“Yeah.” Avery took a sip of coffee, swallowing it slowly as he shook his head. “He keeps bitching about the cost, which is ridiculous. It’s not like he can’t afford it. I think it’s just that hedoesn’t like the idea of someone telling him something might be wrong.”
“That’sdefinitelyevery dad over fifty,” I said and he laughed, but something was off about it, making it sound just a little bit wrong. My gut twisted, suspicion lodging deep inside. “Is there anything specific you guys are worried about?”
Strangely, he didn’t answer right away, and that amplified the bad feeling suddenly swimming around inside. Finally, he shook his head again and brought a hand up to squeeze the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Maybe. We’ve just noticed a few little things lately.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He glanced into his coffee cup and inhaled a deep breath. “It’s nothing major. Mostly just some blips that keep popping up on the business side of the shop. Orders he forgets he’s already placed. Lost invoices. Numbers that get mixed up.”
“I’m assuming he hasn’t always been bad with paperwork?”
Avery scoffed down a laugh. “He’s been running this place since before I was born. He can basically do inventory in his head. Our customers used to receive the world’s most comprehensive quotes and our supplies were paid for before the ink on their invoices had time to dry.”
As he said it, memories of the past few weeks popped into my head, playing differently now from how I’d experienced them at the time. Clyde wandering around the shop sometimes, looking kind of absent. I’d thought he was just distracted. Busy.
I’d thought the same when he’d repeated himself on occasion, but I’d also seen Raquel watching him, her brow slightly puckered before she’d steer him gently back to his office or remind him what he’d been saying if he trailed off mid-thought.
Avery leaned against the workbench, his features a little drawn and his gaze faraway. “I’ve been stepping in more lately,trying to help out with the things he’s been struggling with, but I don’t think that’s enough.”
I refocused on him. “What are you saying?”
“I want him to retire. He deserves to.” Avery raked a hand through his dark hair and blew out a heavy breath. “I’m pretty sure he just needs a break, you know? He’s spent his whole life here, in this shop, working hard to provide for us. It’s time for him to let us do the providing.”
“How does he feel about that?”
Avery snorted. “After Mom died, this place became his whole life. He threw himself into it and it’s been keeping him going ever since. I don’t think he really knows what else to do with his time.”
“Yeah, I can relate to that,” I said after a moment. “We were in a similar situation with my dad for a long time, but he finally retired recently and he’s been finding stuff to keep himself busy.”
I didn’t go into detail, but only because it wouldn’t help much if I did. If telling Avery about all of dad’s trips to the Maldives, playing golf, and becoming a king at bingo would’ve helped Clyde, I would have told him in a heartbeat, but somehow, I didn’t think that would make much of a difference.
Avery sighed, staring out at the heat shimmering on the street beyond the parking lot like he was waiting for news to come flying in. “So retirement is treating him well, your dad?”
I nodded. “There were a few false starts. You know, times when we thought he was retiring, but he ended up going to the office or attending meetings anyway.”
“That sounds about right.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s all good now. He’s finally fully retired and my oldest brother took over the family business. It just took some time for us to get there.”
“Well, I hope we’ll be following in your footsteps soon.” He drained the rest of his coffee and set the dirty mug down. Then he straightened and scrubbed both hands over his face. “Anyway, one thing at a time, I guess. At least Dad is seeing a doctor now. Hopefully, we’ll know more soon, and in the meantime, I’ll keep reminding him that there’s more to life that just the shop.”
“Good luck with that,” I said, and I meant it. “Dads don’t tend to just hand over the keys to the kingdom without kicking up at least a little bit of a fuss.”
He laughed. “We’re prepared for the fuss. I’d just like to get to the point of it actually happening. For now, though, have you got plans for the weekend?”
“Outside of checking off a few more items from Frieda’s never-ending to-do list? Nope. Why? What do you have in mind?”
“A few of us are going camping at the lake. Do you want to come?”
“There’s a lake in Quartz Pass?”
“No.” He grinned. “There’s a man-made lake not too far outside of Quartz Pass, though. It’s a little underwhelming if you’re imagining something like the canyon, nature in all its majesty or whatnot, but the fishing is decent and it’s always fun trying to start a campfire before we get too drunk.”
“That sounds completely safe,” I said. “I’m in.”
“You’ll be fine.” He laughed. “I’m thinking about inviting Raquel too, and unlike most of my friends, she does actually know how to start a fire.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I shook my head, hiding the flicker of excitement I felt over the possibility of her joining us for the weekend.Raquel knows how to start my fire.
