I could feel the phone going off in my pocket and had to fight the urge to grab it out and look at the message. Finally, the meeting came to an end and I was able to take my phone out and check it. Another dinner invitation made me smile.
I tell you what, let me handle dinner tonight. Call in a couple extra people to cover. I’ll pick something up and meet you at your house at eight.
She eagerly accepted. Part of me felt like I was taking advantage of her position of bar owner by having her duck out so much the last couple of days. But I also knew her staff could handle it. They had plenty of experience and were as committed to that place as she was. Besides, Lindsey needed the break. Some time away from the pressures and responsibilities would do her good.26Lindsey“Does Frankie have an overnight bag?” I asked.
Vince laughed and looked up from the sushi he was chasing around with chopsticks. “Why?”
“Because in the last two weeks, you haven’t spent the night with me again. We always go back to your place. And I understand. Frankie is a creature of habit, and now that I know him and we have formed a personal relationship, I can appreciate the importance of maintaining those routines for him. He is a special roommate-slash-alarm clock-slash-cat.”
“Yes, he is,” Vince said. He managed to succeed in snagging one of the tuna rolls and popped it into his mouth.
“But I would like to visit my place occasionally. A night or two every now and then would be nice,” I said.
He smiled. “Well, Frankie does have a very fancy carrier and a pouch that holds all his travel needs.”
“How fancy?” I asked.
“One of the sides unzips and folds out to create a second room. It has a fake fur blanket on the bottom.”
“That is pretty fancy. Well, I think he should pack his bags and come over to my place this weekend. There’s a private event going on at the bar on Friday night, so I don’t really need to be there,” I said.
Vince looked at me curiously. “A private event?”
“Yeah,” I said, tipping soy sauce into the small dish beside my plate and swirling a tempura sweet potato roll in it. “I told you about it. A few days ago, somebody called up to the bar and asked if they could rent it out for an anniversary party.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t tell me that.”
My eyebrows knit together, and I searched his face. “Really? I could have sworn I mentioned it to you because it was so unusual. I’ve never had anyone ask about that before.”
Vince shook his head again. “Nope. You didn’t say anything about it. I would remember something like that.”
I shrugged. “I must have figured I told you. Sometimes I have whole conversations in my head and don’t realize I didn’t actually have them. Anyway, a woman called a little while ago saying she and her husband met at the bar when my grandfather ran it, and they’re getting ready to celebrate their wedding anniversary. She thought it would be a really cool idea if they would be able to celebrate it at the bar but didn’t want to just show up and try to find space. She had never heard of anybody actually renting out the entire place but wanted to ask and see if it was an option.”
“Has anyone ever rented out the entire bar?” Vince asked.
“Not as far as I know,” I said. “I’ve never rented it out to anybody. I can’t remember Dad ever doing any private events like that, either. But I figured… why not? I mean, obviously it means a lot to her, and I think that’s a really wonderful way for them to be able to celebrate their anniversary. Besides, maybe it will open up another angle for the bar.”
“I thought you wanted to honor your father by running it like he did,” Vince said.
The response surprised me. I didn’t think he would be so resistant.
“It’s not like I’m going to take out all the booths and start running a birthday party venue. It’s just an option. Besides, it means I can take Friday night off because they aren’t going to need so much staff working. We can have the whole evening to ourselves. Then you can come hang out at the bar with Nick and everybody on Saturday, then we can have Sunday together. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?” I asked.
Vince glanced over at me, and for an instant there was a strange, indecipherable expression on his face. Finally, he smiled. “That sounds great.”
Relieved the tension was gone, I smiled back at him. “Perfect. We’re going to have the best weekend. And Frankie will enjoy his little getaway, too. Maybe I will even have some welcome surprises waiting for him.”