A lump forms in my throat. I don’t want him to think he’s fucking up. I just… God, it’s me. I did that. I made him feel that way. My chest tightens and it feels like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. I grip the edge of the bar to hold steady.
“Uh hey, you okay in here? You look really pale.” Dakota. “Jules.” She spins me to face her fully. “Jules. Shit. Are you having a seizure? I don’t know what’s going on and you’re freaking me out.”
I shake my head, causing the brimming tears to fall down my cheeks. “Cal,” is all I manage to choke out. So instead of speaking I spread my arms out around us and the bar.
“He cleaned the bar?” She’s catching up. “When?”
With the videos pulled up, I hand her my phone to watch what I did.
“Oh my God. Jules. Why is this bad?” She pushes my phone back toward me.
I drop my head into my hands, sobbing. “It’s not bad, it’s perfect. And he even swept up the dirt from his shoes this morning!” The sobs have turned into full on wailing at this point.
“Okay, listen. I am definitely going to need more context.” She walks behind the bar pulling out two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila.
“What are you doing? It’s barely nine in the morning!”
“Tell me you don’t need a shot right now.” She levels me with a stare and she’s not wrong.
“Don’t forget the lime.” I toss one to her. “When I left him, when I couldn’t stand it anymore, it was over his boots and a pile of dirt in the middle of the kitchen floor, for what felt like the millionth time after I asked him not to do that. So this morning he put his shoes away and cleaned up his mess.”
“That’s great!” A shot glass is slammed in front of me.
Shooting it back, I slam it back to her. “Is it? Because he still bailed last night and never even told me!”
A sad smile takes over her face. “Murray told me about last night. He said the call came in the afternoon and it was supposed to be quick.”
Great.He was in a dangerous situation and I was just at home pissed off he wasn’t texting me back.
“Hit me with another. Then I’ve got to do opening chores. Can you text everyone that we’ll be open tonight? Limited menu.”
Another shot appears in front of me magically. “You got it. I’ll post on socials too.”
I swipe at my face before starting the opening checklist. This is what I need, something to focus on.
For a Monday night with a limited menu we are slammed. Usually we aren’t open today, but with the loss yesterday I wanted to try to recoup some cost and use up the food that should have been sold with Sunday’s specials.
“Hey, Lisa. Hey, Jake. Good to see you tonight.”
“Hey, Juliette! We’re so glad you opened tonight.” Lisa greets me. “I was not wanting to cook a thing and my Momma offered to keep Pennie.”
“Me too. That fight really took the wind out of our sails for a minute. But we’re happy to be back.”
“Well, you got steak tonight, so you were bound to draw a crowd.” Jake jokes looking at the small paper menu we printed for tonight.
“That’s all we need right? Steak on steak with a side of country fried.” I laugh at him, and really all the cowboys who’d be happy if I only served beef and potatoes.
“Steak, baked potatoes, no vegetables, and more steak. You’ll always win the cowboys over with that meal,” Jake confirms.
“Hey, is Cal comin’ tonight?” Lisa interrupts the conversation. “We really want to thank him for yesterday. I can’t even imagine what would have happened to Pennie if they weren’t there.”
“What happened yesterday?” I sink into the seat across from her, suddenly fully invested in this conversation.
“You didn’t hear?” I shake my head, wanting her to continue. “The fire yesterday was at the rec center. It jumped from ground fire to the porch, Cal and Murray found a safe path for the kids to evacuate. Except when Pennie and her two friends stepped off the stairs a flame shot through the ground and caught the dried brush on fire. He didn’t even hesitate, he ran right toward themand rescued her. He’s the reason she’s home safe in her bed tonight.”
Tears spring to her eyes as she recounts the story.
“That husband of yours is a hero.” Jake says quietly with emotion clogging his throat.
