Page 14 of Seamus's Basement
“Well, we can cross that bridge if we come to it, but honestly, I doubt that’ll ever happen. I don’t have a ton of options here andI work too much to see my friends, let alone date. There’s almost no chance I’ll get to a place where marriage is on the table. Plus…” He breathed out and cleared away the sudden thickness in his throat. “Other people don’t see relationships the way we do. I know you don’t want it, but you get it. Your brothers, your father, those people you mentioned being so excited about having a wife? Marriage means so much to them. In Claddagh, when they say forever, that’s what it is. I don’t know if I could ever settle for anything less than that. I don’t want to.” He shook away his melancholy. “Anyway, I meant what I said before. I’m your friend, and friends help each other out. We’ll follow through on the betrothal and get married.”
Chapter 5
“Hi, DJ!”
Looking over his shoulder, DJ smiled at his sweet boss. He had been a terminally shy and quiet kid when they first met, but over the years he had gained some confidence and now that they spent time together outside of work, he was much more talkative.
“Hi, Tanner. Breakfast went well and I’m taking advantage of the slowdown at the front of the house to get our weekly deep cleaning done in the back. I’ll be finished and out of here before the lunch rush.”
“Oh. I’m sorry I wasn’t here. Steve didn’t have any calls this morning so we, uh…I, uh…”
“You don’t need to explain why you stayed home with your hunkalicious man instead of toiling here with us.” He winked. “I’m in a Mojave Desert dry spell but I vaguely remember the joys of sex.”
That was no exaggeration. DJ hadn’t ever been a player in any sense of the word, but endless work had made meeting someone for even a night challenging. When he got married the previous month, he had come to terms with the fact that all of that was in his past. Even though it was only a nominal marriage, it was still a marriage, and when DJ took his vows in front of the officiant at the county courthouse, he had every intention of keeping them. Love, loyalty, and friendship. He didn’t need the first to give the other two so that’s what he would do, eternally.
“Oh no. We weren’t…” Cheeks on fire, Tanner darted his gaze from one side of the kitchen to the other, looking anywhere but at him.
Peeling off his thick rubber gloves, he turned all the way so he was face-to-face with Tanner. “You weren’t getting it on withyour sexy boyfriend?” He arched his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s the story you’re going with?”
“Well, I mean—” If his blush got any darker, he’d be purple.
Taking mercy before the awkwardness choked the poor guy, he laughed. “I’m just giving you a hard time.” He reached over and gently pushed Tanner’s shoulder. “Friends kid around, right?”
“Right.” Tanner sighed, looking relieved. “I don’t have a lot of friends.”
Chest aching, DJ squeezed the shoulder he hadn’t yet released. “Well, you have me, and if you want, you can hang out with my friends sometime. They can be a lot, but they’re good guys.”
“Oh, uh, sure. Sometime,” he said hesitantly.
He wasn't going to push so he let the topic go. “Plus, you’re friends with Mike, right? I remember you guys were tight before he moved away for college.” Tanner was good friends with his now-boyfriend’s son.
“Yes. And he still texts and FaceTimes all the time.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, his version of giving me a hard time is much worse than yours.”
“I don’t really know Mike, but he seems fun.”
“He is.” He smiled. “I think he’s coming home tonight and staying the weekend. Steve’s excited but pretending to be put out.”
“Have a good time catching up. I better get back to it.” He put his gloves on and continued scrubbing the grill. His phone vibrated in his pocket a few times, but he stayed on task, hoping to have enough time to clean the ice machine before he had to go to his next job.
The buzzing didn’t stop, which pretty much told him who was calling. His grandfather’s creditor, or more accurately loan shark, did not take well to being ignored. DJ had explained tohim that he couldn’t send him another payment until he got paid but, as usual, the nonstop demands continued. Hopefully at least one of his paychecks would clear by the time he was done at Jesse’s Diner and then he could send another payment.
“Hi, Seamus. Sorry I missed your call; I was helping a customer.”
Thatcustomerhad forced him to talk in the alley behind the building in order to avoid making a scene in front of everyone at the coffee shop. Then he had given DJ a physical reminder of his displeasure at not getting enough money before demanding a double espresso to give him energy on his drive back to wherever it was he lived. DJ doubted he came to Hope just to knock him around, but he didn’t know who else in town was in debt to him. Or maybe coming to see him in Hope was just one of many stops on his customer service route.
“Do you need me to call back later?” Seamus asked.
“No, I’m good now. We’re closed for the day.” He adjusted his earbud and then started disassembling the portafilter. Thankfully, he didn’t have to do any heavy lifting to shut down at the coffee shop and he had gotten all the appliances scrubbed at Jesse’s before he left, so he’d have another week before he had to do them again. That would give his back time to heal from the boot that had been aimed at his stomach. He had protected his more vulnerable side by rolling over, so the damage was contained. Still painful, but he didn’t need to see a doctor, which was good because he wouldn't have gone anyway. “How’s your Friday going?”
“Good. I had a quiet morning at home, caught up on some reading, and I just opened up the bar.”
Sighing wistfully, he wondered if he would ever get to live that kind of life. He couldn’t work any more hours than he already did, and yet, he wasn’t making a dent in hisgrandfather’s debts because his payments barely kept up with the interest rate.
“That sounds like a great day,” he said.
“It has been so far. We’ll see what tonight brings. Folks can get a little rowdy on Friday nights.” Seamus chuckled and DJ couldn’t help but smile in response. “If you have some time, can you stop by here? My parents have asked about you the last couple of times we talked. I’d love to FaceTime them together.”
He flicked his gaze to the clock above the café door. His shift at Slice of Life started in an hour. If he worked quickly, he could probably get out of Strong Brew in ten minutes. That should give him enough time to get to and from Seamus’s Basement and squeeze in a call with his parents-in-law.
