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He lifted his glass as if to tap it against my invisible one. “Cheers to that, I guess,” he said, taking a long swig. “Seriously, though, how long do we have to stay here?”
I cackled, reaching into my pocket for my wallet to pay the tab. “As far as I’m concerned, we’ve been here long enough.”
Before the bartender was back with my card, Bryson’s phone on the counter started to ring. It sat there long enough that I saw the name pop up on the screen. Mackenzie. Judging by the way his face paled, Bryson was as thrown off by her calling as I was.
“Hey, sweetheart. Everything okay?” he asked, answering the phone quickly. The concern on his face melted away when Mackenzie’s muffled, drunken slurs could be heard from the other end. “Yeah, we were just leaving anyway. We’ll come get you.” He paused. “I love you too.”
I scoffed but quickly swallowed it when he hung up the phone and glared at me. “What was that about?” I asked him. Mackenzie was with Amanda. My stomach sank.
“The girls got a little too drunk,” he said with a chuckle. “I guess we’re going to go save them.”
Bryson shrugged and slid off the stool, knowing damn well he wasn’t going to be the one driving. “We.” I cocked my head, taking my card back from the bartender and following behind Bryson. “Let’s go.”
Chapter seventeen
Amanda
“Cheers to me!” Mackenzie squealed, throwing back her fourth shot of gin. I mirrored her, letting the sweet liquor burn the back of my throat.
Next to us, Ed scoffed. “Had I known you girls were going to make me take shots of gin all night, I would’ve gone to the strip club with the boys.” He winked when he said it, knowing there was no way he was going to miss Mackenzie’s bachelorette, and there was even less chance he was going to a strip club.
“You love us,” I reminded him. He had been one of our best friends since college, and he was always there. He would be there at the wedding too, though somehow Bryson had talked Mackenzie into letting him make Ed a groomsman. Something about how they had been gym buddies for as long as he and Mackenzie have been friends.
She leaned forward out of her stool and kissed Ed’s cheek. “Yeah, you love us,” she echoed. “Another round?”
She slid the empty shot glasses back across the counter towards the bartender we had gotten close to during college. Up until Bryson opened Pour Decisions, Randy’s had been our go-to spot. Over time, we became pretty good friends with the owner.
“This round is on me,” Randy said. He gathered the glasses and set them in the bin beneath the counter before he lined up three clean ones and filled them from the bottle he had just left on the counter after the last round.
“Aww Randy, we love you,” Mackenzie slurred, taking the shot he offered her.
He nodded. “I love you girls too. Like a couple bonus daughters to me. I’m happy to see you have found someone who deserves you.” His smile was gentle, and it made him look older in the dim light.
“We’re sorry we don’t come in very often anymore,” I said, sheepishly looking down. “Bryson’s bar…” It was difficult to try and explain we stopped coming in here because we could drink for free at my brother’s bar. Then when he and Mackenzie got engaged, it just made sense to go to Pour Decisions all the time.
“We should come back in more often!” Mackenzie chimed in, earning a belly laugh from Ed. He had never been the biggest fan of Randy’s. He always thought it seemed too dark and kind of dirty. It was the same reason we loved it.
Randy’s smile slipped from his face. “Unfortunately, there isn’t going to be a Randy’s to come back to more often,” he said.
Mackenzie and I both gasped, shouting at the same time, “What?”
“It’s been a great journey,” he explained, patting our hands. “I’m ready for the next adventure, though. An old man gets tired of working so hard. I’m going to sell this place and settle down a bit. Maybe travel a little.”
He looked around the bar, and my gaze followed his. He was selling it? A small twinge of guilt hit me when I realized I was looking at the building as an opportunity to launch my career. I should be celebrating my friend’s retirement.
“Good for you, Randy!” Mackenzie said, her words dripping from her lips. “You deserve to take it easy. We will miss you.” She took his hand, and I mirrored her action, taking his other.
“We’re happy for you!” I hesitated, debating if I should tell him about my new job. Was it wrong of me? I wasn’t technically licensed, so there wasn’t much I could do yet. I’d be ready in a couple weeks, though. Swallowing first, the words rushed from my lips. “And if you need help selling the building, let me know.”
Randy cocked his head. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I needed a career change, so I’m, um… doing commercial real estate now. Or I will be. I’m kind of an intern or something for a couple more weeks.”
He laughed the kind of belly laugh that made my embarrassment go away. “It’s a deal,” he said, winking and passing us two more drinks we probably didn’t need.
“A toast!” I said, lifting a glass and sitting up straighter. Mackenzie and Ed raised their glasses too, and Randy poured himself a finger of scotch to join us. It was rare that he did, and I grinned. “To new beginnings, new adventures, and old friends.”
***
