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“Good grief, the kid is hopeless. I’ll never forgive you for abandoning me to Ms. Anna’s great grandson.”
I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. After moving in with Adam, I’d really dragged my feet on talking to Brooks about cutting back on my shifts. He’d been a great boss, hiring me on the spot when I was a desperate single mom. The thought of letting him down made me feel sick to my stomach. I shouldn’t have worried, he’d made the conversation easy.
“I figured this was coming,” Brooks leaned back, his ancient desk chair creaking in protest. “He good to you and Miles?”
My hands had been clasped in my lap, my fingers twisting together. The question hadn’t been asked in judgment but I bristled nonetheless. Next to Miles, Adam was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
“He’s more than good to us. I don’t deserve him,” My forced laugh fell flat. I’d meant it to come out like a joke but the statement was one I’d thought more than once when my head went to dark places.
Brooks’ eyes softened and he uncrossed his arms, making him look younger and less like the grizzled cowboy he was. “I think Gage would agree with me in saying there’s no way that’s true. You and that boy of yours deserve happiness, deserve all the good things this life has to offer. Just make sure he knows that we’ve got your back. You’ve got people, Mia, and we’re always here for you.”
My eyes filled and I sniffed loudly, I was two seconds away from an ugly cry. He pushed away from the desk, his hands hovering in the air and a look of pure panic on his face. Brooks didn’t handle shows of emotion well, Bear said he was like a robot with a cowboy hat. He gave me an awkward side hug before booking it out of his office, saying something about needing to check the taps.
Gossip travels fast in small towns and it wasn’t twenty-four hours later that Ms. Anna was strolling into the bar. It was the afternoon, in between the lunch and dinner rush. Brooks was doing inventory behind the bar and Liz and I were sitting at one of the tables rolling silverware.
Ms. Anna was dressed to the nines in a navy-blue skirt suit with tan nylons and matching navy-blue pumps. A brown alligator purse hung from her thin wrist and a sparkling brooch in the shape of a fox was pinned to her lapel. The conversation was short, Brooks’ posture going more and more tense while she spoke.
She raised a wrinkled hand toward us, turned to leave and when the door shut behind her, Brooks was staring at the ceiling, both hands locked behind his neck. It was a pose I’d seen him in many times, like when he the liquor distributor forgot part of our order.
When he’d closed himself in his office, Liz and I ran to Bear to get the scoop. He’d been pretending to wipe down the bar the whole time and we knew he’d heard every word.
Turned out that Ms. Anna had come in to suggest her great grandson, Jason, for the open waitstaff position. She thought that the responsibility would be good for him and not a soul in this town would say no to Ms. Anna. She was a little kooky but she was also the first person to help out when someone needed it.
Liz told me that when Brooks had applied for his permits with the city, it was Ms. Anna that’d talked to the mayor. He’d insisted that a bar would bring in all kinds of ‘ne’er-do-wells.’ Ms. Anna had called him a stuffed shirt who hated fun and she could think of nothing finer than a country bar where she could drink a pitcher of cold beer and shake it on the dance floor.
Ms. Anna did come in at least once a week for dinner with her quilting circle and they ordered at least three pitchers every time. They were great tippers and hilarious to boot.
Now, Liz and I were stuck training the kid and bless his heart, he wasn’t any better now than he’d been the first hour. All week long it had been mixed up orders, broken glasses and angry customers. None of it fazed Jason one bit but Bear was going to lose it if he had to clean up another mess.
“Maybe I should keep my shifts a little longer until he gets the hang of it.”
“Absolutely not, you are going to stick with your plans.” Liz grabbed my hands and squeezed tight. “You’re going to spend time with your son and sex up that scary hot man of yours and give me more babies to love on.”
Something warm unfurled in my belly at the thought of having a baby with Adam. Would they be tall like him, shorter like me or somewhere in the middle? Would they have red hair or black? How would Miles feel about being a big brother? Before my anxiety could get the best of me, Liz continued.
“This place’ll be fine,” she waved her hand around the restaurant that was like a second home to me. “You’re building a new life for yourself, honey, there’s no shame in that.”
My throat grew tight and I pulled her into a hug. “Do you think it’s stupid that I’m scared?” I whispered against her shoulder. “What if it doesn’t work out?”
Liz stroked a hand down my hair. “Only the bravest people admit when they’re scared. But you don’t have to worry, babe, the way that man looks at you, you’re it for him. And if he screws up then I’ll help get rid of his body.”
We broke apart when a glass shattered. “I’m okay!” Jason shouted, arms up in the air like he was an Olympic gymnast. Bear’s growl of annoyance could be heard around the whole room.
“If Jason doesn’t get it together, you’re going to be the one helpingmehide a body.”
I swatted her shoulder and went to help clean up the broken glass. Liz was just joking, I hoped.
42
GAGE
The day started with our new normal. I got up early and cut on the coffee before starting breakfast.
Mia was working the last of her late shifts this week and I couldn’t wait to have her home every night. Miles and I’d gone to the party store last night and bought a bunch of balloons and streamers, we were going to throw a party for three this weekend to celebrate.
“Are you making pancakes?” Miles yawned as he stumbled in while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. This had become routine as well. He’d wander in here and help me finish cooking so that everything was ready when Mia woke up.
“Sure am, want to help?” He nodded, moving next to me and leaning most of his weight against my leg until it was time to flip. I never thought I’d get so much satisfaction out of making food for other people. Prior to my nightly stalking dinners at Brooks’ Bar and Grill, most of my meals came out of the freezer section or between two slices of bread.
