Page 31 of The Good Luck Cafe
“My point exactly.” Moira turned, talking to her mom over her shoulder as she walked out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mom. I have somewhere important to be right now.”
Chapter Ten
“What’s wrong, Gilly?”
Gil looked up as Doug approached. Gil was sitting on his back deck watching the lake. This was one of his favorite views in all the world. At least the parts of the world he’d seen. The lake sparkled in different shades of blue depending on where the sun or moon sat in the sky. Tonight, the lake was a deep hue reflecting the moon’s beams.
Gil looked over at his little brother and shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong.”
Doug put his hands on his waist. “I can tell.”
Gil released a breath. “It’s just not always easy being mayor. That’s all.”
“Still running?” Doug asked.
“Yeah, I’m still running.” Gil watched Doug sit in the seat beside his.
“If you’re still running, I’m still your manager,” Doug said proudly.
Gil smiled gratefully. “Glad to hear it. I couldn’t do this without you, you know.”
“Yes, you could,” Doug said, his smile faltering for a moment.
“Well, maybe, but I wouldn’t want to.” Gil cleared his throat. “Doug, Darla mentioned to me that you were applying for a job at Sweetie’s.”
Doug glanced over. “Yes.”
“Why? You just said you wanted to stay on as my manager.”
“I can do both, Gilly,” Doug said without missing a beat. “I want to earn a living and move out.”
Gil wasn’t sure right now was the best time to get back into this conversation. “You sure you’re ready for that? Living on your own isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Doug frowned. “Neither is living with Mom and Dad. Joey has his own place.” Joey was one of Doug’s friends from high school. He didn’t have Down syndrome but he had been in a lot of the same classes Doug had attended.
“That’s great for Joey.” Gil chose his words carefully. “How would you work at Sweetie’s? You don’t have a driver’s license.”
“Not yet.”
Gil nodded. “I see.”
“No, you don’t. You’re just like Mom. You don’t think I can drive or live alone.”
Gil pressed his lips together. “What about the other day? When you had an insulin issue and fell down?”
“I called nine-one-one,” Doug said, lifting his chin a notch. “The same thing I would have done if I lived on my own. The same thing you would have done for yourself.”
Doug had a point. Gil scratched the side of his face where his five-o’clock shadow was filling in. “I’m your brother, not your mom. It doesn’t matter if I think you’re ready to live on your own.”
Disappointment settled in the deep divot between Doug’s brows. “It matters to me. I want you to believe in me the way I’ve always believed in you.”
Gil held Doug’s gaze. “I do. I just…” He trailed off because he didn’t know his reasons for anything he was thinking about this issue. He just knew that his mom had asked him to discourage any talk of this kind from Doug. Surely she knew what was best. Right? “I’m not sure what to say right now, if you want to know the truth.”
“Say you’ll talk to Mom for me,” Doug said. “Please. She’ll listen to you.”
Gil closed his eyes and nodded. This was a sticky situation that he didn’t like being in the middle of. One of many sticky situations weighing on him tonight. He’d love nothing more than to take his boat out and unwind, but the town hall meeting was in an hour, and he guessed Moira was planning to speak. She would be expecting him to publicly support her.
“Gilly?” Doug said, reminding Gil he wasn’t alone.
