“So you’re going to Berlin,” Ben says to Marek and me. “That’ll be cool.”
I bite my lip. Plans are all set for the benefit concert and tickets sold out in minutes. Not only was I worried about how I’ll be able to handle it, I was also worried nobody would come out of fear.
“We’ll see.” Marek reaches for my hand under the table to squeeze it. “It’s important, though.”
“I think it’s awesome that you’re doing that,” Mabel says.
“I’m a little anxious about it, to be honest,” I say. “But I want to do it.”
“Understandable.” Mabel nods. “You’ll do great, though. Ben! We should go, too!”
“Uh…” Ben blinks. “Yeah. Maybe. Hey, there was something in the news about that. I forgot about it.” He pulls out his phone and swipes at the screen. “Yeah, here it is.” He hands his phone to me across the table.
I take it and peer down at the screen. It’s a news item from Germany, talking about the concert venue roof collapse. “Structural engineers examined the building at noon that day and determined that the levels of snow on the roof were still safe enough to keep the facility open for the concert. Investigation following the incident determined that the roof of the structure collapsed due to construction defects following the heavy snowfall. The area had been hit with a blizzard-type snowstorm two days prior to that. A major snowstorm hit the area of Hanover, bringing road traffic to a halt and blocking air traffic at Hanover Airport and northern Germany experienced one of the heaviest snowfalls of the last decade.”
I look up at Marek.
He looks sad. “So they did inspect it,” he says. “And they thought it was safe.”
I read it again, nodding, then hand Ben’s phone back to him.
Marek leans closer. “Does that make you feel any less guilty?”
I look down at my glass of cabernet, pondering that, analyzing how I feel. “No,” I finally say. I turn to him. “No. I’m dealing with my guilt and it’s not based in facts and actuality. But this… this is real. I feel so sorry for those people who got hurt or who died.” I swallow through a knot of grief. “That is so tragic.”
Ben regards us from across the table with concern. “I’m sorry,” he says. “Maybe I shouldn’t have shown you that.”
“No, it’s fine. I would have seen it.”
“I should have shown you later.” His eyebrows pull down with distress.
“No, really, it’s okay.” I smile to reassure him. “I’m even more glad that we’re going to do that benefit concert.”
At that moment, another man enters the restaurant and walks up to our table to stand beside an empty chair.
“Hey! Alfie!” The others all greet him. “You made it.”
“Holy shit,” Marek mutters. “He actually came.”
My gaze darts around as I put it together. Ayla, Carson’s ex-wife, or soon to be ex-wife, I’m not sure of their legal status, works here and is waiting on our table. Ooof.
Carson sits and chats with the people at the other end of the table. After a few minutes, he looks around and says, “I could use a beer.”
The air around us goes flat and heavy.
Ayla arrives, her expression tightly controlled. “Hi. Can I get you a drink?”
His head jerks toward her. “Oh. Ayla. Hi.”
There’s a moment of excruciating silence as they stare at each other.
Finally, Carson says, “Yeah. I’ll have a Guinness. Please.”
“You bet.” She disappears.
After another beat of silence, everybody starts talking at once.
It’s awkward but also endearing. I love how these guys care about each other.
