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Ellis opens the cooler, pulling out the first beer he’s brought along. The pale ale called Luau that I love so much. Ellis pops the top and hands it to Dave.
Dave takes a nice hefty gulp, and then sets the bottle down. “Damn, that’s really good and fruity.”
I smile, happy that he’s liking it. And I sit back, in awe of how Ellis sells to this man. The confidence. The sexy conviction he exudes.
“Now, try this one. I think you’ll appreciate the smoothness of it.” He pops open the Twist & Stout, handing it over to him, and then giving me a little wink.
Dave takes a longer drink this time, letting the full flavors of the hops explode in his mouth. “Ok. This one’s a winner. I have to have this one.”
Ellis laughs. “Ok, ok. Absolutely we can get this one for you. I can do three-fifty for a half barrel. Or if you order three I can drop that down to three-twenty.”
Dave nods. “I like that price. I’ll buy the one. I don’t sell that much stout.”
“I want to show you another beer we’ve been working on and then we can discuss prices for all the different types of beer we offer.” Ellis digs into his cooler, pulling out the pink bottle with the swirly designs. “Now this is a hefeweizen geared toward women with strawberry flavors.”
Dave holds the bottle in his hands, studying it before taking a sip. “Wow, that’s a good wheat beer.” He smiles. “This is a pretty damn good idea. I have tons of women who would drink this shit up.”
Ellis laughs, getting along with the owner of this small little wooden place so well. “Let’s go over some numbers.”
My phone dings in my pocket and I glance at the screen. “I’ll be right back, I just need to take this.” I excuse myself, and once I’m far enough away I answer Poppi’s call.
She just wants to tell me the accounting paperwork she misplaced last week has been found. I step outside of the Dune Dog Cafe and run smack dab into my mother.
I end the call with Poppi. “Mom, what are you doing here?” I give her a hug, nodding toward my Aunt Carol.
“We’re having dinner. You should join us,” my mother says.
“I’m so sorry to hear about Henry.” My aunt Carol squeezes me extra tight.
“It’s ok,” I peer over my shoulder at Ellis and Dave, “I’m fine.”
“Come sit with us,” my mother nods over my shoulder, “there’ll be three of us for dinner,” she tells the hostess.
“Mom, I uhh…” Shoot. Ellis and Dave are walking this way.
Dave smiles, like the good owner of a bar would. “Thank you for coming in,” he shakes my hand, patting the other hand on Ellis’ back, “dinner’s on me.”
Both my aunt’s and my mother’s mouths drop just a bit as they scan their eyes over Ellis and Dave.
“Thank you, Dave. We’ll talk soon.”
Dave waves and walks away, leaving me with my mother and my aunt and... Ellis.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Ellis says, shaking my mother’s hand and then my aunt’s. “I’m Ellis Atwood.”
“Do you work here?” my mother asks.
He laughs a little. “No. I own the Bearded Goat Brewery.”
“I love that beer,” Aunt Carol pipes in. “Will you be joining us too?”
I shrug. “Sure, why not.” I introduce Ellis and as soon as he hears it’s my mother he grins even harder.
This isn’t how I would normally bring a man home to meet my mother, but it works.
“I’ve always loved it here,” Aunt Carol says, pointing at the decor. “The colorful surfboards everywhere are so lively.”
“I know. That’s why I recommended we come here,” my mother says with a laugh. “Kiki, what were you doing here?”
We all sit down at a picnic table, and pick up the menus already waiting for us. Ellis pushes the cooler he’s carrying under his seat and smiles. “We were selling my beer, trying our best to become a vendor here.”
My mother raises a brow. “And you needed Kiki for that? I’m confused, Kiki, did you get a job at the brewery?”
“Well, Ms…”
“Call me, Lisa,” my mother says.
“...Lisa. Kiki and I are kind of …” he doesn’t finish his thought because we actually haven’t had ‘the talk’. You know the one, the what-exactly-are-we-doing-here talk. I mean we spend so much time together, and we’ve had loads of sex, and I swear I’m connecting to this man more than I’ve ever connected with anyone, but without the actual talk neither of us wants to assume anything.
“We’re kind of seeing each other, Mom,” I pipe in, helping Ellis out.
He smiles wide, throwing his arm around my shoulder, sending chills straight down my spine. “And Kiki has been instrumental in keeping my brewery afloat.”
He’s just talking me up here. I haven’t been instru-anything.
Both my mother’s and Aunt Carol’s eyebrows raise in unison. “Really? Is this true?”
