Page 6 of Love Fast

I still don’t have any answers for him. I glance at Walt to see if he understands what’s going on, but he looks as confused as I feel. I turn to the woman again, just as she slides onto the barstool one down from mine.

“I’d like a drink,” she says.

The bartender who knows me better than I know him says, “Well, you’ve come to the right place. You want to be more specific?”

Her eyelids flicker as she takes a breath and thinks about it, like she was expecting the bartender to decide for her. Now that he hasn’t, she’s having to make a decision she hadn’t planned for. “Do you have tequila? On the rocks?”

She picks one of the three brand names she’s given, and when the glass appears in front of her, she hesitates before she brings it to her lips. She takes the tiniest of sips and lets out a huge sigh. It seems she’s been waiting for that drink all day.

“You just get into town?” Jim asks the woman.

The woman doesn’t hear him at first. She’s staring forward and thinking so hard, I can almost see her thoughts in front of her face. She’s worried. And out of energy. Like she’s reached the end of the road.

Then, as if Jim’s words have taken a couple of seconds to register, she turns to him. She offers him a tight smile and nods—she’s not interested in small talk.

Jim goes to follow up on his question, and both Walt and I interrupt him at the same time.

“I’m sure we’ll come to some understanding,” I say, just as Walt tells Jim I’m not about to stop him walking his dog wherever he wants.

“Let me have a think about it, Jim,” I say. “And if you have any other questions?—”

“I have a few things I want to talk to you about,” he says. He’s about to launch into his list, but he stops himself. “Why don’t you settle back in. Catch up with your buddy here.” He slaps Walt on the back. “But don’t be a stranger, you hear me? I’m gonna run. Gotta get back home by the timeLove Islandfinishes.”

I want to laugh, but I stop myself. “Say hi to Sue from me.”

“You sure you want me to? Your presence will be required at Sunday dinner if I do that.”

I nod. “Say hi to Sue for me.”

“See you Sunday,” he says, as he drops some cash on the bar and heads out.

I wasn’t expecting the warm hum that settles in me. I walked out on this town fifteen years ago and Jim’s acting like I’ve only been gone a couple of months. It’s almost like they always knew I’d come back, and they’ve just been waiting.

“So you’re going to come to dinner on Sunday?” Walt says from beside me.

“You’re going to be there too?”

“I’m there every Sunday. I married Patty.”

My eyes nearly fall out of my head. “Patty Johnson? How’d you manage that?” Patty Johnson was one of the most formidable girls at our high school. She was two years older than us and ran the school more than the principal did. Just like her mother before her, she was an influencer before the time of social media. She decided what was cool and what wasn’t. The sweater every girl should own, the boys the girls were allowed to ask to the spring formal. At fourteen, when she took up the flute out of nowhere, every kid in the school badgered their parents for lessons.

Walt laughs. “It took me a while to win her over, but perseverance paid off.”

“He married Patty?” I say to Eva, as she delivers a bowl of chips.

“A thousand years ago,” Eva says. “It’s been a while, Byron Miller.”

For a second, I wonder why it’s been so long. Everything’s so welcoming and warm and familiar. For almost a minute, I can forget all the pain that came with this place.

“I gotta go,” Walt says. “Patty watchesLove Islandwith Sue. I have to go pick her up.” He pauses, and I want to make a time for us to catch up, but I stop myself, because what’s the point? We’ll catch up, and I’ll probably never see him again. I’m here to do a job—get the Colorado Club up and running. I’m not here to take a walk down memory lane. However nice that walk might start off, it’ll soon turn dark and muddy, and before I know it, I’ll be waist-high in cow shit.

“I’ll see you Sunday,” he says.

For a second I’m confused, and then I remember Jim’s invitation. It’s not like I’m planning to go. But maybe I should. I do need to get Sue on board. We’ve got to fill the vacancies up at the Club.

I chuckle. “Maybe you will.”

He gives me a two-fingered salute and heads out. I order another beer and surreptitiously scan the rest of the bar. Is there anyone else here I need to talk to? Any other old-school influencers?

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