“There’s dumplings in that for you if you want them.”
Josiah took a seat at the table where they’d spread the bounty, and dug in. He wasn’t terribly hungry, but by the time they opened and the people started to flood in, he’d be too busy to eat.
“So, how’s living with your BFF going?” Drea asked him.
Josiah shrugged. “It’s good. I really like it. The drive is a bit of a pain but at least it’s not the worst timing-wise.”
“Yeah.” She looked contemplative for a moment, then glanced at her twin before asking, “Would you mind if we stayed here for longer?”
Josiah smiled. “I said as long as you need it.”
“No, but it’s your home and—”
“Yes, it has been. And if for some reason I can’t live with Denny anymore, then I’ll look for other options and at that point we can figure out if it’s you two moving out or me finding another place, okay?”
“If anyone needs to find a new place, everyone else will help, right? That’s what we do.” Nelson’s tone was as quiet as always, and he smiled.
“Yes, exactly,” Josiah replied, and went back to eating.
As always, people started to trickle in as soon as they opened, knowing it was open mic night. Drea gathered her list and Josiah did his thing as the master of ceremonies. It felt good to be back there, a week later, with things rolling along smoothly.
Alfie arrived midway into the night, looking a bit cheeky, as if he was smug about something. He had his wheels and was having a pretty bad day, thus not being there in the beginning.
“But don’t worry, I’m fine. It is what it is,” he said as he maneuvered himself onto his barstool.
“Just… I did give you my number, right? Before? In case you need anything?” Josiah asked after stashing the chair in the back corridor at Alfie’s request.
“Yeah, you did. And I’m glad and I’ll keep that in mind, but honestly Jo, don’t you think you have bigger issues right now?”
“Wh—oh, well the twins are fine and I’m good and, you know, it’s all moving along at a steady pace so.” He shrugged as he went to make them mocktails.
“I came by on Thursday and saw the sign and got worried. At least it ended up with everyone safe.”
“Exactly,” Drea said. “I’ll drink to that.” She lifted her water bottle with a flourish.
Denny appeared soon after Alfie and they sat and chatted while listening to the performers as if they’d been friends for ages. It seemed as if the Hare was enfolding Alfie into the group and Josiah felt glad. Alfie was one of the good ones, and whatever his story was, he’d obviously been through a lot.
By the time Gray walked in, a hush enveloped the bar. He saluted the staff, then went and hopped onto the stage.
“All right, everyone. I’ve been told to talk for a bit, so here’s me doing that,” he said, clearly uncomfortable as hell.
Josiah frowned a bit, confused, but Alfie grinned a little, his gaze flickering from Gray to each of the twins and back.
“After what happened to our twins after the last time we met here last week, the little community we’ve built around The Hoppy Hare has banded together and gathered some resources for you two.” He looked over at the twins. “Yolanda and Drea, would you please come closer?”
The twins were wide-eyed but jerked into movement. Nelson walked in a few more steps from his spot at the door and he looked happy and obviously in on the whole thing.
“Did you know about this?” Denny mouthed at Josiah.
He shook his head. He’d had no idea, but it didn’t surprise him in the least that the people would do that. Hell, they always brought the twins flowers on their birthday and someone came in with a card if not a present for him and Nelson on theirs. It was a community, like Gray said, and sometimes he almost forgot that with their family circle being so tight.
“So, Hannah, I think you have something for Drea and Yolanda?” Gray said, smiling despite his discomfort.
The elderly lady stood and beamed at the twins. “Yes! Like our dear Gray here said, we got worried when we got the details about your misfortune. We all love you two very much, and we thought we’d band up together to show you. So we did a little fundraising and here’s what we came up with. There’s a check in the envelope here with some lists of things you two might need and we have.” She handed over a thick envelope to Yolanda who appeared to be all sorts of overwhelmed. “For example, if you need linens and things like that, many of us who are older have a bunch we don’t actually need.”
“Same with dishware, our children have flown the nest and we have plenty extra that’s just gathering dust,” one of the regulars said.
“Yes, we have so many things and we know you might need them more than we do. The list has names and numbers and whatever they might be able to donate,” Hannah added.
