Chapter 19
Isla
2003
A fter working at Straight to Ale for nearly a decade, Isla had worked her way up to be the manager of the bar. It was her domain, with Cliff and Maureen O’Riley entirely giving her the reins a few years back. Isla loved the extra responsibility; she loved making the schedules and overseeing the staff and getting to spend time with her customers one on one. She had developed a good rapport with her regulars which helped turn Straight to Ale into the most popular business in town.
Of course, the addition of themed nights at the bar and pool tables in the back helped as well. From karaoke to trivia to special musical guests, Isla made sure there was always something fun happening at the bar to bring people in. It had worked splendidly as they had to start taking reservations for most of the events last year. There were even regulars who made reservations for each week on specific nights.
Overall, Isla was beyond proud of the work she had accomplished at Straight to Ale.
Being the manager also allowed Isla to create her own schedule, which worked wonderfully the last few years as Vera finished up her residency and started working full-time as an OBGYN at the hospital. They had recently moved all their OBGYN department to an office near the hospital, which allowed Vera to essentially have her own practice under the hospital’s umbrella. Vera was still at the top of her game, constantly pushing herself to learn more procedures to better serve the community. She was even starting to become one of the most requested IVF doctors around. Isla couldn’t be prouder of Vera if she tried.
And then there was Mason; her surly yet sometimes still sweet twelve-year-old. She was thriving in school, so much so that she was already taking classes several years in advance of her classmates. Isla had no idea where she got her brains from. Maybe she picked them up from Vera, as the two would often study at the kitchen table together.
The kitchen table that Isla hoped would one day soon be filled with more children.
She and Vera had been talking about having a baby for years. They both wanted more kids, but Vera wanted to be done with her residency first. Isla understood that and happily waited until Vera was ready before they started trying. Which was apparently going to be easier said than done.
Three failed IVF treatments had left both Isla and Vera discouraged. Vera blamed herself, which crushed Isla’s soul as she tried to comfort her wife. They had decided to use Isla’s eggs for Vera to carry, but Isla worried maybe the issue was with her eggs. After all, she was in her mid-thirties. Maybe they weren’t as good as when she had Blake and Mason.
But Vera was determined. She kept her attitude as positive as she could, and Isla followed suit. They had another egg retrieval scheduled in a few weeks, and Isla prayed this time it would work. Which meant that Isla was going to do everything in her power to ensure her eggs were the healthiest they could be. She’d been taking her hormone shots regularly, watching what she was eating, and finally picked up running again. Anything for a baby, that’s what she kept telling herself.
A knock on her office door startled Isla from her thoughts.
“Maureen, hey,” Isla stood to greet her with a hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you? How’s Cliff?”
“Old,” she snarked with a laugh. “But we’re good, dear. How are you and your family?”
“Good; we’re good. Mason’s twelve, so that’s a new adventure for all of us.”
Maureen chuckled. “I bet. She was always a spitfire.”
“And still is.”
“And how is that wife of yours? Is she still doing well?”
“She is.” Isla felt her smile spread on her face as she talked about Vera. “She has her own practice now near the hospital, and loves every second of it.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“Thank you.”
With the pleasantries out of the way, Isla started to worry why Maureen had showed up unannounced. It had been years since the O’Rileys had been to the bar. They had moved to Florida a few years ago and only kept in touch as needed via phone calls. Isla took care of everything for them at the bar, so they were free to enjoy their retirement. She motioned for Maureen to sit on a leather seat by her desk as Isla sat back in her desk chair.
“So, not that I’m not happy to see you, but why am I worried you’re here with bad news?”
A sad smile formed on Maureen’s lips. “Oh, Isla. You know I wouldn’t stop by unannounced with bad news.”
“So, what brings you back to Maine?” Isla didn’t feel like beating around the bush.
“Well, I wanted to tell you in person that Cliff and I are going to sell the bar.”
Isla felt her stomach hit the floor as the room began to spin ever so slightly. Sell the bar? They couldn’t. It was her second home; her favorite place to work and to hang out with her family and friends. Maureen and Cliff couldn’t sell it. Whoever bought it wouldn’t care about it as much as Isla did.
“What… what? When? Why?”
“The bar hasn’t been ours for quite some time. You made us both obsolete.”
Isla started to say that wasn’t true, but they both knew it was. Maureen waved her off before continuing.
“Our health isn’t as good as it once was, so we’re trying to get everything in order. None of our kids want the bar, and we didn’t want to leave it in the will for whomever to purchase it. Which is why I want to know if you’d like the bar.”
She had to hear Maureen wrong. There was no way she just asked if Isla wanted to buy the bar. Isla’s mind immediately began to frantically wonder if their finances were in a good enough place they could afford to buy it. With the IVF treatments, money had been tight recently. Even if they were using their friend Cameron’s brother’s sperm to save on an anonymous donor.
And there was no way Isla wasn’t telling Vera she wanted to use what little money they still had saved for the treatments to go toward the bar. Her family came first, even if the idea of losing the bar crushed her soul.
“Actually,” there was a slight twinkle in Maureen’s eyes, “we want to give you the bar.”
“Excuse me?” Isla had to have heard her wrong. “Are you serious? You can’t be serious.”
“I am serious. Cliff and I paid off the place years ago and thanks to you it’s been turning a major profit every year for the last eight years. We’re not looking for money; what are we going to use it for at our age, you know? But we know how much you love the bar and we want it to stay in your hands, if you want it.”
“You’re serious,” Isla flatly stated, still in shock.
“I am. This is your place now anyway.” She motioned around the office where more photos than Isla could count lined the walls. Family photos mixed in with the families of former and current employees. Old menus were tacked up alongside napkins and receipts from special events. It was a memorial to Isla’s last ten years at the bar.
Reaching into her purse that had been dangling off her arm, Maureen pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to her.
“These are the papers our lawyers had drawn up. Feel free to look them over with Vera and a lawyer, if you want. The places to sign are highlighted and the address to send the papers back to us is on the first page.”
Isla stared at her name scribbled in Maureen’s handwriting on the front of the envelope. “Maureen, I… I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything now.” Standing, Maureen smiled down at her. “We don’t need an answer today. The papers are good for sixty days, but you can let us know if you need longer.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Isla stood as well, dropping the envelope on her desk as she hugged Maureen once more. The two old friends chatted a few more minutes before Isla gave her a tour of the place and introduced her to her staff. Maureen left less than an hour later, leaving Isla alone in her office once again.
Picking up her phone, she called Vera at home. It was after six, so Isla only hoped she hadn’t worked late. Vera answered on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey, what are you doing right now?”
“Trying to decide if I want to make something for dinner or order a pizza.”
“My vote’s on pizza,” Mason called out on the other end of the line.
“Of course it is,” she and Vera responded in unison. “Why don’t you and Mason come here?”
“To the bar?”
“Yeah, I have some exciting news I want to tell you two.”
“Oh, tell me now. I love exciting news.”
“No,” Isla shook her head, “it has to be in person. Please? Forget about cooking and pizza and get your asses down here. I’ll have burgers waiting.”
“Okay, okay, we'll be there as soon as we can.”
“Hurry,” Isla teased. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
It took Vera and Mason forty-five minutes to arrive and Isla was bursting with excitement. She met them at the front door, hugging them both much to Mason’s annoyance.
“Sorry it took so long. Mason was getting ready on her own time.”
“Mason time does operate differently.” Isla winked at Mason to let her know she was joking. “Come on in, I have to show you two something.”
Leading them inside, Isla showed them to a booth where she had burgers, fries, and sodas waiting on them. She handed Vera and Mason menus, which seemed to confuse them both.
“Why do we need menus if you’ve already brought us food?” Mason asked as she popped several fries into her mouth.
“Look at them.”
Isla watched with excitement as Vera and Mason scanned the menu. She had printed a new cover insert for the plastic folder the menus usually sat in, and hoped it didn’t take them long to notice she had added Owner, Isla Mackenzie under the logo. Surprisingly, it was Mason that seemed to notice it first.
“Are you for real?”
“Yep.”
“Wait, what am I…” Vera’s eyes grew wide as she looked up at Isla from across the table. “Are you serious?”
“I am.”
“Honey,” Vera scooted out of the bench seat she was sharing with Mason and moved beside Isla, “how did this happen?”
“Maureen stopped by today and handed me the paperwork for it. She said the building is paid off and they don’t need or want the money from it. They want it to go to someone who loves it.”
“And no one loves it more than you.”
“I haven’t signed the papers or told her yes yet. I wanted to talk it over with you two first.”
“What’s there to talk about?” Vera leaned in and kissed Isla. “Babe, this is amazing.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“It’s awesome, Mom,” Mason chimed in.
“I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks. I'm proud of you, too.”
“I’m proud of both of you, but can you save the PDA for home?” Mason rolled her eyes.
Under the table, Vera took hold of Isla’s hand and squeezed it. That was all the confirmation Isla needed to know that signing the papers would be the best thing for their family. And in a few weeks, the bar would be officially hers.