Graham and Bowie laughed at how ridiculous the women were being. Secretly, Graham loved it. He was the reason for the smile on Rennie’s face. After he hung up with Bowie, he called his parents. His mother was getting ready to meet her friends for a game of bridge, and his father was down at the Loyal Order of the Sasquatch with his friends. Graham hesitated for a moment before asking about Grady.
“How’s Grady, Mom?”
“Oh, I think he’s doing wonderfully well. He calls when he’s allowed, and the other night we spoke while I watched one of my game shows. Grady even participated,” she told him. Relief washed over Graham.
After they had both made their calls, they snuggled on Graham’s small couch, watched television, and made love in the shower. A place Graham thought would never be possible, and he found it to be the most intense moment of his life. They spent the entire day wrapped up in each other. When the sun rose, reminding them of the outside world, he drove her over to Brooklyn’s to get her car. It was there they said their goodbyes. She went inside, and he went off to work.
He thumbed through the notes Krista had left him. One employee didn’t show up to work, a couple people came in looking for Grady, there was a list of liquors they were out of or low on and kegs to order, and Don and Mark had left a list of foods needed for the kitchen.
Graham held on to his notes and went into the bar. He turned on all the lights, flipped the open sign to on, and unlocked the door. It was early, and the likelihood that anyone would actually come in was slim. He got to work, first by placing the orders he needed. He would do inventory later and place another order if needed. It would be a matter of weeks before business started picking up again to the point where they were slammed at night and had a nice rush during lunch. Once the gloom of winter passed, the tourists would be out in full force.
The door opened as Graham walked back into the bar with a fresh stack of cleaning cloths. The old-timers were coming in, gabbing about who knew what. Graham stepped behind the bar and retrieved three pint glasses. He pulled the tap for Rainer. It was their favorite, and they were the only reason Graham kept it on tap. It used to be brewed in Seattle until the company sold and ended up in the hands of Pabst Brewing. Graham was surprised they kept the beer in manufacturing. He actually appreciated it because it kept the old men in town very happy.
“Morning, guys.”
They gruffly said hello and thanked him for their beer. He thought he was in the clear until R. J. Keel spoke up. R. J. was born and bred in Cape Harbor, a fifth-generation fisherman whose son and grandson now ran the Keel Fishing Company. “Heard you took the Holmes’s boat for a joyride.”
“Wasn’t actually joyriding. It’s a bit chilly out there.”
Ned Keane added his opinion. “Heard he had a lady friend with him.”
The three men laughed. “Hopefully, he brought her back,” R. J. snickered.
“Lady in the water,” Isaac Davis pretended to yell.
“Ha ha, very funny. A friend and I went to San Juan for a couple of days, and yes, I brought her back.”
“Ah, we’re just giving you shit, Graham.” Ned batted his hand through the air. “How’s your brother?”
Graham paused. His usual response would be something sarcastic, but since Grady had been in rehab, things had a positive outlook. “He’s thriving,” he told the men. Word spread fast about Grady going into rehab. Most people mumbled it was about time, which they weren’t wrong to say. Graham was thankful his brother was safe, and therapy seemed to work for Grady.
Graham’s pile of notes started to dwindle as the day went on. Each time the phone rang, he tried to pick it up by the second ring, hoping each caller would be Rennie with a new cell phone number or notification that she had a new phone. He was hoping for the former, even though it would be a pain for her to change her number—he didn’t want Theo to contact her. One could call it jealousy or a streak of possessiveness, but Graham never wanted to hear the name Theo again, especially where Rennie was concerned.
By late afternoon, the crowd started to pick up. People were coming in to watch the games: college football in the front, and the NBA toward the back. Bowie’s crew was in, playing their regular dart game, and there were enough food orders to keep Mark busy in the kitchen. The day was going better than Graham had anticipated, especially when Bowie, Brooklyn, and Brystol walked in.