“Oh… everyone?” Finn lifts both eyebrows, intrigued. “The whole lot of us?”
“Your parents, Terra, Logan, you, and Deck, at least,” I reply. “I mean, I can do this in groups if you aren’t all here.”
“Let me see who I can rustle up,” Finn says. “It’s early, but a few of us are here. Be right back. If a customer wants anything, just holler. Or serve them. I’ll let you keep ten percent of the tip if you do.”
“Robbery!” I call out but he’s already disappeared into the kitchen.
I glance around the place. It really hasn’t changed much in the decades I’ve been coming here. Some new leather on the booths, but still the same color as the more worn-out ones. The tables look like they might have been refinished this winter. It’s still the same place I spent most of my good times as a kid. But I don’t feel the same sitting here as I have the few hundred times before.
“What are you thinking?” Aspen wants to know as Andie sucks her thumb quietly.
“I don’t know… I feel different this summer.”
“Winning the Stanley Cup will change a man,” she quips.
“It’s more than that, I think.”
She snorts, like she’s scoffing at me. “Yeah. It’s a lot more than that. Would you like me to explain it to you?”
“I don’t know. It’s a little early for one of Aspen Barlowe’s No-Holds-Barred therapy sessions,” I retort but smile a little. “What the hell, hit me.”
“You’re sober. Like one hundred percent. No pain pills, and no booze in almost four months so your brain is clear. You’ve snagged your dream job. You know exactly what bed you’ll be sleeping in for the next year and it’s in not just a city you’ve heard of, but your home. You’ve always been in love with this town, Abbott, and everyone in it. Being here grounds you even more. Andhe’shere, which admit it or not, also grounds you. Mr. You Know Who is your lightning rod.”
“My what?”
“Lightning rod,” she repeats and rolls her eyes when I just shoot her a blank stare. She fluffs her curly blonde hair and explains in a low whisper. “He’s always attracted your energy and he’s always taken your heat. Like when you two were caught breaking into the school on a weekend to party in the indoor pool. He told the principal he was doing it alone and you only came to stop him.”
“Because he knew we’d get suspended and I would have to miss the hockey playoffs and a scout was coming.” I think about how he blurted out that lie, all calm and convincing, as we sat in the principal’s office and waited for our parents to fetch us.
“I think you see my point.” Aspen moves to adjust Andie on her lap. “You may want to give him space, but physiologically, it’s likely impossible. And he may say he wants to be left alone, but you’re his kryptonite.”
“I don’t want to be his kryptonite,” I tell my sister. “Kryptonite kills Superman.”
“Okay so I don’t have the best superhero metaphors,” Aspen shrugs. “I mostly watch them with the sound off because all that really matters is the hot guys in latex. But you know what I mean. You two aren’t finished. You’re just gonna need another go to get it right. Or maybe a couple hundred more gos. Only time will tell.”
Finn re-enters the restaurant, this time followed by his identical twin brother. “Hey Mr. Stanley Cup Champion.”
“No need to make it a big thing.” I smile, and Logan gives me a hug. “Jude Braddock won one too, remember?”
“He’s a part-time resident, not a born and bred Ocean Pines kid,” Finn reminds me. “Also, he’s not my brother’s best friend.”
“Neither am I anymore,” I counter quietly.
Finn’s smile softens. “Well, you’re not mortal enemies either.”
Javi pokes his head through the long, rectangular window that he puts orders on when they’re ready to be served. “Hey, Abbott. Hey, Aspy.”
I wave and Aspen nods, slightly distracted by Andie who is starting to fuss. She looks up at Logan and Finn. “Can I use your break room to change her?”
“I guess.” Finn crinkles his nose. She hops off the stool and wanders behind the counter and through the swinging door and he calls after her. “Terra is back there with Ma in the office, don’t let them get distracted though. I told them to get out here.”
The guys ask me a bunch of questions about my trade, and I answer them and then answer everything they want to know about the cup-winning game. A couple minutes later, Terra Hawkins appears. She looks a little green. “Baby poop should be classified as a nuclear weapon. We may have to burn down the break room.”
I chuckle and she rounds the counter and pulls me into a quick hug. “Good seeing you, Abbott. What can we help you with?”
“I’m here! Sorry!” Lucy calls out as she bursts through the kitchen door. “I saw Aspen and her little angel and I needed a small Andie snuggle before I could leave.”
“She is a distraction.” I smile as Lucy rushes over to hug me. “The best possible kind.”
