Chapter 16 Adam
SIXTEEN
ADAM
Adam put the previous night’s Northern Lights game on the TV as the afternoon regulars took their spots in the bar. There were around six men and women who Adam could trust to show up just about every day. Some had been coming to Heathens before Adam took over.
If Adam had started a business himself, he would not have started one that contributed to the long-term liver damage of a number of people he had grown to care deeply about. But they were adults, and Adam wasn’t their mom. Plus, he had a business to run.
His contributions to his community were ensuring no one drove home drunk and that if someone needed something to eat, he would make sure they got it.
Late mornings or early afternoons at the bar were a calm prep time.
That day, he and Grace would close the bar down together as Willa barbacked.
While the money that had come in from the Christmas party that they threw had extended the possible lifetime of the bar for another few months, there was no saving it.
Next to him, Grace was counting the till in preparation for cash transactions.
“Skylar scored another goal,” Grace said, her eyes flicking up to the TVs where the boy that Adam liked was skating around.
Skylar had been doing well in the NHL, just as he thought he would.
Adam didn’t know enough about hockey to make that judgment for himself, but Grace was confident in him, and Lord knew Skylar was confident enough in himself.
It was gratifying to watch Skylar’s grandiose opinion of himself come true. Adam didn’t normally count himself as a person who was attracted to cockiness, but Skylar had a self-awareness to his swagger that made it tolerable, and by now, Adam cared about him enough to celebrate his wins.
“He officially got the word that he’s staying up for the rest of the season,” Adam told her.
“I saw that on Twitter,” she said. “There was a post-game interview with him where he looked happy enough to break out of his skin.” Adam saw that interview.
The reporter asked if he was excited to make it to Minnesota, and of course, he said yes.
And sounded sad when he mentioned what he was leaving behind in Iowa, even vaguely.
Adam had gotten a few reports from him since he got called up, but the NHL schedule was grueling, and Skylar was trying hard to make connections with his teammates. They got little time to chitchat between hockey and the bar.
“So you’re going up to see him, right?” Grace asked, gently reminding him that he should look at a calendar.
She’d brought it up a couple of times before, and Adam had excuse after excuse.
He felt guilty even asking Grace to handle the bar herself, even knowing she could easily take care of everything.
He was also nervous about Skylar actually wanting him up there.
Adam knew he was a distraction for Skylar when he was down in Iowa, but he didn’t need the distraction anymore.
Heathens had, over the past ten years, gotten a reputation as a queer-safe bar, and Adam did everything he could to maintain that reputation.
Celebrating Pride, giving discounts, employing security, having a zero-strike rule when it came to banning people.
But the Twin Cities had plenty of queer bars, plenty of queer spaces for Skylar to meet someone new.
“If you go up there and it doesn’t work out, all you did was waste a few hours in the car and a couple of days off that you’ve been desperately needing to take.”
Adam hummed. She had a point. He kept clinging to the idea that the bar would die if he stepped away for one second. Adam leaned on that idea because it felt safer to him to stay instead of exploring something new. He sighed, defeated.
“Will you help me look at the Northern Lights schedule and figure out a good stretch to propose to Skylar?” he asked Grace, and she smiled at him.
“You fucking know I will. There’s a stretch in early January where they’re home and they aren’t playing many games.”
Adam looked at the hockey schedule on Grace’s phone over her shoulder, taking some notes. He would text Skylar later that night.
He and Grace spent most of the night chatting about the New Year’s party and asking their customers what they were looking forward to.
Adam had never tried very hard to celebrate holidays at the bar.
He didn’t get a Christmas tree for his own house, let alone his business.
The regulars had some great ideas, and Adam agreed to rent a karaoke machine.
Throwing more parties at the bar wouldn’t save his business. He thought of it more as a sweet goodbye. A way to give his regulars and everyone who worked there something to remember the bar by fondly.
They could reuse a lot of the Christmas decorations that they hadn’t taken down yet and get a lot of disposable plastic champagne flutes now that they knew they could get enough people to make it fun for the small capacity of their bar.
As usual when he had a brutal closing shift, he got back to his apartment around two, prepared for his legs to fall off. The nonslip shoes he had to wear were getting old and losing their support, but they were expensive and there were other things to spend money on. Like a hotel room in Minnesota.
When he went up to Minnesota, he usually stayed with his parents. If he went to see Skylar, he’d keep it from them. He wasn’t ready to introduce Skylar as anything specific, and he didn’t want to share his time.
He took a quick shower, microwaved some pasta from the day before, and kicked his feet up on the chair in front of him as he scrolled his phone and sat at the kitchen table. He texted Skylar.
Adam
It looks like there’s a string of dates when you’re going to be in Minnesota for a while, and I was wondering if you could get me a ticket to the January 5 game against the Texas Victory.
He sent it off, assuming that Skylar would be asleep already. He hadn’t expected getting a text back nearly immediately.
Skylar
A ticket to the Northern Lights game in Minnesota??
Adam
I was thinking I could come up and visit you. Stay for a few days. I know you’re busy and you have hockey stuff, and I don’t want to interrupt.
Skylar
YES please come up north, stay with me. I’m sure that Jackson and Ryan would be okay if you decided to crash at their place.
Adam
I’ll get my own hotel room, but I appreciate the offer. What are you up to?
Skylar
On an airplane from Seattle to San Jose :(
Adam forgot about the food he was trying to eat as he disappeared into his conversation with Skylar.
Skylar asked about the regulars and Grace, and it didn’t feel like he was talking about his bar because it was the only thing he could talk about.
It felt like he was talking about his bar because his friend asked him about his life.
Adam had been yawning for hours already.
When he got off work, his vision was that he would be asleep in minutes.
His food cooled as he continued to ignore it.
They only stopped texting because Skylar landed, and the team had to go check in at their hotel.
Adam should be mad at himself for how badly he’d feel the next day, but he’d destroy his sleep schedule for Skylar.
Adam had offered shifts to all of his employees for New Year’s Eve, and surprisingly, everyone showed up. Mostly for the money, Adam was sure, but he also liked to think Heathens was an enjoyable place to work.
They started setting up the day before, with decorations from the dollar store. Adam got the karaoke machine he’d been promised would be a hit and hired the sound guy they used when they occasionally had live music to set it up on their tiny corner stage.
Before the party started, the regulars showed up. Gil and Ron were there, sitting at the bar where they had been the first time Skylar had charmed them.
“It’s looking great in here,” Ron said when Adam stopped running around for long enough to refresh their drinks and put a pizza in the oven for them.
“I’m glad it doesn’t look too cheesy. New Year’s Eve is a cheesy holiday to begin with, but it doesn’t look too bad,” Adam agreed.
“Have the parties been helping?” Gil asked. Adam had accidentally bemoaned the status of the bar more than once around the regulars he felt more comfortable with, and Gil was always on red alert for the end of Heathens.
“Yeah. But I think Grace and I are going to need to make some hard decisions in the coming year.” They wouldn’t make it another year, but Adam didn’t want to alarm two people who had such a deep routine.
“Would one of those decisions be selling?” Gil asked.
“I guess one of those decisions could be selling. Not sure how Grace and I would find someone to sell to.”
“Ron and I have been talking for years about how much we would love to own a neighborhood bar—”
“Since before we were retired,” Ron added.
“Before we were married. If you’re selling, consider us.”
“Huh,” Adam said, his brain trying to absorb the idea of passing Heathens along to someone who already loved it. Someone who knew his brother.
“No pressure,” Gil assured.
“I’ll talk to Grace about it.”
They had put up flyers around the bar to let their regulars know about the party, and they’d also put posters up in surrounding businesses in the East Village. Grace had helped buy Facebook ads. It had taken both of them to figure it out, and Adam hoped it was worth the extra cash.
Their specials started at seven p.m., and as seven came and went, they had a little more of a crowd than they usually did. Adam was sweating, thinking about how much he’d spent on this night. He and Grace kept shooting nervous looks across the bar at each other.
But then, someone volunteered to be the first person to sing karaoke. Soon enough they had a list going, and more people started coming in. By nine, Adam figured they would likely recoup what they’d spent, and by eleven, he was praying they’d make a profit.