By the time the distributor leaves and the inventory is sorted, it’s late afternoon, and the bar is preparing for the evening crowd. I’m about to go back to my office when Dolly corners me by the ice machine.
“Sugar, can we talk for a minute?”
Her tone is gentle but serious. This isn’t just a casual chat.
“Of course.”
She glances around to make sure we’re alone, then leans against the counter with her arms crossed. She’s still wearing her signature rhinestone-studded denim vest, but her sparkle seems dimmed.
“I don’t mean to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong,” she starts, which is usually how people begin talking right before they stick their nose exactly where it doesn’t belong. “But I’ve been working here for a long time, and I care about this place. I care about the people who count on it.”
“I understand that.”
“Do you?” She’s not being confrontational, just honest. “Because from where I’m standing, you’ve got one foot in Atlanta and one foot here, and eventually you’re gonna have to choose which way you’re gonna fall.”
I want to defend myself, to explain that it’s not that simple, but she’s not wrong.
“Archie called me,” I say quietly. “I didn’t reach out to him. He heard about my inheritance and called with his opinions about what I should do.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him I needed to figure it out on my own.”
She studies me for a long moment. “Eleanor, I like you. You’re trying real hard, and you’re a lot tougher than you look. But this town, these people… well, we’ve been burned by folks who treated us like a cute little experiment. People who showed up, bought properties, made promises, and then disappeared when things got hard or when something better came along.”
“I’m not?—”
“Let me finish.” Her voice is kind but firm. “Five years ago, a development company bought up half of Main Street. Promised they were gonna bring in boutique shops and upscale restaurants. Said it would be a boon to the local economy. And you know what happened?”
I shake my head.
“They gutted the buildings, made them too expensive for any local businesses to afford. And then the whole project fell apart when the investors pulled out. Now we’ve got three empty storefronts on Main Street that used to be a bakery, a bookstore, and a hardware store that had been family-owned for sixty years. Those families who ran those businesses… well, most of them moved away because they couldn’t afford to start over here.”
The story settles over me like a weight. I think about Archie’s confident assertions that I could sell the property for a profit and how easy he made it sound.
“I’m not a developer,” I say. “I’m just somebody who inherited a bar I didn’t even know existed a few weeks ago.”
“I know that. But the question is, are you somebody who’s gonna stay and make a go of it, or are you somebody who’s just gonna cash out when it gets tough?”
“I don’t know yet, Dolly. I truly don’t know. This was all supposed to be temporary, just six months to fulfill the conditions of a will, and then I could go back to my life. But now it’s starting to feel…” I’m not sure how to finish the sentence.
“Like home?” Dolly supplies gently.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Is that crazy? I’ve only been here a few weeks.”
“Well, sometimes you know faster than that.” She reaches out and pats my arm. “I’m not trying to pressure you, honey. I just want you to understand what’s at stake. This isn’t just about business. It’s about people’s livelihoods, their gathering place, and the heart of the community.”
“I understand.”
“And Wyatt?” She chooses her words carefully. “Wyatt’s been through a lot, and he came back here to heal. This place helped him do that. He’s very protective of it—and of all of us.”
“Someone left him before, didn’t they?”
Dolly nods. “That’s his story to tell, not mine. But yes. And it just about broke him. So when he hears somebody talking about selling this place or about leaving it, it hits him in a vulnerable spot. Not that he’d ever admit it.”
“I wasn’t planning to sell,” I say. “Archie was just offering his opinion.”
“Well, Archie sounds like a piece of work.”
