The carriage ride was uneventful, and a touch awkward. Evan stared out the window while Alison stared at her lap. Madson insisted that they sit together, probably so he could ask Alison more questions. However, she avoided eye contact with either of them. She didn't want to be questioned anymore, and just generally wanted to go back home. 

The carriage dropped the sheriff and the deputy off first to an intact police station. Evan sighed with relief, glad to see the building still standing. Madson immediately started toward it, needing to see how the twins were doing. Evan closed the door before leaning on the window, which hadn't any glass. 

"You should come by when Madson is out. Get a proper tour when I'm not looking around for him. Might be a better experience," Evan suggested with a kind smile. 

"I think that would be good," Alison agreed. Evan nodded and waved the driver off. She stuck her head out of the window and waved before they turned the corner.

As the carriage stopped in front of Frederick's house, she could see a familiar orange headed person sitting on the porch. As she got out, she thanked the footman for the ride back to her grandfather's place. He bowed deeply before hopping back on the driver seat and speeding away. Alison stared for a moment before turning toward Chester.

"You haven't been waiting long, have you?" Alison asked. She didn't think that Chester said that he was coming over, but she still wanted to come off as somewhat polite. He shrugged.

"Not very long. Remember that friend with the restaurant I was telling you about?" Chester asked. Alison nodded as she guided him inside. He hesitated a moment, never really being in the mayor's house before. "Well, he said that he could use the help, and I told him your situation. He's fine with the immediate resignation in case the rift opens back up. At least that way you have some income."

"Where is it?"

"It's the restaurant next to the town square called The Hungry Hound," Chester answered as he closed the door behind him. "He mentioned that he wanted you to come over in the morning tomorrow to work out the details."

"That works for me," Alison answered. She sat on the old couch as dust flew into the air. She frowned, realizing that the house wasn't regularly lived in. Chester grimaced as he took a step back away from the dust.

"We could head over now, if you want. I'm feeling kinda hungry, and it's about dinner time for me. The dinner rush is almost over," Chester offered. Alison thought for a moment, about to say that she had just come back from tea with the queen. However, she retracted the comment as she only had a scone and a small cup of black tea. 

"It would be nice to see the place," Alison admitted, but before she could remind him about her lack of money, he pulled her up. 

"Then it's set. Let's go!" he instructed, dragging her out of the house. "And dinner's on me."

"I couldn't-"

"Yes, you could. I don't think Frederick has had food in the kitchen in ages, and you can't go grocery shopping," Chester reminded, cutting her off. "Just indulge me for this evening."

"Well, just once wouldn't be too bad," she whispered uncomfortably. She always made a point of being able to pay for her own food when she could. Although, she made a silent vow to pay him back when she got paid.

Chester led her around town, her arm linked with his. He had insisted in escorting her properly. Alison thought it was a bit much, but she allowed him to. He explained each building and what it was, whether it was for business or if it was residential. Then he had small anecdotes about his experiences in the area, and Alison laughed at nearly every one. 

"There it is!" Chester exclaimed while he was in the middle of a story. Alison smiled, thinking that it was a good establishment. It looked cleaner than the diner back home, which was a huge plus. "And the chef's name is Puck, and don't forget it. He tends to take that kinda stuff personally."

"I see," Alison replied nervously.

"But he's a nice guy, super laid back if you're nice. Can be a bit of a hard ass sometimes, but you shouldn't have any problems with him," Chester reassured, touching her fingers with his free hand. She nodded, a little embarrassed by his forwardness, not that he noticed it.

The Hungry Hound was a formal restaurant, which surprised Alison. She didn't think that Lochton would have such a nice place, since it was a smaller town. Chester ordered a table with the hostess, who escorted them to a table. It was small enough for just the two of them, and it was near the windows. Alison sat down across from Chester, who grabbed the menu. 

"Chester," a warning voice grumbled. Alison found a tall blonde waitress with a half apron on. Alison almost immediately noticed her bright orange eyes, catching her off guard. "Weren't you just here?"

"And now I'm back," Chester smiled. "Alison, this is Andrea, your new coworker."

"Nice to meet you," Alison added, going for a handshake. Andrea shook it with a smile before turning toward Chester again.

"So that's your scheme?" Andrea teased, turning to Alison once again. "You seem so nice, why are you hanging around this sleaze?"

"Sleaze?" Alison whispered, thinking that was a little harsh. Chester just groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Aren't you supposed to be nice to customers?" he asked, making Andrea laugh.

"What will you have?" Andrea asked as Chester ordered for himself and Alison. She was about to protest, but then decided that a broiled young chicken to share sounded pretty good. Andrea frowned by the boring order, but wrote it down. "Any drinks?"

"Send a bottle of Bébé Savoureux," Chester answered, causing Andrea's eyebrow to shoot up suspiciously.

"A bottle of wine?" she clarified as he nodded. Alison glanced between them, wondering if she really wanted wine. Andrea added the wine to her notepad before putting it in her white apron. "That will be right out."

"Thank you," Chester smiled before Andrea left.

"She seems nice," Alison informed, trying to be polite.

"She's a bitch, but she's pretty nice when I'm not around. At least, I would assume," Chester answered with a soft laugh. Alison tightened her lips into a fine line, not sure what else to say about it. 

There was a moment of silence as Alison glanced around the restaurant. It was pretty dim, lit with candles on the walls and on the chandeliers. As she scanned the room, she found Lizzy sitting across the place, surprising her.

"Lizzy's here," Alison informed before Chester looked around.

"Oh yeah, looks like she's with Richard," he noticed.

"Are they in love?"

"Where did that come from?"

"Something someone said," Alison whispered with a shrug.

"Well, I think so. They aren't officially together, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were. Richard isn't really a public person, so it wouldn't be a shock to find out that they had been dating for a few years now," Chester sighed as Alison bit her lip. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I guess I thought that Lizzy was in trouble all these years. Turns out that she was fine. She found a new life," Alison mumbled, a lump in her throat. Chester reached out and grabbed her wrist comfortingly. She shook her head, holding back the tears. "I guess I thought that when we found her, she would be excited to come back home."

"I'm sorry," Chester whispered, not sure what else to say.

"I grieved for years. Years. I was devastated that she disappeared. I didn't think that she would be doing better somewhere else," Alison sighed, shaking her head.

"Do you want to go somewhere else? We can take it out and eat at Frederick's," Chester offered before Alison shook her head.

"No, no, it's fine. She's my sister, and I'm really happy that she's doing great. I just feel kinda..."

"Like you wasted your time?" Chester guessed as she nodded.

"Exactly," Alison exhaled before Andrea came back out with two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. "But it's fine. Let's have a good time since we're here."

"Here you go," Andrea smiled, popping the cork. Chester watched as she poured the wine. "The chicken should be out pretty soon."

"No worries," Alison grinned, hiding her sad face. Andrea frowned.

"Did you make this girl cry?" Andrea demanded, turning to Chester, who held his hands up.

"Hey, I didn't do this," Chester insisted, making Alison laugh. They argued for another moment as she smiled. 

"What's going on?" a deep male voice demanded, silencing their conversation. A big burly man came over with deep dark hair. Alison noticed that his eyes were the same color as Chester's. "Andrea, are you upsetting the guests again?"

"Of course not," Andrea answered dejectedly. 

"Hey Puck!" Chester smiled.

"Chester!" the man exclaimed before scooping Chester up in a hug. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"I saw you two hours ago!" Chester squeaked, trying to talk. Puck released him as Chester panted.

"Is this the lovely Alison?" Puck smiled as he stepped toward her. Alison waited for a similar hug, but was met with an extended hand. She shook it firmly and smiled.

"It is indeed," she informed, gaining some confidence.

"Well, it is certainly wonderful to meet you. Chester told us all about your situation, and we would be happy to help you out. We hope you get home soon," Puck offered, standing straight again.

"Thank you, I would like that too," she answered.

"Shouldn't you be cooking?" Andrea mentioned before Puck stared at her for a moment. Then he dashed back to the kitchen, realizing that he had gotten too distracted. Andrea rolled her eyes. "That chicken might take another few minutes."

"That's fine," Alison replied, feeling better already. Andrea bowed her head politely before taking care of the next table.