“What can we get you this hot night?” Clara asked.
“Two margaritas,” Loretta answered.
“Y’all pulling an extra shift this week?” Bernie called out over the buzz of several conversations.
“Yep, one of the weekday gals is getting married tonight and several of the others wanted off to attend the wedding. Who ever heard of having a wedding on Wednesday night? But hey, that means extra money for us,” Loretta answered.
Bernie smiled and figured the mention of a wedding was an omen. She was definitely getting all the feels thatshe was on the right track. Ursula, Luna, and Endora could get ready to sit back and watch her work her magic this fall. Then, of course, she would talk Tertia and Ophelia into coming back to Spanish Fort and help to get them in committed relationships. She rubbed her hands together like a little girl when she thought of how happy Mary Jane was going to be to have all her girls back at the Paradise.
What about Bo and Rae?the aggravating voice in her head asked.
She set her mouth in a firm line and drew down her brows.They will be the tough ones for sure, but after I’ve gotten some experience with the others, they’ll be a breeze. I have a mission, and I will not fail. Mary Jane is good enough to let me move onto her property and be a part of her family, so I will help her get a houseful of grandchildren.
Clara nudged her on the shoulder on her way back from taking margaritas to the nurses. “You look like you are arguing with someone.”
“I am, and it’s with myself,” Bernie told her. “And for the record, the voice in my head can’t hold a candle to the real me when I set my head to do something.”
“There was never any doubt of that,” Clara said.
Sometime around ten o’clock, Bernie noticed that the temperature had risen in the place and turned the thermostat down a couple of degrees. Figuring it was all the warm bodies in the bar, she wasn’t a bit concerneduntil thirty minutes later. She went back to the thermostat to find that it was now eighty degrees.
“Well, hell’s bells!” she groaned.
“Hey, Bernie, if you want us to leave, just say so,” a guy in the back corner yelled. “Don’t try to fry our brains.”
“Air conditioner is on the blink,” she said. “I could open the doors, but the thermostat says that it’s over ninety degrees outside, so that won’t help.”
“Figure up my tab,” another customer said. “I’m going home where it’s cool, even if the wife is making me sleep on the sofa.”
“You shouldn’t have bought that new fishin’ boat without askin’ her,” Loretta yelled across the room.
“She’ll come around, and when she does, I’ll still have my boat.” He chuckled and headed to the bar to pay his bill.
Bernie figured it up, made change for the bill he gave her, and used a bar rag to wipe away the beads of sweat popping up above her lip. “What do you kids think? Should we close down early or stay open until the right time?”
“We still have customers,” Clara answered.
“If it was already your place, what would you do, Nash?” Bernie asked.
“I’d stay open until the last customer left. When I first came back to Ratliff City, I hauled a bunch of hay for Grandpa. I can take the heat,” he said.
“Okay, then, that’s what we’ll do.” She found the remotes for the ceiling fans and turned them all on high speed. “Maybe that will help a little. The man who works on the A/C can probably get out here tomorrow morning, but it’s too late to call him tonight.”
“Long as it is fixed by opening, we should be fine. How old is the unit anyway?” Nash asked.
“Had it installed two years ago. There’s a separate one for the apartment,” she answered.
“Praise the Lord,” Clara said.
***
“Now would be a good time for a cool-down thunderstorm,” Nash said when the next bunch of people came into the bar.
“Be careful what you wish for.” Clara’s tone was grumpy in her own ears. “You might get a tornado right along with that.”
“Not at this time of year,” Nash said. “Since business is slow, we might as well gather up the empty mugs and get the dishwasher going.”
Clara locked eyes with him. “You aren’t the boss yet.”
