I was at work when I got the phone call. Jack's Point Clubhouse was tickety-boo as usual, and so was I, maybe even little more so. It must have been a Thursday - the most unsuspecting of days - when the inevitable news I hoped never to receive found its way through my ears and into my heart, like a droplet of dark green ink. Front of house restaurant operations had become second nature to me by this stage, and I always had my hospitality face equipped regardless of the circumstance. But on this day, it was certainly genuine, as I had oodles of hope residing in my thoughts, especially after my little sojourn in Dunedin (Re: The Dunedin Hook). And as if that wasn't enough excitement to keep my spirits high, I was due to return home in just about a week's time, to see my parents, my brother, my sister, and Oh! Nessie! Maybe she was still waiting for me at the front door. Criss-crossing the restaurant, I was in and out of the kitchen, carting plates of food (th