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“He’s so adorable,” I said.
Ava grinned. “I can’t believe he’s almost eight months old. It doesn’t feel like it could possibly be that long since I had him. At the same time, I can’t imagine not having him. Obviously, I know there was a time before him and that he hasn’t always been here, but there are a lot of times when I can barely remember what it was like not being a mother. Like, I’ll think of a memory and wonder where he is.”
I poured water into the mug and took a sip. “This is good.”
“What flavor did you choose?” she asked.
“Peppermint. I hoped it would help the nausea,” I said.
“You’re feeling sick? Here, let me get you my go-to remedy,” she said. She put together a plate of buttered saltine crackers and a glass of ginger ale over lots of ice. “Try this. I found that hot things sometimes made me feel worse, but really cold ginger ale and buttered crackers fixed it every time.”
I tried a few bites of it. The crackers were strangely delicious, and I couldn’t get enough of the ginger ale. After a few sips, I was feeling much better.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll definitely have to remember this. I really appreciate all your help.”
“Of course,” Ava said, making her own cup of tea, then going back to Robert to keep feeding him. “We’re going to be sisters soon.”
I laughed. It was sweet of her to say and obviously what I wanted. But since we still hadn’t really talked about what we were or the future we might have together, all I could do was hope.37Tom“You have got to be kidding me,” Mason said.
“What?” Jordan said, his eyes scrunching nearly shut and his mouth locked open like a bass on a hook.
“H-how?” Matt asks, as confused as the rest of the brothers, but trying to get past the shock.
“Fuck how,” Jordan said. “How do they know it’s true? Why should we believe them?”
“Because they caught him and he confessed, that’s why,” I said, trying to calm my little brother down. He was pacing and obviously in shock. More than any of us, Jordan had been absolutely sure it was Danny and was the most adamant that we needed to intervene when the cops wouldn’t.
“Confessed? What, did they beat him up first?” he asked. I let the words hang in the air for a moment before I shifted in my seat. He was angry, and I was sure the majority of that anger was now being directed at himself and he was lashing out.
“Do you really believe that?” I asked.
Jordan’s shoulders slumped, and he collapsed into a chair, putting his head into his hand sideways so he could still look at me.
“No, dammit,” he said, defeated.
“So, a college kid?” Tyler asked, somehow remaining the calmest of us. I suspected that he might be the most skeptical of Danny being involved, and this was just proving his point.
“Yeah, apparently he was hammered out of his mind and got tossed out of the bar earlier that night. Mason, do you remember anyone like that?” I asked. He seemed to think for a moment, and then his eyes widened.
“Oh, shit. Yes. I do, some spoilt rich brat, came in already drunk and without an ID. I told him he could stay and sit with his friends, because they all seemed sober and had theirs, but he couldn’t drink. Then I caught him drinking their beer,” he said,
“And I tossed him,” Matt said. “I remember Mason telling me about him, but he was busy behind the bar. So, I went up and asked him to leave. He acted like a fool trying to get up like he was going to fight me, but one of his buddies got him out of there without any problems. I guess he came back.”
“A college kid,” Jordan scoffed, the anger that bubbled in him starting to simmer. “Just some stupid college kid. Jesus. I was ready to beat the hell out of Danny.”
“Speaking of,” I said, making eye contact with him. “You and I owe him an apology. We both made accusations I’d like to take back.”
“All of us do,” Mason said before Jordan could respond. “We all went to the bar together to accuse him, and we all sat around this table and said awful things about him. We all should head down there together to make it right.”
I nodded. “You’re right. No worries one of us could still harbor a grudge if we all do it together. We’re all agreed?”
There was a general mumbling agreement, and we stood.
“I’ll tell the girls we’re headed that way,” Mason said, leaving the room.
“I still think he’s a dick,” Jordan said.
“He is,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. “But being a dick isn’t the same as burning down our bar.”
