“Only if we can use two straws at the same time,” Makai teased, making Emil kick his shin under the table.
“Asshole,” Emil grumbled, but his eyes showed his amusement. “Did you finish the carvings?”
“Almost. One more leg to go.”
“I really liked the whole underwater theme in them. Like instead of, say, a floral pattern or vines or something. It’ll be a nice table,” Emil mused.
“I’ve been thinking about adding a pattern to the edges too. Like sand it down afterwards so that it’s barely there but still visible. What do you think?” Makai tilted his head, enjoying the thoughtful expression on Emil’s face when he really did think about it instead of giving a glib answer like so many others might’ve.
They talked about the table until Leah came back with their food.
“Can we get a blueberry milkshake for dessert?” Makai asked, and Emil kicked him under the table.
Leah laughed. “I don’t even want to know. One shake, two glasses?”
Before Makai could ask for two straws, Emil nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”
Smirking, Makai dug into his pastrami melt and fries. Emil seemed to enjoy the huge veggie wrap he’d ordered, and they ate in silence for a while.
“Hi, Makai.” He looked up to see Stuart standing by the booth. “Do you have a moment?”
Makai nodded, and Emil scooted over so Stuart could sit down. “What’s up?”
“Mr. Miller told me about the table you’re making for Mrs. M. Do you fix stuff too?” Stuart looked hopeful, so Makai felt glad to be able to give him a positive answer.
“Sure. Pretty much anything I know how to take apart or make from scratch, I can fix. Why?” He took another bite of his sandwich before it cooled, knowing Stuart wouldn’t mind. After all, the guy had come to talk while they were eating.
“I have a bunch of chairs and a few tables up in the bar that need fixing. We also have a group of the, ehm,olderladies who like to play cards twice a week. The problem is there’s not a good card table. They’ve been using an old dining table, but it’s really not ideal, and it’s battered to hell too.”
Makai thought about it for a moment, trying to picture a good card table in his mind. He’d seen some really nice ones, and the ladies probably deserved one. “Okay,” he finally said and took a sip of his now cool coffee.
“Okay?” Stuart’s eyebrows scrunched.
“I’ll fix your stuff and figure out a better table. I’ll need to come by and see what I’m working with. Take some measurements for the table, depending on where you want them to use it and how many people play around it, but sure. I’ll do it.”
“That’s great!” Stuart grinned. “I’ve been making a pile of stuff in the storage room in the back, so it should all be relatively easy to put in your truck whenever you want to work with it.”
“Yeah, I have space in the back of my work shed, so I can probably take it all home and figure out what to do with the pieces there. I think I need a few more days for Mrs. M’s table, but after that?”
“Right, I’m really in no rush with the repairs, but the card table would be nice, so if you want to start from there, that’d be great?” Stuart said it all so carefully, as if Makai was the one doing him a favor.
Makai snorted. “Hey, whatever you need. I’m not hurting for money right now, but I will need work in the future, and I like doing things with my hands. So the more jobs I get now, the longer the money lasts, you know?”
Stuart nodded. “Absolutely. You know when we’re open, so come by whenever you can?”
“Sure. See you early next week?”
“Yeah, thanks, man.” Stuart got up and gave room for his wife who came to deliver the milkshakes.
“Go back to the kitchen. There’s orders,” she scolded him playfully.
“Yes, ma’am, sorry, ma’am,” he snarked and ducked out of reach.
A middle-aged man in a booth nearby chuckled under his breath. Makai glanced at him and got a smile in return. He nodded to the guy and went back to finishing his lunch.
“That was nice,” Emil said quietly after Leah left them.
“Yeah, it really was. I mean, I want to make a home in this town, so having a job would be nice. Getting the word out there….”
