Page 84 of Doing Life

“No shit? Well, I’m off for the afternoon. So where did you want to go?”

“There’s a place called Jack’s Brews. It’s in an old firehouse, and it’s like a block off the square. They say they have all sorts of fried goodness, as well as burgers and wings.”

“Oh, shit. I’m in.” Sloan touched his arm, then helped him tuck his hand into the crook of Sloan’s arm. “Off we go. How’d you do getting here?”

“Okay. I had some help once I got inside here. It echoes, which is a little bit disorienting.”

“I bet. Down in the lobby especially.”

“Have a good day, sir!” Jim called to him.

“Thanks, Jim.” He chuckled. “That’s the security guard who brought me up on the elevator.”

“Nice.” He had a feeling Sloan waved at the guy in thanks. They got back on the elevator, and the ride seemed so much shorter with Sloan. They stepped outside, the air so much fresher out here, and Sloan paused. “Steps or ramp?”

“Shit, there’s a ramp?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of tucked back on one side, though, not right by the stairs.”

“Ramp, then. So much easier on Abby, and maybe that will help her understand her choices. That’s part of her training. Picking ramps rather than stairs.”

“Neat.” Sloan led him around his elbow to get to his ass, which seemed nuts, but the ramp was nice. Not too steep and only a little bendy.

“Okay, babe. In front of the courthouse facing into the square. Which way do I go?”

“Um. Left.” He had to visualize the map in his mind. Thankfully it had been optimized for vision-impaired with voice-readable descriptions. “Then left at the end of the block and across the square.”

“On it.” Sloan led him that way, and he navigated Sloan right to the restaurant, the smell of fried food and burgers strong.

“Ta-da,” Lance murmured.

“Well done, honey.” Sloan took him inside, and conversation lulled for a moment. But then it came back, bright and brittle. That was okay. They’d been pretty quick to get over the shock.

“Anywhere you like, folks. I’ll get menus.”

“Thanks,” Sloan said, leading him to a— He felt around the edge. “A table, not a booth, right?”

“Got it in one. That’s easier for Abby, right?”

“It is.” He got a chair out and sat without falling on his ass. Victory. “That way she can really tuck in and be out of the way.”

“I thought so.”

“Here we go, guys. Did you need any help with the menu, honey? We don’t have any vision-impaired ones.”

“No, no, Mr. Sloan here will help me.”

“Good deal. We have a first responder discount, sir.”Ah right, Sloan was uniform. “And a military one, sir, if you have a veteran ID card.”

“I do.”

“Thank you for your service,” she said. “What can I get y’all to drink? We have coffee and tea, Coke products, juice…”

“A Dr Pepper?” Lance asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll take the same,” Sloan said, and the air moved as she left.

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