* * *
The night flew by in no time at all. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to dress up and go out with friends. It was pre-Addie, for certain. Maggie had given me the names of several former students, and one of them was watching Ads tonight. Addie had been ecstatic to meet her new best friend. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was only a bit after nine, and I didn’t turn in a pumpkin until eleven.
Looking around, I saw that Sully and Jake were getting up on the makeshift stage they had near the hallway to the tank room. Jake nodded at Steph, and she let out a whistle like a New Yorker hailing a cab. Impressive.
The music stopped as Sully stepped forward. “Can I get everyone’s attention?” he shouted.
I drifted with everyone else toward them, intending to hang out at the back. That lasted for about a minute before Margot materialized at my side and shook her head with a look of displeasure. Sliding her hand into mine, she began to work her way through the crowd, not slowing down until we were right in front of Jake. He looked down and winked.
Goose bumps rose on my arms. Dang.
Steph leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Mom is not letting you hang back, Ivy. I hope you’re ready for the full-force approval of Margot Spencer. It might make your head spin.”
I laughed and returned my gaze to Sully and Jake, but part of me thought about how nice it would be to have the approval and support of someone like Margot.
Sully looked to Jake, and Jake nodded back to him. They shared a smile, then Sully looked out at the crowd. “I want to take a moment to thank all of you for coming out tonight to celebrate our fifth anniversary of this place.” He paused while a cheer went up. “I know how busy this time of year can be, so we really do appreciate you taking the time to be here.”
“I’ll go anywhere for free beer,” Drew called out to the laughter of the group.
“Shut it, you,” Jake said with a grin.
Sully looked from Jake back to the crowd. “But that beer is why we’re all here, right? When Jake and I were working together at a college bar ten years ago, I’m sure we never dreamed this was what we would one day create.”
Jake slowly shook his head with a small smile. “Hell, no.”
“But here we are with a ton of hard work, beer recipes, Mama Spencer recipes in the kitchen—”
Margot waved to the crowd as someone from the back yelled out, “Love those nachos!”
“Amen,” Sully continued. “At any rate, we wanted to thank you all for your support. From our families helping finance this place, to all of you who joined us for free hours of labor as we restored it, to those of you who come in to eat and drink each week, to the amazing folks who work with us, to those we love who keep us sane, we send out sincere thanks to you all.”
Hoots, hollers, and cheers rose up.
Sully looked over at Jake. “Want to say a few?”
Jake shrugged, then moved up toward the crowd. “I’m not much for public speaking. I’d much rather belly up to the bar with you all, but I would like to echo Sully here and give my thanks. Small businesses are a risky enterprise.” He gave me a nod, and a feeling of warmth flowed through me at the acknowledgment. “We’re grateful for your support—from when we opened and you all came in to our new venture into canning our beer.”
Cheers again.
“Yes, and thanks going out to my baby brother for helping to make that dream come true for us,” Jake said, looking for Drew.
“No problem, Jake the Snake!” Drew shouted out.
“Jesus, quiet. I also wanted to send out a special thanks to you Highland Falls folks. Unlike Cole Sullivan here, I’m not a hometown boy. You all made me feel like a part of this community from the start, and I’m damn grateful for it.” Jake looked down and met my eyes. “I’ve met some great people here over the past few years, and it just keeps getting better.”
Wow. Okay, that was something, right?
Steph leaned over. “Well, that wasn’t very subtle, was it?”
“Our boy is talking to you, Bookstore Ivy,” Drew said over my shoulder.
I ignored them both and kept my eyes locked on Jake.
Jake grabbed his glass of beer from the stool he’d set it on, nodded at Sully to grab his own, and they held them up. Jake called out, “Thanks for a great five years, and here’s to many, many more. To the Homestead!”
He and Sully raised their glasses up, clinked them together as the rest of us raised ours and shouted out our own cheers of support.
I clinked my glass with Jake’s family. We all laughed and took a drink. Drew whipped out his phone and pulled Steph and me into a few selfies. After a few minutes, I looked over as Margot was wiping away a stray tear.
