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They began this wild ride and I have them to thank for the man standing with me now.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
BILLY
I didn’t getto bask in the bliss of being a married man for long.
Two days after the party, Tom and Cash showed up on my doorstep in uniform, and my heart stopped when I saw them standing there.
Because I knew what they came to say.
“Al passed away last night, Billy.”
The news hit me so hard I fell to the floor, and the two of them knelt down, surrounding me and we cried together.
Adley came around the corner and, seeing us like that, ran to me. Tom told her the news, and then, together, we cried for the man who was a second dad to me, the one who never gave up and pushed me to be better.
Plans for a honeymoon were put on hold while the town came together to mourn a man who was a staple here. The church was packed, and the cemetery was full, everyone wanting their turn insaying goodbye to a man who watched this town grow from the ground up.
I closed Moose’s for the time being.
Days went by and I replayed our last conversation about the bar over and over in my head. I stood solid for my wife, but inside I was dying. I was screaming out, wanting one more conversation. One more bit of wisdom. One more ‘atta boy’ from the man who used to chase me out of the bar, who cut me off countless times, who called my brothers to come get me and who finally thought I was good enough to pass the place to.
After three weeks of the bar being shut down, Adam came to me and said the town was asking for me to open it. They all got wind that I owned it now and didn’t want to give it up. They wanted a place to come and celebrate Al, to share all the old stories, and to create new ones.
How could I say no? Despite wanting to never step foot in there again, I did. Because he would have wanted me to. Al had a plan all along.
“Adley? I’m ready.”
She rushed right to me and hugged me. “Are you sure?”
“No, but he’d want me to be ready.”
“I’ll call the others.”
We went down to the bar together. I opened it for us only and we slowly began cleaning it up. The feeling of being here, knowing Al would never be next to me again, was strange, but I also felt like it just meant someone else would be beside me.
“Bill, I found the paperwork in the office. There’s an envelope addressed to you, too.” Adam handed me the deed and the contract we signed, along with an envelope I didn’t know if I should open here or not.
Adley stands beside me, rubbing my back. “Do you want to read it alone?”
Looking at my brothers and their wives, and my dad, I see their support, and I know I’m surrounded by the love that’s going to carry me through this.
“No, I want to do it here. Let’s go to our table.”
We all sit around the largest table in the place, the one that whenever we came here was always reserved for the Casanovas. Dad is here, but Mom stayed with the babies. Adam and Chelsea, Tom and Farrah, Jackson and Francesca, and Britt and Bobby all take their seats while Adley sits down, and I stand in front of them.
I place the deed and contract on the table and then open the envelope to find a will. Unfolding it, I begin to skim it until I find my name. Laughing, I drop the paper to my side.
“What’s it say?”
“This guy. He left me the bar in his will.”
“But I thought you said he sold it to you?”
“He did! The man got me for my last seventy-three dollars that day.” Chuckling, I remember him emptying my wallet. Even then, there was never a choice. He wanted me to step into his spot and he was ensuring it happened on all ends.
“Guess he wanted to make sure you took it, no matter what.”
