Whatever.I don’t need folks reading into the mugs I hand out to people.They usually reflect my mood—or in the case of the poop emoji, the customers’ mood—but not this time.This time, a mug is a mug.I named this place “Mugs,” for goodness’ sake.
Ethan may be crazy-hot with a body I’d love to use as my own personal jungle gym, and that clipped, pissed-off tone he gets does weird things to my insides, but I’m not stupid enough to fall for him for real.
The Burger Shackis just that: a shack.
The concrete building painted with red and white stripes has a sloped tin-roof and two windows at the front: one where you order and a second where you pick up your food.There’s enough grease hanging in the air to clog your arteries, but as long as I don’t eat here more than once every two weeks, I figure my body can take it.
After sleeping for the last two hours, Rick hoovers food into his mouth like he hasn’t eaten in days.Given his emaciated-looking arms and gaunt cheeks, he probably hasn’t.“Looks like Mugs is doing well,” he mumbles around a huge bite of his second burger, mustard smeared across his stubbled chin.
His second burger that I paid for because he “accidentally” left his wallet in his truck.When I asked where his truck was, he said he left it at the Sand Dollar.
Heaven forbid he come straight to see his only child.No, no.His favorite bar stool was far more important.
At least he didn’t drive drunk.
Small mercies.
Lola must not be working today.Otherwise, she would have texted to give me a heads-up that Rick was here.
I swirl a fry in ketchup, not really wanting to talk to him about my business.
I want to make my dad proud of me as much as anyone else, but every time he sees me succeeding, I get the feeling that my success pisses him off.So I downplay it as much as possible.Instead of saying we’re having our most prosperous year, and that I’m thinking of adding an outdoor seating area, I go with something more neutral.“I guess so.”
“What are you talking about?”He snorts.“The place was packed, and the season hasn’t even started.”
“The season seems to come earlier every year.”More and more folks try to avoid the massive price hike that happens with rentals after Memorial Day.“How about you?What are you up to these days?”
He grabs a fistful of my fries, stuffing them between his greasy lips.“You know how it is.One minute you have a job, the next, you don’t.”
Yeah, I don’t know anything about that.I’ve been working since I was sixteen.
I push the rest of my fries toward him, my appetite gone.“Where are you living?”He moves around so much it’s hard to keep track.Six months ago, it was Santa Fe.A few months before that, it was Winslow, Arizona.
“Raleigh.”
“You’re in North Carolina?”That’s the closest he’s lived to me in a decade.
“Yep.Have a nice place ’n everything.You should come by someday.”
“Maybe I will.”
I won’t.The last time I tried to visit Rick, he’d moved and didn’t tell me.I was twenty-one, fresh out of college, and looking forward to reconnecting with my dad.Instead, I ended up alone in a shitty motel for a night before driving seven hours the following day to get back home.
His gaze flicks to mine, then darts away again.“You still livin’ in the old cottage, or did you get yourself some fancy new place like your mother?”
Oh, God… not the “your mother” rabbit hole.“I’m still in the cottage.”
The wrinkles around his eyes deepen as he squints across the table at me.“Still got that spare bed?”
Ahh, so this is why he wanted to grab dinner.He’s trying to find a place to stay.
I wish I could say I’m surprised, but at this stage, the only thing that would surprise me is if Rick actually followed through on something.“Yeah, I have a spare bed.”
“Mind giving your old man a place to stay for the week?”
I’d rather run naked through traffic, but the last time I told him to find somewhere else to stay, he ended up camping out in front of Mugs.
I can’t have folks arrive in the morning to see my own father sleeping rough at my work.Plus, there’s the approaching storm to consider.I checked the weather app on my phone while we were waiting for our order.The system might not hit us, but something is coming.The air feels heavy with impending rain.
