***
“Well, look who has decided to make an appearance,” Bernie said when the bar looked like an explosion of red, white, and blue.
Pepper wandered into the bar from the storage room and barked at Bernie. “Are you hungry, or do you wantto go chase squirrels again?”
“Looks to me like he would cross his legs if he could.” Nash chuckled. “I promised Grandpa and Granny I would be home in time for supper, so I’m going to leave you ladies to it. See you tomorrow evening at five, right?”
“Nope, make it a quarter to six. Place is clean, so we’re ready to open,” Bernie answered. “The only thing left to do is pour up the pretzels and peanuts. Clara, will you please put the new collar and leash on Pepper and take him out back for a walk?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she answered.
When they were gone and the bar was empty, Bernie sat down at one of the tables and propped up her aching feet on an extra chair. “This is a Danny Glover situation: ‘I’m too old for this shit,’” she said, quoting a line from theLethal Weaponmovie. “It’s time for me to retire and let some younger folks run the place.”
Her phone rang and she groaned. She didn’t want to talk to her sister or to Clara’s mama, Marsha. She jerked the phone from her shirt pocket, saw that it was neither of them calling, and answered on the fifth ring.
“Hey, Mary Jane, I was just talking about you today,” Bernie said. “What’s going on over on your side of the Red River?”
“You sound tired, Aunt Bernie,” Mary Jane said. “Why don’t you close up the bar tomorrow and come celebrate the holiday with us?”
“Thank you for the invitation, but we just finisheddecorating the place for the Fourth,” Bernie replied and covered a yawn with her hand. Four hours of sleep wasn’t enough for anyone—much less a woman who was pushing seventy. Okay, okay! So, she cheated about a decade when it came to her age.
“Well, you know that you’re always welcome. We keep looking for a call from you saying that you’ve sold the bar and are on your way down here to the Paradise. Please tell me you haven’t changed your mind about that. I worry about you,” Mary Jane told her.
“No, I have not, and it’s possible I have a buyer, and you’ll never guess what happened last night. A sexy man, a bawling great-niece, and an old lover with a dead goldfish and a Chihuahua dog walked into my bar,” Bernie said with a giggle.
“Is this one of your bar jokes? And which of my daughters is in Oklahoma with you? Is it Rae or Bo, and are they all right?” Pure old unadulterated worry was in Mary Jane’s voice. “Tell me which one it is, and I’ll be on the way soon as I put on some shoes and get my purse.”
“It’s not one of your girls. It’s Marsha’s youngest one, Clara,” Bernie quickly explained.
“Whew!” Mary Jane let out a long breath. “Send her down here if she needs help. I’ll take her in.”
“I’ve got everything under control,” Bernie assured her. “And, honey, I thought that sounded like a bar joke too, but it’s the bona fide gospel truth.” She went on to tell her favorite niece about what happened. “So, now Ihave a prospective buyer who is willing to work for free for six weeks, and Clara needs a job, so I hired her to help him.” She stood up and headed back to the apartment. “I was wondering if you and the girls have plans for Tuesday or Wednesday. We’d love to drive down and visit.”
“Either day is great. Maybe talking to Clara will perk Endora up a little. God knows she needs something to shake her out of the doldrums.”
“I’ll do my best to help with that when I get all moved in down there,” Bernie offered.
“That would be wonderful.”
“Hey, can we not tell anyone that I’ve moving down there?” Bernie asked. “I want to surprise Ursula.”
“No problem, and right now it looks like she’ll be here right before Thanksgiving,” Mary Jane said. “I’m not sure the twins and I can keep a secret that long, but we’ll try. Come in for lunch. According to the weatherman, it’s going to rain both tomorrow and Tuesday.”
“Then Wednesday it is,” Bernie said. “But what is going on with this stupid weather? Rain in July in these parts is as scarce as hen’s teeth.”
“Who knows? Maybe it’ll clear off enough that we can have our usual fireworks show here at the Paradise. What did my mama and sister have to say about Clara working in a bar?”
“Use your imagination,” Bernie answered, and filled her in on the situation.
“No wonder it’s going to rain. Lord have mercy! Itmight even snow,” Mary Jane gasped.
“Yep,” Bernie said. “Those were my thoughts exactly. We’ll be there on Wednesday unless between now and then Marsha sends a late tornado to tear down my bar. And I sure don’t want to drive in a storm in case lightning comes with that rain. Don’t want to take any chances on it hitting me for taking Clara in.”
“See you then.” Mary Jane laughed out loud. “Be safe.”
“I hope that only applies to my driving,” Bernie teased.
“Yes, ma’am,” Mary Jane said in a serious tone. “To tell you to be safe in other areas would be a waste of breath.”
