Kerry reaches for my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too, Kerry.”
“I come here for dinner once a week,” Ron explains. “Kerry here is studying to be a nurse, and she’s gonna be a damn good one.”
Ron beams at her like a proud father or grandfather, and something about the gesture makes my heart turn soft, like a marshmallow.
“We all love Mr. Ron,” Kerry says as a nearby server looks up from his table and waves in our direction.
“Hey, Ron,” he shouts. “What’s good, my man?”
Ron raises a hand to him. “Nice to see you, Owen.”
“You want your usual table?” Kerry asks, grabbing a couple of menus and handing them to us.
“Sure,” he answers. “If it’s available.”
“Head on back.” Kerry gestures with a nod to the right. “Owen will be with y’all in just a minute.”
“Thank you, dear.” Ron places one hand on the small of my back and guides me through the cozy, dimly-lit pub. He pulls a chair out for me at a high top by a window that looks out on Main Street. It’s a breathtaking view. I forgot how magical our little town becomes at Christmas, decked out like a holiday postcard.
“I’ve been coming here once a week for the last two years,” he says. “After I retired, I quickly discovered how much I missed being around people. I found myself coming in for dinner once a week just for the conversation. Not that the food isn’t spectacular too, because it is.”
“What did you do?” I ask, folding my hands on the table.
“I was a high school music instructor out in Franklin. But Loving’s been home for most of my life.”
“So, retirement, huh?” I say. “What’s that been like?”
He chuckles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I started teaching private piano lessons six weeks after my last day of work, if that tells you anything. I was bored out of my mind. What about you? Are you still working?”
“I have my own interior design business, MJ Designs. Aside from my kids and my grandkids, it’s my whole life. Honestly, the idea of retiring makes me feel panicky. I know it’s the thingpeople do when they get to be our age, but God, what am I supposed to do all day? I can hardly sit still as it is.”
“There’s only so much daytime television one can take. And naps. God knows, I took enough naps to last me a lifetime. I got caught up on fifty years’ worth of lost sleep.”
“Look what the cat dragged in.” The man I recognize as Owen appears beside our table and gives Ron’s shoulder a squeeze. “We missed you these last couple weeks. You go on vacation or something?”
“Nothing quite that glamorous,” Ron says. “My appendix ruptured, and I had to have surgery to get the thing taken out.”
“Oh no.” Owen folds his arms over his broad chest. “Are you okay now?”
“I feel great,” Ron replies. “Truly.”
“You should, with this lovely lady sitting across from you,” Owen says, directing his attention to me.
Ron smiles. “Owen, this is my new friend MJ. She and her kids helped me with June Bug while I was recovering. MJ’s daughter is the veterinarian in town.”
Owen’s eyes light up. “Dr. Haggerty?”
“That’s my girl,” I say.
“My dog loves her, and he’s a crotchety old fart, so that’s saying a lot.” Owen chuckles. “And her sister, the groomer.”
“That would be Lucy.” I love when I meet clients or chat with a new acquaintance, and they find out who my kids are. The information is always met with a compliment or anecdote that fill me with pride.
“That’s right.” Owen nods. “Well, my friends, we need to celebrate. We have the famous Dr. Haggerty’s mom in the houseandRon is back in action. What do you say we start with some drinks?”
“That sounds great,” Ron says. “I’ll have my usual.”
