Chapter Thirty-Eight
“I gotta admit, those were the best onion rings I’ve ever had.” Salzy leaned back in the seat of the pickup truck and belched loudly. “Hot dogs were good too.”
“Pig.” Jamie sucked the bottom of the soft drink cup dry. “This is one thing I’m going to miss about Atlanta. That and hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts.”
“Oh, yeah. They are the best.” Salzy fastened his seat belt. “You ready?”
“Yeah. Let’s get this over and done with. I got us a room at the Peachtree Plaza Hotel. I thought if we were going to splurge, might as well do it right.”
“Fancy?”
“Kinda. It’s not as high-end as it used to be, but the views are killer.
” Jamie looked out the passenger side window.
“I thought we’d have dinner at my old restaurant.
That’s if they’ll even let me in.” He looked over at Salzy.
“I didn’t give any notice, and the manager is fightin’ mad at me. Can’t say I blame him.”
“Um... I didn’t bring anything but jeans and a T-shirt.”
“I’ve got some polo shirts. As you said, we’re about the same size. You can wear one of them, and jeans are fine. It’s not super fine dining. They’re pretty easy on dress codes.” Jamie fell silent for a moment. “It’ll be nice to be able to say goodbye to my staff, well, former staff.”
“Speaking of which,” Salzy glanced at Jamie. “Unless we get up at O’Butt-thirty, we won’t be able to wish your current staff bon voyage.”
Jamie didn’t move his gaze from outside the window. “Maybe I’ll call them. They’ll understand, and I’m sure they’re going to be so excited they won’t miss me too much.”
Salzy grunted. “You don’t know them that well then.”
“Can’t be helped.” Jamie looked at Salzy. “This needed to happen, and things are moving so fast.”
“That’s the truth. I wonder how things are going at the diner?”
“I’ll give Joesph a call before dinner and see.”
* * * * *
Joesph looked down at himself and then at Mike. “We are both gross.”
Mike laughed. “I’ve been worse. Nothing a shower won’t fix.”
“Yuck,” Joesph said as he rubbed his short, cropped afro—a fine dusting of white snowing down. “A very long, long shower.”
Mike shook his head, his flattop haircut never moving, but another shower of dust floated down onto the concrete pad behind the diner’s kitchen door. “Yep, I’ve been much worse off than this.”
“Is there a place in town that can make a good martini?” Joesph continued to shake and rub his head.
“Um... There’s the Copper Kettle. It’s on the pricey side, but the food is okay, and they have a nice bar. They even have an antique copper coffee machine.”
“Sounds like my kind of place.” Joesph looked up at Mike. “How about dinner? My treat. You’ve been a huge help today. It’s the least I can do since Jamie isn’t here to cook for us.”
Mike looked down at himself. “I’ll have to go and grab a shower and change. They’d never let me in the place looking like this.”
Joesph looked at his watch. “It’s barely five o’clock. Would an hour be enough time for you?”
“Yeah.” Mike took out his keys. “I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
“Perfect.”
* * * * *
“I’m so full,” Salzy groaned as they got into the Uber.
“They did give us the royal treatment for sure,” Jamie moaned. “I hope I don’t have a hangover tomorrow.”
“You didn’t drink that much.” Salzy stretched his feet out as far as they would go.
“I mean a food hangover.”
Salzy laughed. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had a ‘food hangover.’”
“I had one the first time I ate at the Mexican restaurant you took me to. I basically had to roll myself out of bed the next morning.”
Salzy laughed.
* * * * *
Joesph took a sip of his martini, his eyes closed. “There is a God.”
Mike chuckled before taking a sip of his bourbon and Coke. “I have to admit, a good stiff drink was needed after today.”
“Thank you again for all your help. You taught me heaps today. I’ll feel a lot more confident in dealing with beams next time.
” Joesph took in Mike’s appearance. His arms straining the sleeves of his blue polo shirt, which matched his eyes, and made his dark hair more stunning.
Even the shoulders of the shirt appeared to just be containing them.
“It was my pleasure. You picked up on things quickly, and you figured out those ratios really fast.”
“I’ve always been pretty good with math.” Joesph looked at the menu. “What’s good here?”
“Everything is tasty.” Mike looked at his menu. “I have to admit, though, I’ve gotten pretty spoiled with Jamie’s cooking.”
Joesph groaned loudly. “Don’t remind me. I’m going to have to drive from Atlanta just to get some of his cooking.”
“You’re going to miss him, huh?”
“Like crazy.” Joesph took a long sip of his very dry, very dirty martini. “He’s my best friend. But... it’s what is right for him. It’s where he belongs.”
“What about you?” Mike asked. “Where do you belong?”
Joesph studied the man across from him. After a long moment, he said, “I guess I’m still trying to figure that out. For the few years, I’ve done nothing but concentrate on my career.”
“No love interests?” Mike looked genuinely interested.
“No. Not really. A few long-term boyfriends, but nothing all that serious.” He shrugged. “It was my fault none of them worked out. I’m a bit of a workaholic.”
Mike nodded. “I can relate. I was the same when I was getting my master’s in engineering. I had no social life. It was either work or school.”
“Yep.” Joesph nodded. “That was my life too. And after I graduated, I did an internship and then worked as hard as I could to make myself the very best at what I do. I can’t say that I’ve achieved that, but I’m pretty damn close.”
They placed their order and fell silent for a while.
“I can retire from the Army in six years.” Mike ran his forefinger around the rim of the glass of his fresh drink. “I have no clue what to do. Take the retirement and strike out on my own, or...” He looked up at Joesph. “At least you have a plan.”
“Ha! I have no plan. I’m flying by the seat of my pants to be honest.” Joesph leaned on the table, looking like he was protecting his cocktail. “Initially, I thought about opening my own studio, but... it’s very competitive and would cost a fortune. So now... I have no real plan.”
“Why not Colombus?”
Joesph’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Why not set up a studio in Columbus. As you said, there is probably a market for it.” Mike leaned closer to Joesph. “And you wouldn’t have to starve for Jamie’s cooking.”
“You serious?”
“Why not? In Atlanta, you’re a pretty big fish, but in Columbus, you could be the biggest fish. It probably wouldn’t be as expensive to set up shop here either.”
Joesph pondered all this. “I don’t know.” He looked into Mike’s blue, blue eyes. “I’ll have to think long and hard about that.”
“Think about it: lower overhead could mean more business. With more business, your name and brand will be more pronounced. You might even pull business from Atlanta because you’re pricing might be lower.” Mike smiled, showing off his brilliant teeth.
Joesph cleared his throat. “Tell me again why you’re single?”
* * * * *
Jamie peeled off the polo shirt and laid it across a chair. “Some view, eh?”
Salzy was standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the skyline of Atlanta, looking out towards Buckhead. “It’s beautiful,” he murmured, barely audible.
“It’s pretty remarkable.” Jamie joined him at the window. “Come on, let’s get some sleep. I’d like to get an early start before it gets hot, and we’ll be going against the morning traffic. Traffic here is no joke.”
“Oh, I know all about Atlanta traffic.” Salzy turned back towards the room. “Which bed you want?”
Jamie looked at the two queen-size beds. “I don’t care.”
Salzy walked straight forward towards the right side of the room. “I’ll take this one then.” He pulled off the borrowed polo and draped it over the one Jamie had taken off. He let his jeans fall to the floor, his black boxer briefs the only thing he was wearing.
Jamie followed suit and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
He looked into the mirror and froze. Is this gamble too big?
Am I doing the right thing. He thought for a long moment, slowly returning to brushing his teeth.
Another fifty years. His grandparents’ legacy would live on.
He rinsed the toothpaste from his mouth. Yep, this was the right thing to do.