The handwritten menu

Source: an original fiction extract.

The café was busy when Finn arrived to help his mother. She had written the day's dishes on a board, but one letter in soup sloped into the next and the prices had been rubbed out and rewritten several times. Finn had designed a new menu on his laptop the night before. It had straight columns, a small drawing of a cup and plenty of white space. He printed twenty copies at the library and laid one beside the till. His mother said it looked lovely, then asked him to clear table four.

By midday he had replaced the old paper menus. Customers lifted the new sheets and held them close. An elderly man asked what the second dish was. Finn pointed to the neat line of pale grey lettering. The man asked him to read it aloud. At another table, a woman placed the menu beneath the lamp and tilted her head. Finn thought the room must be darker than usual. He opened the blinds, although the sun was already falling across half the tables. His mother watched him, then took an order without using the printed sheet.

During a quiet moment she said the type might be too small. Finn said it was the same size used in magazines. She said people came for lunch, not an eyesight test. Her tone was dry, and he flushed. He had spent two hours getting the columns to line up. She had not asked about any of it. He collected two menus splashed with tea and put them behind the counter, smoothing their corners before stacking them. The drawing of the cup still pleased him. He wished that could be enough.

A customer at the window called him over. She said she liked the uncluttered layout but could not easily distinguish the grey words from the cream paper. She used the edge of a napkin to show him how much larger the lettering could be without losing the columns. Finn fetched a pen. Together they marked one copy. His mother came past and added the vegetarian symbol she used on the board. Finn had forgotten that. He asked whether they could keep the drawing. His mother said of course; the cup was not what anyone was having trouble reading.

The next morning he brought a revised stack. The letters were darker and larger, and there were fewer gaps. At the window table, the customer read the specials without moving towards the lamp. Finn waited for his mother to announce that the new menus were better. She was carrying three breakfasts and asked him to bring the toast. He did. Later she pinned a copy beside the till so she could check the prices quickly. He noticed the old board was still in use outside. Someone had straightened the sloping letter in soup, but the chalk dust remained.

Consider the whole source. A reader said: “Finn’s pride gets in the way of listening, but the writer shows that his design and his mother’s practical experience can improve each other.” Evaluate how far you agree. Support your judgement with detailed references to the text and the writer’s methods.