It finally feels peaceful with everything back to normal," she sighed contentedly.

"As normal as it can be. We’re going to have more workers here soon."

"That should be fun. Meeting new people is always interesting," Anita replied with a smile.

Sierra nodded, satisfied with the tuning. She was about to pluck the strings when Cyrus appeared in the doorway, looking stressed.

"Oh, no! Not today, Taft. I need quiet—no music. Sonata 2 has given me a lifetime of headaches."

"But this is a peaceful instrument," Sierra argued gently.

"I don’t care. I need quiet, and you need to work. Chouteau is on break right now," Cyrus barked before disappearing back into his office.

"Aw, I was really looking forward to it," Anita pouted.

"No appreciation for classical music," Sierra grumbled as she began to put the instrument away.

"Why don’t you leave it out? You can play it on your break later," Anita suggested.

Sierra glanced at the breakroom's doorway, then shrugged. "It should be fine here," she agreed, leaving the koto on the table. She headed back to the kitchen but stopped when she noticed Frank entering the restaurant with an older woman.

"Hey, Frank! Norman hasn’t visited us today," Sierra called as Frank helped the older woman into a booth.

"I know. I came to talk to Cyrus about the new hires and to congratulate him on his engagement," Frank explained.

"I’m sure he’ll appreciate that," Sierra said with a nod.

Frank left the older woman at the table and headed to the back. As Sierra was about to leave, the elderly woman spoke up.

"Are you a friend of my grandson?" she asked.

"I guess you could say that. Frank is your grandson?"

"Yes, though I never knew he had friends so young."

Sierra frowned. "We’re about the same age. I might be a little younger."

"But your voice...?"

Sierra deadpanned, "I’m a woman."

"Oh," the older woman replied, a bit embarrassed. The two sat in awkward silence for a moment, unsure of what to say next.

"Would you like to marry my grandson?" the old woman suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"Sierra!" a voice called from the kitchen.

Sierra turned to see Shasta at the kitchen window, signaling for her. "It was nice meeting you, ma’am," Sierra said, bowing politely before hurrying back to the kitchen.

"So that’s the legendary grandmother," Sierra remarked as she washed her hands.

"Yeah," Shasta replied, nodding. "Frank brought her in another time when he was looking for Norman. She’s… inquisitive."

Sierra made a mental note of that as she started to work, humming a familiar tune. But she was startled when she heard someone else humming the same tune. She looked around and was surprised to see the older woman standing by the kitchen door.

"Did you hum that?" Sierra asked.

"Hum what?" the older woman replied, genuinely confused.

Shasta walked over to the entrance, gently steering the elderly woman away. "Did you need something, ma’am?"

"Oh, have you seen my grandson? He seems to have wandered off," she asked.

"He went that way." Sierra pointed in the direction Frank had gone. She couldn’t understand how the woman didn’t see him, considering two people couldn’t fit in Cyrus’s tiny office.

"Oh," the woman nodded and wandered away, leaving Shasta to return to his station. Sierra resumed working but was soon distracted by the sound of the older woman’s voice coming from the breakroom.

"My mother used to play this for me when I was a little girl. It was a lovely song she played. I can’t do it as well as she did, but I still remember it," the woman said.

Curious, Sierra walked back to the breakroom to find Anita helping the elderly woman into a chair, where she began plucking at the koto and humming a familiar tune. Sierra recognized the melody immediately and began humming along.

Frank’s grandmother smiled warmly as Sierra stepped closer, both women now connected through the shared music.

"I told you! No music today—please, just for one day!" Cyrus yelled as he burst into the breakroom, only to stop short when he saw the older woman. He quickly backtracked. "I didn’t hire her already, did I?" he asked, bewildered.

Frank, who had just returned, stepped in behind Cyrus. "That’s my grandmother."

"Okay, but seriously, stop with the music! I need to focus," Cyrus grumbled before rushing back to his office, slamming the door behind him.

"What an excitable young man," the grandmother remarked with a chuckle as she carefully climbed down from the chair.

Sierra, intrigued, leaned in closer. "Where did you learn that song?" she asked.

"From my mother. I used to sing it to Frank when he was little. Do you remember, Frank?"

Frank looked puzzled, clearly unsure of what was going on.

"Do either of you remember the name of the song or the lyrics?" Sierra pressed.

Frank’s grandmother opened her mouth to respond but then hesitated, frowning as if trying to recall a distant memory. "I don’t remember. It’s been so long—I can only remember the tune."

"But people where you live, would they know it?"

"It’s an old song, so maybe," the grandmother replied, her tone uncertain.

Sierra’s face lit up with hope. After years, she finally had a lead! She impulsively hugged the older woman, her excitement bubbling over.

"Frank," Sierra said, turning to the regional manager.

"Yes?"

"Do you still need help with your grandmother?"

"What?"

"In exchange for learning more about where your grandmother came from and where this song originated, I want to help you take care of her."

"What?!"

"Ma’am, may I help your grandson take care of you?" Sierra asked, turning back to Frank’s grandmother.

"Oh, that would be lovely! Frank, can she stay?" the grandmother asked, her eyes twinkling.

Frank looked between the two women, then glanced at Anita, who was smiling at the exchange.

"Why not?" Anita encouraged with a wink.

"Yeah, why not?" Sierra echoed, her enthusiasm contagious.

"I… I guess," Frank stammered, still processing the sudden turn of events.

"Thank you, thank you, and thank you! You won’t regret this!" Sierra shook Frank’s hand vigorously before dashing off to share the news with everyone.

"What a nice young lady. You should marry her," Frank’s grandmother said, beaming.

"Grandmother!" Frank groaned, blushing furiously.

Meanwhile, Sierra knocked on Cyrus’s door, bursting with excitement.

"What now?" Cyrus snapped, exasperated.

"I’m giving you my two-week notice. I’m moving in with Frank’s grandmother."

She rushed off before he could respond, leaving Cyrus stunned in his tiny office.

Frank walked in behind him. 

"Make that two new chefs," Cyrus amended, still trying to wrap his head around everything that had just happened.

Tormino’s was definitely going to need a lot more employees.