“Ready to get something to eat?”
“Let’s go.”
Rory led the way to his colleagues, who waited outside the entrance. Rory wondered how long it would take to get a table, since he and Bernard disliked booths.
“Hey, Rory,” Jeff said.
“Hey, everyone. I want you to meet an old friend of mine, Bernard.”
Everyone shook hands and introduced themselves. Nicolas walked over and put his name in with the host. Rory could swear he slipped a twenty to the host.
“They’ll have a table for us in about ten minutes,” Nicolas said.
“Thanks, Nicolas,” Sophia said.
“So, Bernard, what do you do?” Davi asked.
“I’m an actuary for an insurance company here in San Jose,” Bernard said.
“Oh, a math guy, nice,” Jeff said.
They made small talk until the host called Nicolas’s name.
The group sat down and ordered drinks. Bernard ordered a soda.
“Not having a drink?” Nicolas asked.
“Oh, no. I don’t drink anymore,” Bernard said.
“Why?” Nicolas asked.
“Nicolas, I don’t think that’s any of our business,” Davi said.
“No, it’s okay. I had trouble with drinking a while back,” Bernard said. “So I don’t drink anymore.”
Rory helped pick up the pieces the last time Bernard spiraled. His ex, Tracy, cheated on him with some eighteen-year-old guy fresh out of high school. Emilio found Bernard and called nine-one-one. Bernard spent the night in the hospital.
Rory, along with Sarah and John, helped get Bernard sober and back on track. Bernard swore off drinking after that. Rory went to grad school the following year. He hadn’t seen Bernard since. A pang of guilt hit his gut. He wanted to tell Bernard the real reason he cut ties but couldn’t face him.
“Oh, my mom was like that,” Jeff said. “She doesn’t drink at all. If she does, she has trouble controlling it. Good for you for recognizing it and working on it. That’s amazing.”
Rory had to give it to Jeff. The man could make anyone feel comfortable around him.
The server brought their drinks, and they ordered food and the work talk started.
“I thought our generator wasn’t going to start,” Jeff admitted.
“What?” Sophia pointed her straw at him. “You, the man who reassured us it would work even if it caught fire, thought it wouldn’t work?”
“Well, we all have doubts sometimes,” Davi said.
“The good news is, we are all now graduates with our master’s degrees in electrical engineering.” Rory held up his drink, and they all clinked glasses and cheered.
Their food came, and the conversation died down as they ate. Rory dug into his steak and potatoes. His mother would be furious if she knew he was eating like this. He watched as Bernard ate his burger and fries, his go-to meal. Rory smiled.
He took a drink and caught Sophia’s eye. She smiled. Her eyes shifted to Bernard and back to him. He furrowed his brow, unable to decipher her meaning.
Rory turned to Bernard and caught sight of the food in his beard.
