Page 52 of Gulfside Girls
In short order, Erica appeared at the table with a tray in hand. She expertly weaved in and out of the increasingly busy outdoor eating space. She deposited the flight in front of Ali.
“Butter Blend, Oo La Leche, Uppers, ChocoLady, and Means Business. You’ll like at least one of these because they run the table of flavors.”
“Wow. Looks and smells wonderful!”
“And Henry, I’ve got your usual Boring Ass Coffee.”
“She makes ‘em all herself,” Henry told Ali. “And yes, Boring Ass Coffee, that’s the actual blend name. I’m afraid it fits me to a t.” He paused, giving Ali the once over. “So, Ali Kelly, you look more relaxed than that first night at the restaurant. Our little patch of paradise agreeing with you?”
“Yes, of course, the beach naps I’m taking are sort of alarming. I never doze off like that at home!”
“You do that when you need it,” Erica pointed out. “I remember when I first got here, I wanted to do yoga on the beach and kept falling asleep during Shavasana. The thing is, your body needs the sleep and then when it catches up, the naps are fewer.”
“Yeah, same at The Shack. I thought I was going to be doing this gourmet seafood thing, and it was like the fish itself said, ‘No, slow your roll, it’s not that serious.’ The beach told me, I didn’t tell it.” Henry took a sip of his Boring Ass Coffee.
Ali tried not to stare.They sure did make them handsome in, where was it, South Carolina?
“Remember you had that four-layer caviar dip on the menu?” Erica piped up. “I tried to tell you.”
“I had to get over myself a bit.”
“Our baseball star had Michelin stars in his eyes. It took him a while to understand we don’t worry about that kind of thing here.” Henry laughed at Erica’s description of him.
“Michelin stars are a bit out of my wheelhouse, too,” Ali said.
Ali’s job at the convention center was adjacent to the hospitality industry. Toledo did not have a Michelin star; the closest place that did was Chicago, some four hours by highway.
“Yes, well,” Henry conceded, “that was an aggressively career-oriented time of my life.”
“How did you wind up here?”
Henry shifted in his seat and looked down for a beat. Ali felt instantly guilty that she’d stepped into something too personal.She’d felt at such ease with these two that she’d forgotten for a moment that she’d just met them.
“Ah, took it over from my brother.”
“My ex.”
Ali looked from Henry to Erica. They did seem almost like brother and sister from completely different parentage. Now she knew why.
“Yes, he opened the place here, and it was a bit of a mess. While I was chasing good reviews and fame and fortune, he was slinging daiquiris and uh?—”
“Sleeping around?” Erica interrupted. “Yeah, not the greatest marriage. But I did get a bestie out of it!” Erica punched Henry on the shoulder.
“Hey, watch it. I don’t want to spill a drop of the nectar of the gods.”
“Anyway, when his brother, my ex, split during our contentious divorce, Henry came down to help clean up the mess.”
“And I never left. Like you said, there’s an ease here that lulled me from the get-go. I bought my brother out and retooled Seashell Shack.”
“His purchase gave my ex enough to comply with the divorce settlement. And we all lived happily ever after!”
“Not the kind of bedtime story we were raised with, eh?” Ali said. “I can relate to relationship messes, I’ll say that.”
“When it rains, it pours.” Erica put a hand out and patted Ali’s.
It was like they had a bond. A cheating husband bond. Ali wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Still, it was somehow comforting to know someone as vibrant and cool as Erica could also be not enough for some man who likely wasn’t her equal by a mile.
Ali realized she was harboring a lot of doubt that what Ted had done was her fault. That she was the weak link, and he’d had no choice but to cheat.
