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“At home, being party poopers,” I say with a sigh.
Her hands pull up on her light-pink pants. “They should try Depends. Might help them get out more.”
She takes a seat, and I offer her the remaining full glass. I watch her sniff the sugared edge, shrug, then take a drink. A small bit dribbles down her lip and lands on her flower print shirt.
“Shit. I just bought this.”
I nearly choke at her choice in words. “Put a little rubbing alcohol on it when you’re home and it will be just fine after washing.”
She looks me up and down with a smirk on her wrinkly face. “Spill a few drinks in your nights?”
I shrug. “Possibly.”
“I’m Louise.” She extends her hand, and I accept the gesture.
“Kenzie,” I say, then finish my second drink and reach for the pitcher to fill it back up.
I didn’t intend to party it up with Grandma, but the lonely can’t be choosy. I’ll take her. Though, my eyes cut to the businessman at the bar again. He would have been an excellent candidate as well.
Louise must follow my stare, because she says, “If you take a picture, you can think of him when you’re home later taking care of business.”
Once again, I can’t breathe, and I end up snorting so loud that half the bar turns our way. Including the hottie from the bar.
He cuts a glare at me while he continues to speak into the phone. Okay, maybe he wouldn’t have been a great choice in…whatever my dirty mind was conjuring.
My attention swivels back to Louise. “What brings you out tonight?”
She hiccups, her drink almost half gone already. “This place used to be a speakeasy when I was your age. It’s where I met my husband. Today should be our fifty-fifth anniversary, but my Marty passed away last year. I thought revisiting where we met might cheer me up.”
My mood turns, and my heart aches for her. I move to reach for her hand on the table and offer my condolences, but she pulls it away.
“I lived most of my life with the most wonderful man in the world and made decades of memories with him and our family. I don’t need anyone to be sad for me. If anything, you should be jealous.” She smiles and continues sipping her stolen drink.
I laugh, this time quieter. “You know, a few months ago, I would have told you I wasn’t in the slightest, but now? Yeah, I think I am.”
She nods toward the businessman. “Why don’t you go make another new friend and take care of your problem, then?”
I shake my head. “Things aren’t as simple as they used to be.”
She raises a gray brow at me. “Aren’t they, though? You find the person you’re attracted to, chat with them, make sure they’re not a murderer, and then voila!”
Louise flicks her fingers like she’s making fireworks with her hands, and I chuckle again. “You make it sound so easy.”
“And your generation makes everything so complicated.”
I raise my glass toward her. “Amen, Louise.”
We sit in companionable silence while we both enjoy our margaritas and the classic rock playing from the speakers around the bar.
When Louise finishes first, she sighs and leans forward. “Well, Kenzie, it was lovely to meet you, but I’ve done what I came here to do. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
I’m mid-sip when she slips off her stool, and by the time I can use my voice again, she’s already halfway to the door.
Loneliness creeps back in, and I find myself looking toward my right for the umpteenth time. Though, I swear to myself that it’s not to peek at the hottie’s broad shoulders or to notice how the ends of his finger-length russet hair curl just over the collar of his shirt.
Nope. Absolutely not.
Before I do something I probably shouldn’t, I head to the bathroom—taking my newly refilled drink with me, because a girl can never be too careful—and a part of me hopes he’s gone by the time I return.
