He hadn’t talked about Gray much, only mentioned him in passing, but with an obvious interest and hopefulness that touched something in Josiah.
He and Alfie had chatted a lot about various things during lulls in the rhythm of the bar. Josiah genuinely liked him and had started to think of him as a kid brother of sorts. Maybe he should tell that to Alfie, though? Doc Jarvis would be proud of that.
Instead of spooking Alfie with a call, he texted.Hey, is everything okay? You didn’t come around tonight.
A minute later, Alfie replied withNot okay, no. I didn’t want to see Gray so I stayed home. I’ll be okay.
So Gray hadn’t sent Alfie the video at least yet. Deciding not to meddle, Josiah sent Alfie a couple of more messages, before taking a deep breath as he sent the last one.
You’re like a kid brother to me, Alfie. Please let me know if any of us can help you in any way. You’re part of the Hare family now.
He wasn’t sure how Alfie would take it. From what he’d told Josiah, his relationship to his biological family wasn’t good. Not damaged in the same ways Josiah’s had been, but in a whole different kind of fuckery that made Josiah equally mad.
Thank you. I feel it, I really do. I promise to call you if I need you, okay? I’m just gonna take my meds and get some sleep.
Sighing with relief, Josiah went to find Denny so they could go home.
A week before his birthday in late August, Josiah got an email to Hare’s address from his cousin Patrice, who had heard of his parents’ passing.
She asked if he’d managed to make peace with everything that’d happened to him in his childhood, and he’d felt surprised when he’d typed back that yes, he felt at peace, finally. He’d thanked her for giving him solace in his time of need, and they’d agreed to call one another at least for the holidays from now on.
It felt good. They might not have had much in common, but to have some blood family left that didn’t care if he was gay was… nice.
Denny’s mother had come around a bit, too. She had even gone to another church for a while, one where they preached more equality and tolerance than her regular one. She’d said she’d go back for certain services, like those during Pride month next year, to remind herself that there were other ways to believe than just the one at her regular church.
Denny had told his parents he was dating Josiah now, which did warm Josiah’s heart, especially when neither of them seemed too opposed to the fact. Josiah had met them at Denny and Stacey’s wedding and they’d been lovely people.
The kids and Sammie were all figuring their shit out, it seemed. The twins and Nelson were keeping“the dads”out of the loop a little, but Denny had joked to Josiah that maybe that was because theywerethe parents. “Our children are growing up!” he’d said in a dramatic tone, hand on his heart.
Josiah agreed. In some ways, close as they all were, Josiah was an authority figure as was Denny. If the kids needed privacy for their relationships, they at least all knew that if they came to Josiah, Denny, or even Sammie, that they’d get an honest opinion and support where needed.
Josiah felt truly happy for the first time in… he wasn’t even sure if he’d felt this happy before. The thought of it gave him a pause as he did the inventory at the bar.
He tried to think that good things could happen and last. Time would tell, of course, but he’d always had this world view of being scared to hope for much, because everything could change in an instant.
Denny was enthusiastic about the birthday party at their place, and everyone on their small quest list had promised to at least make an appearance, even Melody. Sammie had moved out of the house in anticipation of their“sex ban”—her words, not theirs—ending soon. The real reason for the move was something she wasn’t talking about yet, maybe because it was private and too fragile to be brought out into the light.
She’d bought a small apartment near the recording studio she was going to head to in a month or so to record her new album. If she had something else to tell them, she would when she was ready. Her asexuality had been something that had made dating hard for her, and if she was having luck in that department now, well, Josiah and Denny were the last people to butt into it before she was ready.
“Hey Boss Dad?” Yolanda came to the storage room doorway.
Josiah smiled over his clipboard. “Yeah?”
“So we’ve been thinking that maybe now that we have the new stage and the piano, maybe we should start having more live music? Like hire musicians to perform maybe twice a week?” She leaned against the doorframe and looked at him with some hesitation.
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “Denny asked that a while back, before we got the stage upgraded. Back then I didn’t see it a place where a proper band could play, but now… yeah, why not?”
She seemed surprised. “Really?”
“I mean, you guys have good ideas. I’d be stupid not to listen to you.” He grinned. “I also assume you’ve done the math for two nights a week?”
“Oh yeah, we brainstormed on our last night off and we came up with some figures.” She squared her shoulders and looked more confident. “I’ll email it to you and you can check it when you have time.”
“Sure. I’m also thinking you’ve already put together some potential performers, so run those by Denny if you can?” Because Denny would like to take part in this. He’d likely want to use the Hare for a performing spot for some of his younger, newer bands if they needed the experience, and would only send performers that would fit the Hare’s vibe.
“Okay, sounds good!” She practically skipped back to work the bar.
There had been live music more often before Josiah bought the Hare. He just hadn’t had the money or the staff to figure it out right after, because Larry had run a tight ship with minimum staff, and once he’d moved away, it had taken Josiah a while to get into his own rhythm with his own, hand-picked staff.
