Page 2 of Your Place or Mine

“So, you can’t buy it. Big deal. Does the new landlord want to jack up the rent?” Drew tilted his head, still looking annoyingly calm. “Is that the problem?”

“No,” I bit out. “The big deal is that they sold it to some city slicker who wants to ‘modernize’ the entire building. This bar included.”

Drew blinked. “Renovations?”

“Renovations,” I repeated. “You know what that means? She wants to gut the place. Rip out the bar, paint the brick grey, replace the wood floors with some kind of trendy concrete shit, put in those stupid Edison bulb light fixtures everyone’s obsessed with. Make it chic! In a town like this? Don’t think so.”

“You spoke to her?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Then how do you know what she wants to do?”

“I have a good imagination and a terrific gut instinct.”

Drew let out a low whistle. “Damn. Well, what you painted sounds like a mess, but you don’t even know her plans.”

My fist slammed onto the bar, rattling the glass again. “She’s threatening to take everything this place is and turn it into one of those sterile, overpriced nightmares. I know it. You don’t drive from Seattle three hours away and just dab a little paint on the walls.”

“We don’t know that.”

“I know that.” I barely paused to catch a breath. “She doesn’t care about the history, the memories, the fact that this bar has been standing for over sixty damn years.”

Drew’s brows drew together in a rare show of sympathy. “She say anything about your lease to you?”

“Like I said, I haven’t spoken to her. I’m sure it’s only a matter before she jacks up the rent.” I shook my head. “She’s already laying the groundwork to justify it.”

Drew leaned back and scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “If you say so.”

“Of course I say so. I’ve seen how these things play out a million times,” I muttered.

Stretching back, I crossed my arms and stared at the rows of liquor bottles like they understood what I was talking about.

I looked around at the booths, worn but comfortable, that lined the far wall under an assortment of old photos and framed newspaper clippings. The jukebox in the corner had been there longer than I had, and though it sometimes skipped on track six, I’d never replace it. This space wasn’t just a bar. It wasmybar… the town’s bar.

“It’s my damn life, Drew. This bar isn’t just a job to me. It’s my home. I built this place up from nothing. It was a dive when I took it over, barely keeping the lights on. Now it’s the heart of the town. People come here to celebrate, to mourn, to escape. You can’t just throw that away for a glittery chandelier.”

“Well, she can do whatever she wants. She owns the building now,” Drew said, shrugging. “But you might be overthinking things here.”

I shot him another glare. “You’re not being helpful.”

“Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it,” Drew said, holding up his hands. “But if you’re looking for advice, you’ve got two options. Fight her on whatever changes she suggests, or figure out how to work with her.”

“Work with her?” I scoffed. “Are you out of your damn mind? She’s like every gentrifying asshole I’ve ever met. She doesn’t care about this place or this town. She just sees it as a project.”

“Alright, so fight her,” Drew said. “Get yourself a good lawyer, dig into the terms of your lease, and see if there’s a way to stop her from touching your bar.”

I stared into the empty glass and felt the day's weight settle even heavier on my shoulders. Fighting sounded good in theory, but I knew it wasn’t that simple. Legal battles took time and money, two things I didn’t have in abundance.

And yet, the thought of rolling over and letting her win wasn’t an option either.

“You’re right about one thing,” I said finally, his voice hard. “I’m not giving the essence of this place up without a fight.”

“That’s the spirit,” Drew said, smirking. “Now, how about we switch gears and focus on something productive? Like drowning your sorrows in more whiskey instead of punching a wall?”

I rolled my eyes but shook my head. “I’ve got bottles to count and boxes to cut up for recycling. I’ll be in the back if you need me.”

“But today’s your day off.”

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