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“To your first night out in nearly a year. Enjoy.”
I tapped my glass to my friend Dex’s, then took a long drink before setting it down.
“It’s only been nine months, but thanks.”
For the first time in a long time, Dex and I are hanging out at The Rusty Skipper. We used to come here a couple times a week, but since he got married, that dwindled down to maybe once a month. And it hasn’t happened at all since the twins were born.
“So, what’s it like without Courtney and the twins home?”
“Quiet. Sometimes too quiet,” Dex said. “I think I’ve gotten used to the chaos and don’t know how to function without it.”
“I’ll be honest, I never thought you’d settle down.”
“Me neither.” He shook his head. “Then Courtney came to town and that was it.”
Dexter Doyle is my best friend and was my one-time wing man on the Seaside dating scene. But he fell head over heels in love with a woman who came here on vacation a few years ago. They did the long-distance thing for a little while, then he somehow convinced her to move here permanently. They married three years ago and the twins, Andrew and Aaron, came last October. It’s been interesting watching him transform into a married man and father.
“So how long is she visiting her parents?”
“A week. She’s only been gone two days and it seems like forever.”
“That’s love.”
His eyes widened.
“I never thought I’d ever hear you say something so sappy.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just shrugged and perused the mound of nachos. After finding one perfectly piled with meat, cheese, salsa, and a single jalapeno, I picked it up and popped it into my mouth.
“Have you been seeing anyone lately?” he asked when it was obvious I wasn’t going to say more.
“No, not in a while,” I said. “You know what it’s like here.”
I dated a couple women who lived in town when I was in my early twenties, but that got messy a few times when they wanted more and I didn’t. So I started focusing on the ones who were just visiting, especially the festival goers. They were usually just up for a fun, uncomplicated, fling. But at some point, that got monotonous.
“Hey, all the other guys got married and I found Courtney. You never know who’s going to pop into town and change your life.”
Through the years, our whole friend group got married. Dex and I were the last singletons, and now it’s just me. And it seems that anytime I see my old friends, instead of wanting to hang out, they try to set me up with someone.
“What is it with you married people always trying to get the rest of us hitched?”
“Hey, when you find something good, you share it with your friends.” He laughed then finished his beer in one long gulp. “Are you having another one?”
“Just one more,” I said. “I’m fixing a couple things at Winnie Everly’s tomorrow and I want to get an early start so I finish before Pop shows up.”
“I’m surprised he’s not going there himself.”
He waggled his eyebrows.
“He has a meeting with the festival committee in the morning. After he asked me if I could go, he said he could make it in the afternoon, but his gout has been acting up so I want him to take a break.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Thanks, I’ll definitely need it.”
