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“Oh, look! A parking space!”
The only girl with them was Sandy, a friend of cousin Jake, and she pointed, wildly bouncing in her seat. “This is a friggin’ omen, you guys. No way is there a parking spot on Drinksgiving at Barnacle Ben’s!”
She was cute and perky, and Oliver wondered if she’d hang around them all night, cramping their style, but as soon as he parked Aunt Roberta’s gigantic SUV, she hopped out, and they didn’t see her again until last call.
“Who’s your friend?” Oliver asked Jake.
“Someone I went to fire academy with. Are you interested?”
“No, she’s too young for me.”
“Ha! No, I don’t think so. She’s in her early twenties, too.”
“I feel like I’m eighty,” Oliver said, following the group inside.
“You just need to get laid,” Leon said, patting him on the back. “You’ve come to the right place.”
Oliver sputtered, laughing. “Not tonight. I doubt I could get it up after that meal.”
The men roared, agreeing that a holiday dinner cooked by Big Mike Saint was a deterrent to conception.
The place was packed, as they expected, but what they didn’t expect was the throng of old friends who would converge on Oliver, fans who’d followed him since he left San Diego and who were thrilled to see him looking relatively healthy and normal following the injury that had been viewed repeatedly since it had happened.
“They say it’s why Detroit didn’t have a chance to go to the Super Bowl.”
“No offense, but Detroit never had a chance, Oliver Saint or no Oliver Saint.”
He chuckled, letting the conversation swirl around him while Leon dragged him to a table and left to get their drinks, seltzer with lime for Oliver.
A bevy of women hung on him to get their picture taken, people he knew from high school and college. Old college football teammates seemed to have followed him to Barnacle Ben’s that night, although in retrospect, it was only a few. Most of them were probably settled down with jobs and wives and even kids.
The thought had just passed through his brain when he saw Joanne out of the corner of his eye.
“I wondered if I’d see you here tonight,” she said, smiling down at him. “I’m here with Todd. Are you up to meeting him?”
So much was swirling around Oliver he missed the importance of Todd for a second and then remembered Todd was the new boyfriend.
“Sure, I can meet Todd.”
“Who’s Todd?” Jake asked.
“Not Joanne’s new boyfriend,” Leon said, frowning. “That’s uncool.”
“It’s okay, I promise. He did me a favor, but keep that under your hat.”
“My ma said the nurse at the hospital is your new maybe girlfriend.”
“Maybe, but don’t say anything now. She’s been accusing me all along, and I never even went on a date with the girl.”
Joanne walked up with Todd, a frail, small man who looked annoyed and slightly frightened. It defused any angst Oliver might have had.
He debated standing up because he’d tower over Todd, and his intention wasn’t to intimidate the guy. So when she introduced them, Oliver put his hand out and sank down in his chair so he’d have to look up at Todd. Of course, Joanne couldn’t let it go.
“Why are you cowering?” she asked, laughing.
“I’m not cowering. Do you want me to stand up?”
Without waiting for her to speak, he stood, and a snicker went around the table when Todd took a step back. Oliver was a foot taller than Todd, and at least one hundred pounds heavier.
