Page 30 of Reckless Chances
Jason turned down the radio. “Is that wedding planner single?” he asked.
Charlie laughed. And then laughed some more. “You just got busted with one of the trashiest women in town giving you a BJ on the main street. The whole town is going to know about it before we get to breakfast. There’s no way that the wedding planner would have ANYTHING to do with you after that.”
“I don’t know how you live here.” Jason shook his head. “Everyone in each other’s business.”
Charlie squinted into the early morning sunshine. “Say that the next time you’re stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire and half the neighborhood stops to help you change it.”
“I guess that’s one good thing.” Jason rolled his eyes. “Why aren’t you all over that wedding planner then? You’ve been single for years and that woman is a ten. Not just a Chance Rapids ten, she’s like an L.A. ten.”
“When are you going to grow up?” Charlie asked. “You left your fraternity almost ten years ago, but you’re still talking like a frat boy.
“When did you get a stick up your ass?” Jason said.
Charlie went to turn up the radio, to end the conversation but paused with his finger on the volume button. “I’m not single. In fact, I have to talk to you about bringing a date to the wedding. Do you think it would be okay with Adam?”
Jason took his phone from the cupholder and typed a text. “I just told him to add a plus one for you.”
“I know it’s last minute.” Charlie tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. He should have checked before he invited Emma. And, he couldn’t wait until he got rid of his brother so that he could call her and speak in private.
Jason’s phone chimed. “Yep. It’s fine.”
Charlie breathed a sigh of relief.
“Were you worried?” Jason’s brow was furrowed. “You know Adam is like a brother to you.”
“I haven’t seen Adam since high school. I was surprised I was invited to begin with,” Charlie said. “He’s more like a brother to you than to me.” Adam had been their neighbor growing up in Ridgetown, they had played baseball together, built amazing tree forts, and in high school, the three of them had all pooled their money together to buy a car. When Charlie got into music and philosophy, Adam and Jason had gotten into girls, coke, and skipping school. The two of them had gone off to college together and if Charlie were being honest with himself, Jason and Adam were more like brothers. He was the outsider in this equation.
“Come on, you guys were tight,” Jason said. “Guys don’t need to keep in touch like women. He’ll always be like a brother to you.” Charlie didn’t agree but debating the point with his serotonin deprived brother was pointless.
It was almost eight o’clock and Charlie needed to get to work. “I can do breakfast, but it’s got to be quick. Do you want to go to the G-Spot or Sugar Peaks Café?”
“Which one is greasier?”
The G-Spot was the locals' nickname for the general store housed alongside the only gas station in town. “The G-Spot it is.” Charlie parked the car on the street and the two of them went inside and slid into one of the orange booths.
“Good morning Charlie.” Mable the owner of the G-Spot also served as its lone waitress. She had been as old as the hills, as the locals say when Charlie moved to Chance Rapids almost fifteen years ago. Her hand shook with a slight tremble as she poured the thick coffee into their cups without even asking if they wanted it.
“Good morning, Mable,” Charlie smiled. “How’s Amy doing with the new baby?”
Mable’s eyes lit up. “She’s the best great-grandchild I’ve had so far.” She winked at Jason, “I can say that because she’s my first.”
Jason smiled at Mable. “How does a woman like you have great-grandchildren, you don’t even look old enough to have grand-kids.”
Mable laughed and patted Jason’s hand. “You’re too kind.”
Jason still had some redeeming qualities, even if they were hidden under layers of asshole. Their grandmother had raised the two of them and Jason had a soft spot for little old ladies. “What’s her name?” he asked.
“Would you believe they named her Mable?” She laughed and pointed to her nametag. “The old fuddy-duddy names are apparently making a comeback.
“Well, it’s a beautiful name. Congratulations,” Jason smiled. Charlie couldn’t believe the duality in his brother.
Mable left the table to give them a few minutes to study the menu, a laminated card that sat in a wire holder with jam in the middle of the table. “Maybe there’s some hope for you yet,” Charlie laughed.
Jason playfully cuffed his brother on the side of the head. “I’m a work in progress. I’m like a fine wine, you know, getting better with age.”
“You’re no twelve-year-old scotch, dude.” Charlie glanced at the menu but knew what he was ordering. “And, I don’t think that Peach Schnapps gets better with age.” Jason would understand the dig, it was the first thing he stole from their grandmother’s liquor cabinet when they were twelve.
“Maybe that’s because nobody gives it a chance,” Jason mused as he studied the menu card, then he looked up at Charlie, and his bloodshot eyes suddenly looked alive, “Because it’s so damn delicious the way it is.”
