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“But...”
“But it’s a little... lifeless.”
“Lifeless,” he repeats.
“It feels like something’s missing.”
His gaze is sharp when it lands on me. “If you ran this place, what would you do?”
I laugh. “I could never run a pub. I can hardly run my own life, as evidenced by everything that’s happened to me today.”
“Let’s say, hypothetically, you wereconsultingthe owner of this pub. What would you recommend?”
“Well...” I turn so that my back leans against the bar and I can take in as much of the pub as possible. It’s clean and comfortable, but nothing about it feels personal. “A good pub is less about the look and more about the feel. So the first thing I’d do is figure out what kind of vibe the owner is going for and start there.”
“What do you mean?”
“My favorite pubs feel like... a home away from home, even if I’ve never been there before.” I pause, trying to find the right words to explain what I mean. “I guess it’s sort of like the feeling you get when you see an old friend after years of being apart, and somehow it’s like no time has passed at all. Familiar, but exciting too.” Jack watches me intently, and suddenly I’m unsure of myself. “I’m not making sense, am I?”
“You’re making sense.” He holds my gaze, then scans the pub again. “Say that’s exactly what the owner wants to go with. How could they make that happen?”
“Well, it’s Friday night and hardly anyone is here. A pub is only as good as its regulars, so they’ve got to find a way to bring people in and get them talking. I don’t see anything about upcoming events, so if there aren’t any, they should plan some. Nothing wild. Maybe a pub quiz. Winners get a free round or something. Everyone loves those.”
“Pub quizzes, yeah.”
“Maybe they could get some musicians in once a week. Any kind—traditional, contemporary, both.”
“That could be nice.”
“And I’d probably suggest updating the photos on the walls. Really, the whole place needs a bit of a makeover.”
“What’s wrong with the photos?”
“Nothing’swrongwith them, but... I don’t know. These feel like they belong in a textbook. It could be fun to hang some local art, candid photos of the owners or, when there are more of them, the patrons. Even the cat,” I say, smiling down at Sebastian when he flops onto the floor beside Jack. “The coziest pubs are a little messy. Notdirty, but messy. I’m talking cluttered walls, photos, mementos, art. You want folks to have something new and interesting to discover everywhere they look. There’s not much to discover here. And the things thatarein here aren’t interesting.”
He looks around the pub as if trying to picture it. “Okay. Okay, yeah, I can see that.”
“And, oh!” I’m practically bouncing in my seat at the idea. “There could be some board games in that room with the long tables. I’ve seen bars that have giant games of Jenga and stuff. Those are really fun.” I look over the pub again. “There’s a lot of potential here,” I say, and mean it. Perhaps it’s just the present company and beer, but I have a good feeling about this pub. “It’s lifeless now, but it could really be something. It just needs a way to draw people in, to make them feel excited and at home at the same time.”
“Excited and at home at the same time,” he repeats.
“This bastard still bothering you?” a voice says.
I turn to find Ollie scowling at Jack again from behind the bar.
“Oh, yes,” I say.
“It’s true,” Jack says. “I’ve made Raine here give me her expert opinion on this pub of yours, the one that’s been in the family for generations, the Dunne legacy, that is, and I regret to inform you that, according to her, it’s—”
“Wonderful!” I say, nearly choking on my beer.
“That’s not what you said before.” His expression is serious, but his eyes are bright with mischief.
I look between Jack and Ollie but can’t think of anything to say. I take another swig of my beer, but I overdo it and some ends up dribbling down my chin.
Ollie gives me a strange look, and I’m positive I’m about to die of embarrassment, but before I get the chance, Jack lifts himself from his stool, startling me when he swings his legs over the bar.
“Get off the fecking bar, Jack!” Ollie says, but he doesn’t do a thing to stop him from jumping to the other side.
