Page 109 of The Moment You Know

“What’s today’s word?”

“Oligarch.”

David laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever and felt his chest loosen a tiny bit.

The bartender laughed with him before extending a hand. “I’m Evan Malone.”

David shook it. “David Lowe.”

“So what can I get for you, David?” Evan asked.

“A double bourbon,” David said, then added, “Knob Creek.”

“Neat, or on the rocks?”

“Neat.”

“You got it.”

Evan pulled a short glass from somewhere under the bar, then went to grab the bottle of Knob Creek off one of the glass shelves attached to the mirrored wall behind him. As he turned, David saw a silk-screened caricature on the back of Evan’s shirt, of what appeared to be Evan, his sister, and his brother in various stages of abusing one another. The small boy was kicking the big boy’s shin, who in turn was pulling the girl’s hair, who in turn had the small boy in a headlock and was giving him a noogie.

“Three Amigos,” David said to Evan’s back. “There’s three of you … I get it. Are you the one getting the noogie?”

“That’s me. I’m the youngest and most shit on. Case in point: I didn’t get any say in these stupid shirts.”

“I think it’s funny, actually.”

“I thought Three Stooges was a more appropriate name for the bar, but I got voted down. The three of us aren’t always amigos, so I thought the name Three Amigos was kind of misleading,” Evan said, turning around. “In all honesty, we should’ve called the place ‘Two Brothers And A Sister Who Thinks She’s In Charge All The Fucking Time’, but that probably would’ve been hard to get on the T-shirts.”

“It also would’ve been hard to say when answering the phone,” David said.

Evan grabbed a square napkin and set it in front of David, along with his drink. “That, too. I hadn’t thought of that. Still, it would’ve been great for Evelyn to have to say it all the time.”

David wrapped both hands around the glass and stared at the amber liquid that made him think of Paige’s eyes for several moments, before taking a long drink; it went down smoothly, with a welcome burn. “Fuck, I needed that.”

Evan leaned on the bar. “So, what’s your story?” he asked conversationally.

“My story?”

“Yeah. Everyone has one.”

“Well … I got divorced today. That’s my story.”

“Shit. And here I was thinking you’d just come from a funeral.”

David laughed without humor, glancing down at what he was wearing—a gray button-down shirt and black slacks with uncomfortable dress shoes he’d worn maybe twice since he bought them several years ago. “I kind of did.”

“So, how long were you married?”

“Seven years, two months, and four days.”

David drank the rest of his bourbon, then stared at his empty glass and debated whether he needed another. The debate was very short, taking him less than five seconds to decide he did need another one, because he could still see Paige falling apart in the Goodman & Goodman parking lot. Slowly and deliberately, he pushed the empty glass toward Evan.

Evan regarded him for a long moment, looking unsure.

“I’m not planning on getting totally shitfaced,” David told him quietly. “But halfway there would be good.”

Evan got him another drink and they talked some more until they were interrupted by one of the waitresses. When she saw Evan talking with David she leaned over the bar and asked him teasingly, “Are you hitting on the customers again?”

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