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“I’m so glad you got here safely,” Melanie said.
“Do you need any help unloading?” George asked.
I smiled and shook my head. “No, thank you. Stephanie and I managed to get the truck unloaded before we came over here. I haven’t unpacked anything, yet. But just having everything in the apartment feels like a victory.”
“Well, come on in and help me finish dinner. You look like you could use a good meal and some relaxation.”
“I’m not going to argue that,” I said.
Stephanie and I spent the evening with her parents eating dinner and reminiscing over old times. I would have stayed longer, but the walls of boxes filling up the rooms of my apartment loomed over me. I needed to at least get the basics unpacked so I could settle in. Like I told Stephanie, I didn’t know how long I was going to be in Astoria. I came back to help my mother take care of my father while he recovered, and none of us knew how long that might be. It would be best if I was settled in as soon as possible so I could really focus on what needed to be done here.
As soon as we got back to the apartment, Stephanie surprised me by pulling an overnight bag out of the trunk along with a small cooler.
“Up for an old-fashioned sleepover?” she asked.
“Absolutely. What’s in the cooler?”
We got inside, and she propped the cooler on the one corner of the dining area table that was visible. Popping the lid, she revealed a bottle of wine, cheese, and chocolate.
“Maybe not so old-fashioned,” she said.
I laughed and directed her to the kitchen boxes so she could find the wine opener and glasses. We drank and laughed as we unpacked. It was much easier going through the overwhelming process of organizing and settling in with my best friend there to do it with me. We were having a blast until Stephanie dropped the question I’d been waiting and dreading to hear.
“Does Mason know you’re back?”
My heart gave a hard pound in my chest, and I shook my head. My lips pressed hard together, I focused on organizing my books in the shelf in front of me.
“I don’t really want to talk about him,” I said.
Thankfully, Stephanie took the hint and dropped it.2MasonIt was a pretty bad look for the bar when my brothers and I nearly outnumbered the actual customers. The only other people there were a couple of old guys sitting on the stools and scattered at the few tables. They were the town drunks, known for coming in and nursing drinks from opening until close. These were the type of people who woke up still a little bit alcohol soaked from the night before and immediately got going again. When their families tired of them drinking at home, or the lack of having a family at home got to them enough, they made their way here to the bar.
The Hollow was like another home for them. But maybe not in the heartwarming way that sounded. More like they just wandered in already three sheets to the wind and draped themselves over whatever seat they made it to. A beer or two filled up the hours from the time the door opened until I locked it behind them in the wee hours of the morning. It wasn’t unheard of for one of us to have to call in the police to give a regular customer a nudge out of the bar if they didn’t sober up over the course of the evening. Sometimes they got a ride to a cozy barred room for the night.
Too bad the cops weren’t allowed to drink while they were on the job. We could use the extra customers.
It had been a long time since we had a busy weekend. Hell, it had been a while since we’d had a truly busy night. The bar used to be a favorite place in Astoria. Every night people packed into the space and stayed until we shut it down. Drinks, food, a theme night every now and then. It was hopping and fulfilled the dream my brothers and I had from the time we were kids and started talking about having our own bar. Then something changed.
During the good times, the bar seemed like it really would be our saving grace. We’d talked about having a bar when we were young, but none of us ever took the steps to make that happen. We just kind of drifted around in life finding other things, looking for our own paths. Jordan left to serve in the military. Tom went to San Francisco and started up a tech company. It was like the family shattered.
But then our world really did come down around us.
Our father’s diagnosis with cancer right before Tom moved away was a hard blow. It came out of nowhere, but he wouldn’t let us stop our lives because of it. He practically threw Tom onto the train that transported him to San Francisco. The oldest of the brothers, Tom, tried to change his mind about leaving and said it was his responsibility to be there to take care of our father. But Dad wouldn’t hear anything of it. That wasn’t his job. Tom’s job was to go find his own life and do what made him happy. According to Dad, our parents had given of themselves and everything they had to raise their brood of boys. Giving it all up would put all that to waste.
