Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Now that I'm looking back on it, it seems almost like a miracle that we've ended up doing this. We had all those possibilities, and we chose to open a bar together. Maybe I didn't know it was my dream to do this back then, but the more we talked about it, the more it became a goal I had to achieve.
And now I'm actually living out my dream, owning a bar with my best friend.
But all I keep thinking about now is…what’s next? I have my dream life, and I would sound like an asshole if I complained. How many people get to go into business with their best friend and have it succeed? How many people get to own a place like Iron Brewery, where you're guaranteed to see even more of your friends almost every day and make new ones just as often?
Not that many.
The one thing that's different is that Brody has Mags now. That's not a bad thing. That's a great thing. They deserve to have each other and deserve to be happy.
But watching him talk about her reminds me of the emptiness I feel every time I see them together and every time Brody tells a story about her. I never thought I'd feel that because my best friend found the love of his life before I did.
Mary Sue stops by the table to take our orders. “Hi, Mrs. Matthews! It's so nice of you to stop by and spend some time here.”
My mom preens, looking happy to be a small-town celebrity. We place our orders, starting with Mom, who orders a crispy chicken sandwich, and ending with Brody’s and my orders of burger and wings,
Mary Sue glances from me to my mom. “You're from just up north, right?”
Mom nods at her. “Yes, ma'am. A little place called Orangeburg”
“Not as little as here, I think,” Mary Sue says, and we all laugh.
“A little bigger.” My mom holds out her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.
“Let me get these orders in for you.” Mary Sue taps her pen against the pad she’s scribbled on and makes her way to the kitchen.
My mom asks a few more questions about Mags, and then there's a short lull in the conversation while we sip our drinks. Absently I scrunch up the straw paper into a little ball and glance back to where Renee just was. She’s not there anymore though…probably in the back by the kitchen.
“Are you seeing anybody, Griffin?” Mom asks casually, just when I'm getting ready to ask her about the family holiday plans this year.
Brody chuckles, and I wave off my mom, ignoring the way my face heats up again. I have to stop blushing in front of her, or she’ll have questions from here to next New Year's. I don't mind that she asks about my life. I love that I can tell her almost everything. But these kinds of questions—
“What?” My mom says, her eyebrows raised and an innocent expression on her face. “Isn't that what's next?”
Brody nods, taking her side, and I shoot him a look. He's been my best friend for almost half my life. He should know better than to side with my mom. Although it does earn him a hell of a lot of brownie points.
My mom raises both hands in front of her. “All I meant was that I hope you can find a date to bring to Christmas dinner.”
“She has a point,” Brody says, leaning back in the booth and I make a conscious effort to not flick the ball of paper at him.
“Even our old neighbors, the Bennets, have settled down,” she points out. “Don't you think—”
Now that makes me feel like I'm in high school again. My mom tried to hide it, but she was more excited than anybody about homecoming and prom. She casually lurked around the living room in the evenings, not really watching TV, just waiting to see if I'd spill who I was going to ask. She'd always say, what? I just want you to have the best time.
“Come on, Mom. When I get a girlfriend, I’ll let you know. Right now there’re no secrets to spill.”
I just wish she wouldn't push so hard—especially when the girl I have eyes for is my best friend's wife's best friend and my employee. If I went for Renee and it didn't work out, it would cause so many issues between all four of us. One wrong move could literally make my entire life harder, at home and at work, and I'm not even the one I'm most worried about. I don't want to screw anything up for Renee or make her feel awkward at work or make her feel like she can't talk about it to her best friend.
“Mags is thinking about taking a road trip once the baby's a little older,” Brody says. “A low-key getaway.”