Cal held everyone off as I found a path toward the bar. I got sticky notes and divided the bar into five categories: trash, items to repair/wash, bar area, back area, and main area. “Three people per section, then we need an assembly line to get shit out in the dumpster.”
“That was fast.” Cal stared at me with warm eyes. “And impressive.”
“Cleaning is my love language.”
He smiled and held my gaze for a beat before opening the door. “Okay—here’s the plan.”
Everyone got to work and cleaned their asses off. Sweat dripped from every part of my body, and my muscles ached from lifting and scooting and shoving things back to their rightful spot. Even with the air and a fan on, the summer heat had snuck in, and oof, it was gross. Cleaning was therapeutic to me. I thought I’d be scared to be back here, but I felt at home just as much as I did in the apartment. With Gregg and Big Ben and Cindy shooting the shit, with Cal directing and thanking everyone, with Alex complaining the whole time but working their ass off, it felt like a different sort of family.
All the glass was cleaned up, the trash taken out, and the chairs and tables righted. Cal swept the floor, and Alex followed with a mop. I wiped the bar top a million times with bleach and then moved to make sure every bottle of liquor was cleaned. No evidence of the fight remained, besides my bruise.
Charlie handled all the press and nosey neighbors, and he whistled when he walked in, his bushy beard moving side to side. “This place looks better than before. Damn. Maybe we need to fight once a month to actually clean this shithole.”
Everyone laughed, and Charlie ran a hand over the bar. “Thank you from the bottom of this grump’s heart. This place is my home, and I’m lucky to have y’all as family.”
Charlie shook everyone’s hand, promising them a drink on the house when they returned. Alex, Cal, and I hung back by the bar as Charlie said goodbye, and when the last helper left, he faced us. “You three.”
“Don’t lump me in with these two.” Alex pointed their thumb at us. “They’re newest.”
“True.” Charlie clapped Alex on the shoulder. “Thank you. All of you. For keeping this place running, for taking care of it. My life turned upside down, and having things be the same here means a lot.”
“Sure.” Cal nodded. “Where’s Lizzie?”
“She’s with my neighbor who has five dogs. She’s happy.” He beamed like a proud parent. “I don’t know what it’ll look like now that I have Lizzie. I can’t work every night, and if that means I hire more people, I will. Cal, you can stop helping anytime you want. Elle, if you’re still interested after all this shit, you can pick your schedule.”
The thought of not working with Cal made me want to throw up. Ilovedseeing him every day. Our little glances, the walks to and from the place. His snacks. I sucked in a breath and tried not to react.
“And me?” Alex asked.
“When have you not gotten what you wanted?”
We all laughed, and Charlie tapped his knuckles on the bar. “We’re closed tonight. I’m making the call right now. Go out, have fun, do what you need to move on from last night.”
“Are you sure? We can handle it,” Cal spoke up.
“I’m sure. Tomorrow, I’ll come around lunch to create a new schedule. All of you get lost, go be young.”
Alex didn’t wait a second before bouncing, and I, too, wanted to shower from the sweat and enjoy a night off. I got to the door and paused, feeling weird. I was so used to heading home with Cal that it was strange he wasn’t with me. I glanced around to spot that he hadn’t moved yet. He spoke to Charlie in hushed tones, his back toward me. Charlie frowned.
Must be serious.
I couldn’t very well ask him to walk with me, that’d be weird. It was broad daylight at three in the afternoon. His comment about alone time that one day… I bet he needed that. I waved. Ididn’t want him to feel uncomfortable, so I said, “Bye, you two!” and left fast.
I pushed open the door, breathed in the humid air, and walked home. It amazed me to see such support from everyone. That kind of found family was so important and honestly got me thinking about my future. I loved writing but knew the reality of it was tough. What if I owned a book bar?
My insides got all tingly with the idea, and I was dying to get to a pencil to write it all out. One wall could be all used books and others featuring books people brought in, like a trading post. We’d serve food, wine, beer. Have good hours to accommodate students and late-night workers. Oh man, what if we had cats too? That’d be sick! We could have ‘blind date with a book’ nights, speed dating for book lovers. My usual fantasy included a nerdy guy with glasses and sweaters, but now… Cal showed up in my visions. No glasses but definitely the sweaters hugging his muscles.
“Elle, what the fuck?” Cal ran up to me, his eyes pissed.
My heart leapt in my throat about him interrupting my daydream. “Um, hi?”
“You left without me.”
“I thought you needed time alone.” I frowned, feeling bad at the worried look in his eyes. “You know, when you’re playing hockey games, I’ll be working the bar and walking home by myself. It will happen.”
“I’m already worried about it. Look.” He dragged a hand down his face, running it along his jaw as he bit out, “Are you sure you should work here still? There’ll be other places that’ll open once school starts.”
Something flared in the back of my mind. “Isthatwhat you were talking to Charlie about?”
