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“You did what? I paid for that!”
No, you technically didn’t.
“I’m terribly sorry but it’s our policy. We can’t hold to-go boxes, it’s against restaurant state regulations. You know, sanitation and all,” I say, pulling the lie out of my ass.
She huffs and stomps out, mumbling something about leaving a bad review. Since I already knew she was the type to do that, I wave and smile. “Have the day you deserve, ma’am!”
I don’t think she heard me, but I guess I’ll find out when I log into Yelp or Google later. Roman Silverstone is going to have my head, but I don’t care. It was totally worth the look on the smug bitch’s face.
Bless her heart.
Two
Quinn
I roll my eyes and am glad my grandmother can’t see it. “I know, Memaw, but I’m not ready. I like my job and my life here.”
“Child, you’re almost thirty. You ain’t gettin’ no younger and it’s time to settle down. Ya hear me?”
“Maybe I don’t wanna go down that road again. Have you ever thought of that?” I ask, annoyed, while I stir pasta on the stove.
This is the typical conversation I have with my grandmother. I call to say hi and check in, she berates me about moving back to Alabama and finding a husband.
“I know, honey child. I know. I just think you settled too quickly on that assho’. You can find someone nice here,” she says.
I can at least acknowledge that she’s partially right. There doesn’t seem to be a big selection of nice bachelors here. There’s only one gorgeous, unobtainable one who interests me, anyway. “How’s Pawpaw?” I ask, pulling out a colander from the cupboard and setting it into the sink.
“Same ol’ grump,” she says, but I can hear the smile in her voice. “Gotta get a dang heart thing done on Fridee.”
I stop stirring. “What do you mean? Is he all right?”
She sounds like she’s switching the phone to the other ear. “Yeah, he’s fine. Just gotta get some tests done to make sure his ticker’s all right. I told the doc, you know he ain’t gonna keel over anytime soon. He’s too damn stubborn for that.”
“You’re one to talk, woman!” I hear my grandfather call out in the background.
“Tell him hi for me,” I say, laughing as I pour the steaming pasta and water into the colander and set the empty pot back onto the stove, turning off the burner.
“Quinny says hi,” my grandmother calls out.
“Stop calling me that,” I say, but I know it’ll fall on deaf ears.
“Never,” she replies. “Well, I better go, supper’s ready and I got your sister’s rugrats over here for the night.”
I laugh. “Have fun with that.”
“Bye, honey.” She ends the call and I set my phone on the counter, then add cheese and shredded chicken to my noodles.
I sit in front of the television and turn on a show I’d been bingeing. While I wait for it to load because my Wi-Fi sucks in this house, I think about my conversation with my granny. My entire family can’t understand why I stayed here in Denver and never moved back to Mobile after I divorced my ex. Six years ago, I’d met him online and foolishly moved here to be with him. Despite being a fairly talented and trained car mechanic, he never worked a steady job the whole time we were together, and he surfed around from job to job. After a few years, I just felt stuck.
My family also doesn’t know about my criminal record and I plan for it to stay that way. I was lucky Silver gave me a chance and hired me, and I feel like I have a new lease on life now. I sort of feel like I owe it to them to stay and run their biggest brewery in the Denver area. They have been good to me, and I want to show them my gratitude. Still, I have two sisters, a brother, both my parents, and my grandparents there. Plus, six nieces and nephews. I do fly back on holidays to see them, but I enjoy my life here. I love my job (despite the Karens) and my house—a house I’d never have if it weren’t for Lincoln Silverstone.
Four years ago, Silver Holdings started up an employee homebuyer program. My ex and I quickly jumped on it, as we wanted to buy here but didn’t have enough for a down payment. They helped us save it through paycheck withholdings, matched the down payment, and then gave us loans through the company. They bought the property, then sold it back to us with a low-interest loan. Garrett and I had decided on a three-bedroom house and were happy there for a couple of years… until we weren’t.
Until I couldn’t take it anymore.
Until he threatened my life.
I shudder and force myself to think of something else. The screen flickering to life alerts me that the show is ready. I use the remote to click on it, ready to be lost in witches and magic instead of the horrors of my regretful past.
