Page 28 of Down Memory Lane
Lottie looked over him and smiled gratefully. “I’d tell you to get lost since you’re technically on vacation or whatever, but actually yeah, I would love the help.” She tossed him a clean tea towel and signaled to a group of gentlemen in front of her. “You take the bachelor party and I’ll get the book club at the end of the bar.” Divide and conquer, the golden rule of any bartending gig.
As he pulled beers and poured cider for the rowdy group of men celebrating their friend’s last day of freedom, Felix looked around the bar and noticed a lot more new faces. Nate had wanted Applewood to grow and prosper, and he had plans in place to make that happen, but Felix hadn’t thought they’d been implemented yet. Of course, he had been a little preoccupied with Autumn. They had basically been existing in a little bubble, but it seemed that the real world was slowly encroaching on that territory, threatening to pop it and end their near perfect existence. It was something Felix knew would happen eventually, but that didn’t mean he welcomed it.
When there appeared to be a lull in service, Felix joined Lottie as she settled a tab for a couple of college age guys. “Where’s Bruce and the new girl?”
Felix couldn’t remember her name for the life of him. He would definitely need to remedy that before he returned to work. Being a good employer was something he prided himself on, and knowing the names of the people who worked for you was straight out of Bossing 101.
Lottie rolled her eyes. “The new girl was a no show three days in a row, and sadly no one else is looking for work at the moment.” She wiped a pool of grenadine off the bar top, looking slightly annoyed at the spill. “Luckily Bruce will be here soon enough. He’s just finishing up his dinner break.”
“At least there’s that.” Felix helped Lottie for another half hour until Bruce took over, finding that he missed working and socializing with the customers, but he wouldn’t trade his time with Autumn for anything, not when they were so close to rebuilding what they’d had.
Heading back into the office, he went over the financial records. Unsurprisingly, Lottie had kept them meticulously, and it seemed that his business had not only survived his absence, but was thriving. Revenue had increased, but so had his profit. Some of that had gone to the now absent third bartender, but even after her few paychecks Felix had enough money in his coffers to last a long while. Maybe he could divert some of that money to Autumn until her shop was up and running again.
“Hey,” Lottie said, appearing in the doorway. “Got a minute?” Felix nodded and gestured to the chair across from him. Lottie ignored it in favor of leaning against the door. “Nuh-uh. If I sit down I don’t plan on ever getting back up again.”
A chuckle broke loose. “Am I working you that hard?” It was partially a joke, but from the tired slump to her shoulders and faint purple shadows under Lottie’s eyes, it might actually have been true.
Her shoulder bobbed as she shrugged off his question. “It probably has more to do with my choice in footwear than anything.” Lottie showed off a pair of black and white vintage heels that were probably uncomfortable the year they were made, so Felix could only imagine they’d gotten more so with time. “But I did actually want to talk to you about when you were coming back to work.”
Felix ran his fingers through his hair, still not quite used to the shorter length. “Not sure honestly.” He waved at the computer and notebooks in front of him. “You’ve been doing such a good job that I almost wonder how necessary I really am to this whole operation.”
Lottie groaned as her back pressed into the wood doorframe. “Ugh, I was worried you might say that.” She moved over to the desk and sat on the corner. “Felix, this was your baby, not mine or anyone else’s. Now, I am happy to look after it while you help Autumn, but it’s been two months. Do you really think more time is going to make much of a difference?”
Putting a voice to the question that plagued him just earlier wasn’t something Felix wanted to hear, but he knew it was important that he did. “I honestly don’t know, but I can’t just go back to normal and leave her to figure things out on her own.” Even the thought of doing so caused pain to slice through his chest.
“Is that for her sake or yours?” Lottie speared him with a knowing look.
Leave it to the woman who seemed unable to bullshit to cut right to the chase. Felix did sometimes wonder if keeping Autumn mostly to himself wasn’t the most selfish thing he’d ever done. He told himself he was helping her get her memories back, but that wasn’t really happening either. At what point was he just keeping her from living her life, whatever it looked like now?
“Fuck.” He buried his head in his hands, shaking with fear that he would lose her before he ever really had a chance to be with her the way he wanted to. “I don’t know anymore,” he sniffed.
Lottie circled around and started to rub his back. “I can’t pretend that I know what it feels like to go through something like this, but I can tell you that I am sorry that you’re having to go through it at all.” A business card appeared in front of his face, the name of some kind of investment group written on the front. “I wasn’t going to give this to you now, but maybe this is the best time for it.”
Felix stared at the card, flipping it over in his hand. “Where did you get this?”
“Well, I’m sure you noticed the bigger crowd out there.” She nodded to the open door where he could see people continuing to pour into the brewery. “There was an influencer in here a few weeks back, some guy who travels and finds bars that are hidden away. He was shooting some footage with his phone, and I didn’t really think anything of it, but I guess he has a ton of followers and now you’ve got people from all over the state coming to try some cider and other local drinks.” She pointed at the card Felix held in his fingertips. “This guy came yesterday asking to talk to the owner about selling his recipes.”
Felix balked at the idea of selling the project he’d started as a teen. “Selling? I don’t want to sell my cider.” Felix couldn’t imagine doing anything else, but then again, selling his cider business and then the bar could give him enough money to follow Autumn wherever she wanted to go. The thought of getting rid of his bar was akin to imagining one of his limbs missing, but even though it seemed essential to his functioning, he could adapt if it meant being with Autumn. “At least, I don’t think I do.”
Lottie smiled sadly. “Well, he said he wasn’t in a rush, so take some time to think about it.” She walked over to the corner and pulled an album out of a huge canvas bag. “One more thing. I was going to stop by sometime and give you this, but now seems as good a time as any.”
Felix flipped past the cover and looked at pictures of the town’s history. Images from events that had been around since the town’s founding were in the album, but only from the last twenty or so years. His fingers brushed over photos of large gatherings like the Fourth of July parade and Harvest Festival as well as other smaller ones like pie-making contests, sidewalk sales, and church clothing drives. Each picture showed something that had taken place in Applewood since the time he was born, and many of the photos included him and his family, but he spotted a younger version of Autumn wandering around them as well.
“This is incredible, Lottie. Where did you get these?” Felix had seen the photos she’d procured for his brother’s restaurant, but it seemed there was no limit to the vestiges of town history that she had access to.
A fat curl tumbled out of her headscarf when she bobbed her shoulder. “I know a lot of people.” Lottie smiled widely and tapped the album with her fingernail. “I thought that maybe seeing some of what she grew up with might help Autumn’s memory a little, and even if it doesn’t, it’s a nice way to show her the town she lives in now.”
Standing, Felix pulled his friend into a hug. “Thanks, Lottie. For everything.” Selling the bar would also mean less time with another good friend, but he knew Lottie would understand if he had to do it.
“You’re welcome.” She leaned back and looked him straight in the eye. “Just promise you’ll think about what you’re going to do about the bar. I don’t want to rush you, but I would like to devote more time to my newsletter. The last couple of issues have been pretty lackluster.”
Felix hugged her again. She didn’t give herself nearly enough credit for the reports she put out, something he needed to remind her of. “No, they haven’t, but I’ll think about it. Thanks again, Lottie.”
A throat cleared behind him. Felix stepped back, surprised to find Nate standing in the doorway. “Am I interrupting something?” The furrow in his older brother’s brow was so deep it rivaled the Grand Canyon. “I can come back if you two want your privacy.”
Felix rolled his eyes at Nate, but before he could say anything Lottie beat him to the punch. “We’re done here. I need to get back to work anyway.” Lottie reached up and patted Nate’s chest lightly. “He’s all your, Mister Mayor.” With a wink, she brushed past his brother, her body rubbing up against him slightly as she went.
Felix watched as Nate closed his eyes and ran his nose in the air, staying that way long after she was gone. “Yeah, that’s not creepy at all.” When Nate raised a middle finger to him, Felix chuckled and retook his seat. “What are you doing here, Nate?”
