Chapter 6
CHAPTER
SIX
Lizzie
“So, what does he do?”
The question from my aunt, BJ, makes me pause. “Who?”
“The hottie behind the bar downstairs,” she whispers so no one else hears her.
My eyes widen at her bluntness.
“What? He’s hot, right? I can’t be the only one who sees it,” she states, shrugging her delicate shoulders before sliding the paintbrush carefully along the top of the wall.
I clear my throat, trying to figure out what to say. She doesn’t push me as I rewet my roller with paint and place it against the wall. “No, you’re not the only one who sees it,” I finally confirm without taking my eyes off what I’m doing.
“I knew it. So, what does he do?”
“He’s a full-time firefighter. I haven’t really had much of a chance to talk to him, but that’s what I’ve been told. He worked for Chuck a night or two a week when he is off.”
“Oh! A firefighter? That just raised his level of hotness by like a thousand!” my aunt bellows, making me giggle.
“Says the woman married to the accountant,” I reply.
Aunt BJ stops and turns to face me. “Don’t let that fool you, sweetheart. Sometimes, the structured ones are the most…wild.”
I make a face of disgust, which causes her to giggle. “Don’t ever say that again!” I insist, wishing I could bleach my brain and remove the statement I’ll probably never forget now.
“I’m just saying,” she replies before returning to her painting. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter what their job is. Passion doesn’t care about professions, honey. Sometimes, complete opposites work out best of all. Look at me and Numbers, Jameson and Madelyn. Hell, even Jasper and Lyndee.”
I nod, understanding what she’s saying. The problem is, she’s thinking Collin and I are headed toward some sort of relationship, which we’re not. “We just work together, Aunt Beej.”
She smirks, and without breaking stride of the line she’s painting, says, “That’s what your parents thought.”
I don’t reply, because, honestly, there’s nothing I can say. I can’t deny that isn’t exactly how my parents’ relationship began all those years ago, when I was three. Dad had some rule about not dating where he worked, and it had worked for a while…until my mom came along.
I don’t remember a time when Dad wasn’t in my life, or my uncles for that matter.
I’ve heard all the stories, seen the photographs.
Four bachelor friends, all working and running a business together, and while most of them dated, it all changed the day Mom started working at Burgers and Brew.
Dad fell hard for her, and with that, fell hard for me too.
And my uncles? Well, let’s just say I was incredibly spoiled by a group of big teddy bear men who doted on me.
They did everything and anything they could to help me and my mom out of a tough situation and made us all a family.
And look at us now.
They’re still right here, helping me.
“All I’m saying is keep your eyes open. Something amazing might come along when you least expect it,” she says, a soft smile on her lips.
“You mean like the unexpected guy who stops by to help you when your truck is broken down and ends up driving you home?” I ask, referring to how BJ and Numbers first…started out.
She barks out a laugh. “Exactly like that. I even let him try to look under the hood, as if I didn’t already know what was wrong with it. He was a true knight in shining armor.”
“You two are so cute,” I say just as my name is hollered from the living room. “Uh oh, I better go see what’s wrong.”
Carefully, I set my paint roller down in the tray and grab a damp cloth to wipe my hands off as I walk to the living room. There stand my two brothers, as well as my sister, and they’re smiling. “What’s going on?”
“Well, we know how uncomfortable it can be to sleep on an air mattress, so we brought your moving truck,” my brother, Duncan, announces.
“What? But…we were going to move all my stuff later in the week.”
Waylon shrugs. “Yeah, but we called the cousins to help finish loading your stuff, and now it’s all here. Mom said the apartment is about ready for some of it, so we thought we’d help you move in what you need tonight. Then, we can come back when you’re ready for more of it.”
My eyes fill with tears as I stare at my family. “Wow, thank you,” I state, walking over and giving them each a quick hug.
“And don’t worry about going back and cleaning the old place. We’ve got it,” Mom states, looking to Lyndee and Madelyn, who both nod.
“So, all my stuff is…here.”
“Downstairs,” Duncan confirms.
I glance around the apartment I’ll be calling home for the time being, and even though I want all my things brought up right this second, there’s still so much more work to do.
I’m replacing the carpet and tile because what’s here is from the seventies and have a bit more cleaning to do.
It’s all so overwhelming, especially when I partner it with the bar updates I’m making downstairs.
“If I may make a suggestion,” my dad says, stepping forward and placing a comforting hand on my wrist. “Let’s bring up your bed, and we can get that set up in the middle of the bedroom.
This way, you can sleep there tonight and not on the air mattress.
That’ll be easy to move when it’s time for the carpet in the bedroom. ”
I nod in relief, grateful for his guidance.
“We can bring up the couch and TV too, because those are also easy to move out of the way to accommodate flooring. Your kitchen table can wait in the truck and the rest of your bedroom suite and living room stuff. We’ll bring up a few boxes with necessities too because most of that stuff you’ll need sooner rather than later. ”
My eyes fill with tears once more. I feel like I’ve been on the verge of a good cry for days, as the emotion of what’s been happening threatens to overwhelm me. I see the flash of panic in my dad’s eyes as he watches me, waiting for a response.
“That’s a great idea. Thank you,” I tell him.
He steps forward and gives me a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead.
“We got you, Lou,” he whispers quietly before clearing his throat and turning toward my brothers.
“All right, yahoos, let’s bring up her bed, but be careful.
The walls in here and the bedroom are wet.
You get it all over and you’ll deal with your mother, you hear me? ”
Duncan and Waylon both offer a mock salute. “Yes, sir, drill sergeant, sir,” Waylon states.
Dad rolls his eyes. “Why are all my kids smart-asses?”
“Umm…apple? Tree?” Mom states, making everyone laugh.
“I’m gonna run downstairs real quick and check on things,” I say as they prepare to bring up some of my belongings and furniture.
“I’ll come with you!” my sister insists, anxious to see the rest of the building.
We manage to slip down the stairs without getting run over by one of our brothers and make our way to the doorway that leads to the bar. “This is so cool,” Emberlyn announces, taking it all in. “It has this retro vibe I’m digging.”
“Retro because it hasn’t been updated in forty years?” I ask with a giggle.
The music hits me first, which is a welcome change over the musky stale cigarette smoke smell that used to hit me.
I recognize several of the regulars at the bar, all chatting and watching a baseball game on television.
When my eyes land on Collin, my heart does this weird little leap, like a graceful ballet pirouette in my chest.
“Hey, it’s Lizzie!” Tom hollers, grabbing everyone’s attention, including Collin’s.
I’m greeted with a variety of hellos, as well as a comment from Jarrod, “Who is that lovely young lady?”
“This is my younger sister, Emberlyn. Em, this is everyone,” I state, watching as my sister waves to those sitting at the bar.
“Well, hello, Em. Would you like a drink?” Tom asks, a hint of humor glistening in his dark eyes.
“Are you buying?” my eighteen-year-old sister asks with a big grin.
“Of course! Collin, my good man, bring this young woman a Coke on me.”
I can’t help but laugh, because I’m pretty sure my sister was expecting something with alcohol in it.
Collin looks to my sister, the hint of a grin on his lips as he waits for my sister’s permission. When she nods, he fills a cup with ice and pours Coke from the soda gun. “Thank you, kind sir,” Em says, accepting the drink from Collin and giving Tom a smile. “Okay, show me around.”
She follows me as I start to tell her all about the changes we made, mostly today. “We cleaned the windows and scrubbed the walls. I’m going to paint them too and try to save all the vintage beer stuff hanging up.”
“I love those old signs,” she says, taking it all in.
“Eventually, I’ll get new stools too. The ones here are pretty rough, and some don’t even sit level.”
“But the old bar has a cool retro look,” she tells me, walking over to the corner, away from where the others are sitting and running her hand across the wood before taking a sip of her Coke.
We move around the room, talking about the tables and chairs, the pool table, and additional changes I want to make, including refinishing the floors.
Eventually, I’d love to update the lighting too, only because it’s older than I am, and since I live here too, I’d feel better if an electrician came and made a few updates.
But that’s down the road for me, after the business starts making money.
“And I love the name. It’s so you,” Em announces after checking out the bathrooms, both of which are on the list for some needed improvements.
“Thank you. Didn’t Aunt Beej do an awesome job on the signage?”
“Of course she did, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from her. Speaking of Aunt Beej, I was wondering,” Em starts, glancing around to make sure we’re alone.
“What’s up?”
“So, do you remember when we were little and talked about getting tattoos together?”
I can’t help but smile. “Of course I do.”