AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We could always do it here.”
I looked over at Beau to see if he was joking. It didn’t appear he was. I wouldn’t put him on the spot in front of Cord, but when we were alone later, I’d ask if he’d consider it. Not having the ceremony close to home would matter more to him than me since he had more friends and family there than I did.
“Have you heard from Cru?” I asked.
He looked out the driver’s side window and shook his head. It was something else I should’ve waited until we were alone to ask.
“Here’s the place. I hope you don’t mind having roast beef again,” said Cord. “They have other stuff, though, if you do mind.” Beau pulled into the parking lot of a place that looked as though it had once been a house, like the restaurant we ate at the first night when we met Mr. Allen and his son.
“It says it’s been here since 1837,” I said, pointing to the sign when Beau opened my door.
“Must be quite good, then.”
Walking in felt like we’d stepped back in time. The waitresses all wore pristine white uniforms with green aprons, and the men behind the bar wore white shirts and bow ties.
Black-and-white photos lined the walls throughout the place, and when the waitress took our order, I asked if it would be okay for me to walk around to look at them.
“That’s what they’re here for, honey,” she said, winking.
The three of us stood, and because the space was tight, Cord went in one direction and Beau and I went in the other. Many of the images were of customers throughout the years.
“Hey, look at this,” Cord said from the other side of the room.
“Is that Cena and Manley?” Beau asked.
I took a closer look. “It is, and it says it was taken in 1975, the same year Manley died.” The two were holding hands, sitting close enough that their arms touched. “They look so in love,” I murmured.
“And they were,” said an older gentleman sitting at an adjacent table.
“Did you know them?” I asked.
“Very well. Their son and I went to school together, so I was frequently invited to the Lilacs. Are you familiar with the place?”
“We are,” Beau responded. “Quite lovely.”
The man rested his hand on his chin. “They used to have amazing parties there in those days. Any occasion they could think of. Hell of a thing, the way Manley died. Worse was how his son went.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Both were killed in car accidents, several years apart, of course. With Junior, though, rumor was his brakes had been tampered with. Couldn’t ever prove it. The car veered off the road and went over an embankment straight into Buffalo Creek. The condition of the car made it nearly impossible to prove anything.”
“Wow,” I said under my breath.
The man shook his head. “Some say it was his good-for-nothing nephew who did the tampering. Others say Junior had been drinking, but I knew better. After losing his dad that way, he never would’ve drove while intoxicated.”
I looked beyond the man to our table, where the waitress had delivered our food. Beau noticed the same thing.
“Thank you for your time,” he said, reaching out to shake the man’s hand.
“You look a lot like the pictures of Blanche they had in practically every room at the Lilacs. That was Junior’s sister. He was only four when she died. You some relation?”
“Distant,” I murmured.
“Enjoy your lunch,” he said, raising his hand in a wave.
“Wow,” Cord said under his breath once we’d taken our seats. “Someone should write a book about the Coverts.”
I agreed.
