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She scoffs, “I like exactly four people. Allie, Sadie, Bea, and my massage therapist, Sam, who allows me an hour of blissful silence each week.”
“She likes me too, but won’t admit it,” Rhett, a carpenter we hired for the remodel, interjects, brushing against her as he passes by with a case of pint glasses. He’s friends with our lead bartender and is helping out as extra staff tonight.
Devon glares at him in a way that would have most people cowering, but he only laughs and continues on his way.
“What is this, anyway?” I ask, taking the unmarked cardboard box from her.
“Your neon sign,” she says, annoyed. “What else goes in the front window?”
“I didn’t know there was a neon sign.”
Devon breathes out, annoyed, her perfect posture slipping for just a second. “He should have told you already. It’s a gift from Cam. Try to act surprised.”
“Alright,” I say, carrying the box with me to the back, where I hear Cam’s voice. He’s been in town for a few days, helping getthings ready. Mainly running errands for Allie before she has a chance to freak out about things not being ready in time.
“Ooh, what you got there, boss?” he asks.
“I’m told it’s a gift from you.”
“Oh, fuck yes!” Cam grabs the box and leads me toward the front of the restaurant. Betty, who’s been following him around since he got here—which Cam assures me has nothing to do with him sneaking her human food—follows along too. “Took you guys so long to pick a name. It barely got here in time.”
We rolled around name ideas for the bar for weeks, and ultimately, the one we chose was Hector’s idea. A combination of Turbine Café and Voyeur Motors. Maybe not the most conventional name, but it does have a full kitchen. And most importantly, my Allie loved the idea.
Cam unpacks the sign carefully before plugging it in to show me the details. The neon buzzes to life. It’s custom with two different names. We can switch it on in the morning to readTurbine Café, and at night, when the bar opens, it’ll readVoyeur Café.
“This is awesome.” I pat him on the shoulder. “Really great of you to do this for us.”
“Tried to order it for you months ago, but you wouldn’t give me a damn name. Guess it was never meant to be only yours, huh?” Cam asks, pushing fire engine red hair out of his eyes.
I shake my head. “No, never was.”
Betty gets up from her place on the ground and meets Allie as she comes over,oohingandaahingover the sign before wrapping Cam in a big hug that he has to practically bend in half to participate in. “It’s really happening!” she squeals, bouncing on her toes as he lets her go.
“It really is, sweetheart.”
“Okay,” she claps her hands loudly in front of her chest,holding them together as she doles out orders. “We have exactly one hour and forty-five minutes before we open, and there is still a big heap of goodies in the truck out back that needs to be unloaded, please.”
“We’re on it,” I say, gathering up the cardboard trash.
“You got it, boss!” Cam agrees, wide mouth drawing into an exaggerated smile.
“Thank you!” She rises to her toes to kiss me and bounds away to take care of the next thing on her list. Watching Allie lock into her planning brain these past weeks has been amazing. She’s loud, giggly, and happy, but she’s not scattered. Everything has a place and a time. I had a plan forErnie’s, but it would have been nothing compared to what Allie and I have been able to pull off together.
“You did good, Cam. Thank you.” I pat him on the back as we walk out to the truck.
“Youdid good, boss,” Cam scoffs.
“Me? We’re not even open yet.”
He dismissively waves his hand. “Oh, that’ll be great. I’m not worried about that. I mean, Allie. It was touch and go there for a while, wasn’t sure if you were going to pull it off.”
“You told me you had a sixth sense that she was into me the first time you met her.” I follow him through the back door.
Cam’s laugh echoes around the back parking lot. “Oh, I made that shit up to encourage you. I could see it in your eyes that you were fucked up about her. Had to make sure you took a run at it.”
“She was already into me then, for the record.”
“Sure, she was,” Cam laughs, passing me a box down from the truck.
