“Okay,” he said.
“Are you done?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, a couple more chuckles bubbling out. “And I agree. But listen. Something I want you to understand about Grant. He’s not a terrible guy. He’s an arrogant, spoiled, womanizing jackass, but he’s not criminal or violent. And all this mess with Remy wasn’t his idea. He went along with it, but in all reality, it was his parents’ idea. He’s chained by them. They run his life. The idea of their grandbaby’s mama being just a quote-unquote barmaid is not acceptable to them. You are successful and all, but that idea is never going to change.”
The conversation only worked to make me angrier. But I was used to that by then. I figured it would just be my constant state until I found a solution for it.18LindseyWith everything going on over the last couple days, I didn’t get as much work done as I usually would. My paperwork was lagging behind, and I had a list of people I needed to get in touch with about issues around the bar. I was always chasing maintenance. It didn’t matter what kinds of upgrades I did or how much work I put into getting it into the best condition possible, there was always going to be something needing fixing.
That week included a brief bar fight that broke a table and two chairs, one of the two bathrooms was in dire need of a plumber, and a refrigerator in the kitchen had a personality problem and occasionally decided not to work. I needed to get people in as soon as possible to make those repairs so they didn’t escalate and lead to bigger issues.
The paperwork, emails, and bills I had to deal with kept me in my office much longer that night than I intended. By the time I got out and went behind the bar, the place was already starting to get crowded. A smile crossed my face when I stepped up to it and found Nick, Quentin, and Merry sitting there. I was expecting to see Nick. He was almost always there on the weekends. But Quentin and Merry were a bit more surprising. Especially Merry. I hadn’t seen her out and about since well before the baby was born. Now she had a newborn at home, and I didn’t think she would see the outside world for a good while.
And at the same time, I didn’t think I should be surprised. After calming down for a little while following my phone call with Vince, I told Nick everything. He didn’t sound as shocked as I expected him to when I described Beatrice storming the apartment building, but I figured it was just quiet, simmering anger. He said he would make sure everything was okay, and this seemed to be the way he was going to do that.
I stepped up to Merry and looked at the glass she held between her hands as she sipped through a narrow straw.
“Ginger ale,” she said.
“Hitting the hard stuff tonight,” I said. She nodded and laughed. “I have to say, I’m kind of surprised to see you out here tonight. I thought you were trying to get to be early with the baby and get as much sleep as you possibly could.”
“Yeah, that was the plan. But when Quentin said he was coming out here tonight, I couldn’t resist. It’s been so long since I got out. And she sleeps for a few solid hours at night. Not all night or anything, but a good little chunk there. Minnie is with her, and I pumped a bottle. When she wakes up, a fresh diaper and that bottle will get her right back to sleep.”
I blinked at her. “Your bar talk is always so scintillating.”
Merry laughed again. “Isn’t it, though? Amazing how a baby changes things.”
A hint of sadness rippled over me. “Yeah, it is.”
“Well, I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy leaving her. Not for either of us. But he said he needed to be here tonight.”
I looked over at the men. They weren’t even trying to hide how they were looking over at the door every few minutes. I knew instantly what they were doing. Beatrice showed up at my house that morning, so they were expecting another showdown. The police made it clear she wasn’t to come anywhere near my apartment again, but they didn’t say Grant couldn’t come to my work.
“Was this Nick’s idea?” I asked, leaning a little closer to Merry so I could lower my voice.
What I really wanted to ask is how much they knew. If Nick asked them to come out here and keep an eye out for Grant, maybe he had spilled everything to them. I didn’t know how to feel about that. It was embarrassing, and I didn’t want the discomfort of having to explain the secret I’d kept for so long. At least not under these circumstances. But at the same time, I was eventually going to have to come clean.