“Don’t worry, I do.” Scott cracked his bottle open, happy to let Charlie open everything else. He was still relieved to have finished his assignment with time to spare.
Charlie flipped open the pizza box and tore the bag the garlic bread was in, laying them both out on the table between them before grabbing a slice for himself. Scott could see why he never got through it alone, since the pizza was huge and stacked high with toppings. He’d never seen one this big in his life.
“Do they not make a smaller size?” Scott asked, taking his own slice.
Charlie laughed. “No. You can get it by the slice if you go in, but you can only get a full-sized pizza delivered. I bet you thought I was kidding about not being able to get through it.”
Scott shrugged. “Or that maybe you just had a tiny stomach.”
“I grew up with two older brothers,” Charlie said. “Getting my hands on food at the dinner table was an obstacle, but eating it was never a problem.”
“I’m an only child,” Scott said. “So I wouldn’t know. I used to slip the dogs most of my food under the table.”
“One of my brothers accidentally stabbed the other one with a fork one Thanksgiving,” Charlie said. “We would literally fight over food, even though there was always plenty. One of the perks of running the grocery store, I guess.”
“The grocery store in town? Jules and Sons Grocers?”
Charlie nodded. “That’s us. I’m actually one of the grandsons. My brother, Owen, runs it now.”
“Huh.” Scott thought back to the dark-haired manager who he saw sometimes in the store and realized now that there was a definite family resemblance between him and Charlie. They had the same kindness in their eyes. The same air of warmth about them.
“So is he the oldest?” Scott asked. There couldn’t have been much of a gap between Owen and Charlie, age-wise. Owen was definitely under thirty.
“No, he’s just the most mature. Riley is the oldest. He’s, uh… he’s great, but he’s kind of an acquired taste.”
“Acquired taste?” Scott raised an eyebrow. That seemed like a strange way to describe a person.
“Sometimes he’s the sensible older brother you expect him to be, sometimes he’s dancing naked under a waterfall. Which isn’tbad, but he’s a little… weird, I guess. I always wanted to grow up to be like Riley, but I’m not as brave as he is. He lives in an RV and he never stops travelling. It seems like an awesome life until you realize that there’s absolutely no security in it.”
“You sound like you look up to him, though,” Scott said.
“I do.” Charlie tore a piece of garlic bread off, stuffing the whole chunk in his mouth so that his cheeks bulged like a chipmunk.
It was kind of cute.
“I always wondered what it’d be like to have siblings.”
“I can’t imagine being an only child,” Charlie mumbled around a mouthful of bread. “Everyone took care of me while I was growing up. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am without all that support.”
Scott grabbed another slice of pizza, since Charlie’s mouth was occupied. There were probably drawbacks to being part of a big family, but it would have been nice to feel as though he had people he could really depend on. His parents had been okay, but nothing spectacular. They hadn’t discouraged him from doing anything, but they’d never been all that supportive, either.
Disinterested was probably the word he wanted to describe them. Not in a malicious way. He’d always had food, shelter, and clothing. He’d never really felt like he had to worry about anything when he was growing up.
He’d just felt more loved by the family dogs than by his dad, and maybe his mom, too.
That was probably why he collected dogs now.
“It was lonely,” Scott said after a moment. He wasn’t sure he should have been opening up to Charlie like that, but Charlie felt like a safe person to talk to. Like a bartender or a therapist, Scott felt his secrets were safe with Charlie.
Safer with Charlie than either of those, in fact.
“I bet,” Charlie said. “But living in Hope Springs is like having one big, happy, mildly dysfunctional family.”
“I guess I haven’t been here long enough to feel that yet.” Scott looked down at the table.
Charlie made a soft, sympathetic sound. “I guess it’s hard to be new. I’ve lived here my whole life. My family have been here for generations, and we leave sometimes, but we always come back.”
It would have been nice to have somewhere to come back to. Although Scott didn’t really feel like he was a part of Hope Springs just yet, he could imagine fitting in here. Settling down. Maybe even starting a family or something.
