It wasn’t because I hadn’t ordered yet. Which was better for me. I could escape before I was tied to a meal and more demands for grandbabies and husbands.
“I’m sorry, Lola,” I told her. “Really, I am. But... this is a self-preservation scenario. And I need to take care of...” I pointed at myself and grabbed my purse off the counter where I’d left it in a pile with all the other crap Jonah and I had grabbed. “Bye, Mom, I love you.” She waved me off, apparently actually mad at me.
I slipped out of the apartment, trying to remain undetected. My overnight bag was still in Jonah’s car, but it was worth leaving behind. Even if it did have my favorite face wash, cell phone charger, and pillow.
On the way down the stairs to the ground floor, I dialed an Uber. It showed up a few minutes later. I slipped inside the back seat and confirmed the address to my building with the driver, never thinking to say goodbye to Jonah, Will, or even Charlie.
Everything at the bar was handled for now. Okay, maybe not handled but at least not in crisis. And Jonah would understand my need to flee.
He might have thought I was strong enough to stand up to my big brother, but nobody was strong enough to face down Kari English. She was a force of nature.
And out of her damn mind.
Also, possibly psychic. How was it possible she’d echoed my thoughts almost exactly? Or maybe it was just that obvious.
“You realize he’s going to marry someone, don’t you, Eliza? And if you’re going to keep pussyfooting around, that someone will not be you.”
Her words were like a ghostly monster intent on haunting me. But was it up to me? I thought about his kisses last night. He seemed... so into it. But where had he been for the past ten years? Why had our first kiss ended in total devastation, but last night was fine and dandy?
It was one thing for my mom to demand grandchildren and point out that Jonah would eventually marry another woman. But it was an entirely different thing to put the responsibility for any of it on my shoulders.
If I’d had a say, we’d have never stopped kissing all those years ago. We’d probably have twelve kids by now. And I would be living life barefoot and pregnant. But life hadn’t gone that way. And now I wasn’t even sure what I wanted.
Was it Jonah?
Yes, of course it was.
But was it Jonah at any cost? Was it Jonah at the risk of losing him just as quickly as last time? Was it Jonah at the risk of damaging or destroying our friendship?
No. No, it wasn’t.
I didn’t know where that left us. Nor did I have the mental energy to process any of what had happened last night.
If Mom wanted grandchildren that bad, her best bet was to bother the already-in-love happy couple. And leave the rest of us angsty, miserable, single people alone.
fourteen
Thankfully,the next day was Sunday. I’d somehow slogged through the night before, avoiding all other humans—related or otherwise. Will had been too busy at the bar Saturday night to bother me anyway.
We’d given Miles and Ada the night off so they could mentally recover. Lola had filled in on the floor, and Will had handled the bar. And I’d managed. But like literally managed. I dealt with Case and his bad attitude all night. I helped Lola stay on task and even took some tables so she could catch up. I walked around and made sure every damn table was happy and well taken care of. If I caught a whiff of a little irritation or frustration, I sent a free round their way. And I made sure Will could keep up with the busy demand.
And somehow, we’d survived.
Would I ever want to run another busy weekend with just the four of us? All the hell noes. But, for one night and one night only, we’d gotten through it.
I needed this Sunday off like a fish needed water.
I couldn’t look back at my single night away as a restful vacation because of the madness it had turned into. Usually, I walked into Sunday feeling tired but fulfilled. I loved my work. I loved my workplace. And I really loved my days off.
But today, I felt like I’d crawled into Sunday. On my belly. Under barbed wire and a constant barrage of gunfire.
My body felt bruised and beaten. My head hurt. I hadn’t managed to change out of the softest joggers I owned and the baggiest, oldest, tattered-iest sweatshirt I had from high school. My hair was unwashed on top of my head, my makeup was still in Jonah’s car, and I planned to eat about four thousand calories of microwave popcorn and let Tomorrow Eliza deal with the weight gain from the night of vodka tasting and sodium I planned on consuming today.
More than the physical toll of the past couple of days, my soul felt tired. I had no idea where I stood with Will. Or Jonah. My mom had lost her mind—so that was another thing to deal with. Charlie was still at Will’s recovering... and I knew that was going to turn into a whole other thing.That I would have to mediate. And Ada wasn’t talking to me.
Well, Ada wasn’t talking to anyone right now. I hated that she’d included me in her Craft boycott. I wasn’t my brothers. I was her friend. I mean, she hadn’t come out and said she wasn’t talking to me, but she hadn’t answered my texts or calls, of which I had sent her many.
Also, we’d traveled this road with Ada before. She’d been sent to us from another one of Will’s restaurant connections before we opened the bar. She was technically our general manager, although we rarely had enough employees for her title to hold weight. Almost instantly, she and I became friends. Same with Will. Charlie was a different story.
