AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Suddenly, the bar door flung open, bringing with it a sharp, cold draft. Rudy’s face shifted, and he scrambled out from behind the bar to swallow someone in a hug. Against Charlie’s better judgment, he kept his eyes upon Rudy, listening as Rudy cried out, “I heard you were around! What the heck took you so long?” Clearly, the woman he hugged wasn’t his wife or girlfriend. Who was she?
It didn’t matter, Charlie reminded himself, forcing his eyes back to his drink. He was miles away from the city, drinking his cocktail. Nobody here cared about him beyond their curiosity. Up above him, on the television showing the spelling bee, a kid no older than ten successfully spelled “milquetoast,” a word Charlie had never even heard of before. Sarah would have known that word. She would have spelled it successfully. He took another long drink and faded away from himself for a moment, listening to the chords of the song coming from the speakers and the humming conversation between Rudy and the woman who’d just entered the bar. He felt like a ghost haunting the bar.
Rudy appeared on the other side of the counter again, his hands on his hips as he chatted with the newcomer. The woman who’d entered picked a stool two away from Charlie, removing her coat and leaping up onto the chair as though she were twenty-something. Upon closer inspection, Charlie decided she wasn’t much younger than him, with big, dark eyes like a puppy dog’s, thick dark hair, and a smile that lit up the bar. She looked captivated by Rudy.
“Just a white wine? You don’t want something fancier?” Rudy was asking her. “This gentleman over here ordered a Dark and Stormy.”
For the first time, the woman at the counter turned and arched her eyebrow in Charlie’s direction. “I haven’t had one of those in years.”
“And I hadn’t made one in years,” Rudy said. “But Charlie here says it’s the best he’s ever had.”
Under intense scrutiny from this woman, Charlie blushed and raised his drink nervously. “It’s really good.”
The woman rapped her knuckles on the counter. “One Dark and Stormy, Rudy. Thanks.”
As Rudy stirred up the cocktail, he said, “This is my cousin, Charlotte. She just got into White Plains from the city, too.”
Charlie decided Charlotte could be yet another distraction as he chased his fears away at this bar. After a slow nod, he said, “Manhattan?”
“Midtown,” she said. “You?”
“Upper West Side.”
Normally, when Charlie said he lived in the Upper West Side, people made a fuss. It was clear he had money. Charlotte’s eyes didn’t even sparkle with recognition. It was as though he’d said he lived in Ohio.
“I hope you enjoy White Plains,” Charlotte said with a last smile before returning her eyes to Rudy.
That was it. The cold shoulder. Charlie reminded himself he hadn’t wanted any company at all, that he’d just come into town for a drink. He took another sip and returned his attention to the spelling bee, where a little girl even younger than the last kid spelled “conscientiousness.” Even still, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop on Rudy and Charlotte. They were right beside him, after all.
“I can’t believe Aunt Louise didn’t mention you were coming to town,” Rudy was saying to Charlotte as he placed the drink in front of her. “She was just in here the other day.”
“You know Mom doesn’t like to talk about me,” Charlotte said.
Rudy sighed. “How long has it been since the fight?”
“More than twenty-eight years.”
Rudy’s cackle was somber. “You and Louise are just about the most stubborn women I know. And I own a bar. I see a lot of stubbornness come through here.” He was quiet for a moment. “But you reached out to her first?”
Charlotte raised her shoulders. “I panicked after my grandson was born. He was just so small! You always forget how small they are on that first day. Nostalgia took over. All I wanted was to take Van and baby Ethan home to the Cherry Inn. I wanted them to experience Christmas the way we always did back in the seventies and eighties.”
“Before your fight with your mother, you mean.”
“Of course.”
Rudy palmed the back of his neck. “It must have been a surprise for you, seeing the Cherry Inn like that.”
“It’s awful,” Charlotte agreed. “It looks like a haunted house.”
“I tried to help out where I could,” Rudy said. “But Grandpa just couldn’t bring in the same customer base. He tried social media for a while, but that was a bust. Money was not flowing through there anymore. Eventually, my parents and Aunt Louise advised him to stop advertising the inn altogether and live off his savings. And now, so much time has passed.” He trailed off.
“It was probably a good call,” Charlotte said reticently. “But it breaks my heart. Remember how magical it looked at Christmas?”
“I hate thinking about it,” Rudy said.
“Van and I are staying in the apartment out back with Grandpa. It’s much more comfortable than either of our apartments in the city. Much bigger if you can believe it,” Charlotte went on. “But I think, after Christmastime, we should consider selling the old place. Maybe Grandpa would want to move into a retirement home.”
“It’ll be hard to get him to leave that inn,” Rudy said. “You remember the old story.”
