8. Ooh A Date – Cameron
Chapter eight
Ooh A Date – Cameron
An unknown number popped up on my phone.
I set my hammer down and wiped the sweat off my brow, and answered it, thinking it was probably spam, but I always answered anyway, just in case someone needed me.
A lot of people in the area had my number and called me when they needed help, mostly with minor household stuff, but sometimes more, and they passed it on to others as well. “’Lo?”
“Uh, hi. Is this Cameron?”
“Who wants to know?” I didn’t recognize the voice. “You selling something?”
“Uh, no. This is Everett Lundy. From the brewery. I wanted to apologize for yelling at you at the bar the other day.”
“Really?” What was there to apologize for? He didn’t want me accidentally breaking something—not that I would—but he didn’t know that. Plus, he still sounded grumpy.
“Yes. I was upset about the beer, or rather the beer tap, not you.”
“I was just there as an easier target. I get it. No worries, bro. I don’t hold grudges. You got it going again, and I got my beer. All good.”
“You sound happy about that. Glad you like it.”
“I really do. Great product. But, uh, that’s not why you called.
Sorry.” I walked away from the job site but didn’t go far.
I held my finger up to the foreman to let him know I was only taking a short break.
Since he was my uncle, I was pretty sure he’d be cool with that.
I was surprised that Everett had called me, even though I had shown up at his place like some weird beer groupie or something.
Captivated, I wanted to keep him talking.
For the first time in life, though, I didn’t know what to say.
“So, uh…how’re you liking Foggy Basin?” How lame.
He’d probably been asked that a million times.
“It’s alright, I guess. I mean, I’m used to the city, but the quiet is good. Most of the time. What do you do for fun around here besides Pints?”
“Oh, there’s plenty. Want me to show you?”
“Um…I guess. I mean, if it’s no trouble.”
“No trouble. I get off work at five. Want me to pick you up at your place?”
“Yeah, at the brewery, though.”
“Okay, I need to grab a shower first, so see ya around sixish? Will you still be there?”
“Yep. I’ll be ready.”
I was fishing for where he lived, but if he could be found at the brewery, that was good to know. Of course, with this town’s gossip mill, I was sure I’d find out soon enough. His call was sure going to make the day go by slowly, though, and concentrating on work would be awfully hard.
I lived near Dawson’s Hay Farm, and I’d been working on a house way down Lake Road, damn near halfway to Miller’s Point, which was way on the other side of Foggy Basin, so it took me a bit longer to get home, but I wasn’t terribly far from the Brewery, so I was only about ten minutes late.
I knocked on the front entry door. It was glass, and, along with the business hours, had his logo etched on the front.
Better yet, he actually opened it for me.
“Hi, Everett. Sorry, I’m a little late.”
“You’re not really. I mean, it was an estimated time, right?” He smiled, showing beautiful white teeth, and my tummy decided it was a great time to take up gymnastics. He didn’t seem as grouchy as he had at the bar, so I took it as a good sign.
“You ready then?”
“Let me close up.”
After he locked the door, I walked him over to my truck. “I’ll drop you off here after.”
“That works.”
We climbed in but didn’t have too far to go for the first stop. “I thought about taking you to the Meade House, but given what you do, you know, maybe checking out the competition isn’t your idea of a good time.”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“We can hit that sometime later. I thought we’d get tacos and sit out at the lake tonight.” I hoped we would have more dates, of course, but I was somewhat baffled by him changing his mind on me.
“That sounds pretty good.”
I pulled up to the taco stand and parked. “We’re here.”
“Oh. This?” He wrinkled his nose.
“Don’t knock it, man. They have the best food. We can get tacos and street corn, and whatever else you like, to go.”
“Oh, uh, sure.” He didn’t seem sure about anything, but I knew he’d like it if he relaxed and tried it. And that was the plan.
“What? They didn’t have taco trucks in Sacramento?”
“Duh, of course they did. I just didn’t eat there. And never thought about it much. But it seems kind of strange to have one in Foggy. I mean, it’s such a small town.”
“Well, the city portion is, but when you take in the outlying areas, it’s bigger than you think.”
“Maybe I need to see more of it then.”
“Happy to show you.” I plastered my best cheesy grin on my face and headed to the stand.
“Well, if I can ever get out of the brewery,” he huffed as if he doubted the possibility of future dates.
I planned on making that happen, though. Operation Get Everett to Relax included a lot of getting him away from work. This was only step one. With luck, we would get to step two.
After getting our food, we headed out again, and I drove out to the lake. It was a nice spot to hang out, near the main road, with a dock and a small grassy area. You could even see the mountains on the far side. I loved it, especially since it wasn’t a well-known area.
“This is nice.” Everett helped me spread out the blanket that I always kept in my truck.
“Right. Not too many people know about this particular spot. ‘Round the other side, though. That’s a different story. Tourists. But here, it’s just locals.”
“Am I in the club now?”
“Guess so. Let’s eat.”
We sat and ate great Mexican food and talked. Everett was sweet when he wasn’t pissed off, and I would take him either way, but I really liked the sweet side and how he moaned over the food after taking a bite of a tamale.
“That’s good, right. Not too spicy.”
“Mm-hm. That place is great and entirely too close to the brewery. Now that I know about it, I’ll end up going every freakin’ day. Great.” Of course, it sounded like he thought it was anything but great. He probably scrutinized every bite he took.
“Eh…eat what you want. You can always throw in an extra workout or something.” As if he needed it.
“It’s not like I’m on a diet or anything. Sheesh.”
“What’s with all the scowling? This is a beautiful night, and we’re having a good time, aren’t we?”
He put his taco down on the napkin in his lap.
“Sorry. You’re right. This is nice.” But he was still frowning.
I gestured toward his face, and he gave me a half-smile.
“Every second I’m not working, I’m worried something will go wrong.
I’m under an incredible amount of pressure.
I have to get this off the ground. I moved out here to Foggy Basin for reasons that don’t include eating tacos by the lake with a cute guy. ”
“Ahh…you think I’m cute.” I batted my eyelashes at him in an overly dramatic fashion.
“You’re cute, alright.” He snorted, rather than laughing, but at least he seemed a little more relaxed. “I love how that’s the only part you heard.”
“Ah…Everett. I heard it all. I just think it could do you a lot of good to de-stress every now and then. The brewery isn’t going anywhere, and I’m sure you have someone helping you there? Employees? That big dude.”
“Lukas Rodbell.”
“Is that the guy who came out and talked to me?” Might as well own up to it.
“Yep. He’s my Brew Master. Couldn’t do this without him. We met in college, and he’s been my friend, my cheerleader, and my instigator from the beginning.”
“Well, see. You should trust him. He’s not going to let shit hit the fan while you’re out. Right?”
Everett exhaled loudly. “No. He’s not. But it’s everything if I fail. I mean for me. For him…” He shook his head. “He’ll go back to the city and find a better job anyway.”
“I doubt that.”
“Doubt what?”
“Any of it.” There was no way this man was going to fail at anything he set his mind to, unlike me.
I was convinced I couldn't do much right.
Even at work, I didn't get fired because I usually worked for family or friends that were close enough to be family.
Or friends that knew my family. Small towns were like that.
On my own, I'd probably crash and burn. I smiled brighter to hide my insecurity from him.
He didn't need to know all that, especially on a first date.
Everett went back to eating his food as if he were finished with the conversation.
I wasn’t going to push him, either. If he didn’t want to talk about it, we wouldn’t.
At least for now. Maybe after we got to know each other better, it would be easier for him.
Maybe easier for me, too. But he surprised me again.
After finishing his mouthful, he took a swallow of water and wiped his face.
“It’s more than just getting the brewery off the ground.
Success means being able to go home and look my parents in the face and show them that I’m somebody. It means being my own person.”
“Oh, Everett.” I shook my head. I wanted to comfort him with a giant hug and maybe never let him go. “You are somebody just like you are.”
He shrugged it off. “Anyway. These are fantastic.” He held his taco up and took another bite.
After that conversation, I knew Operation Relax was in full throttle, but now it had a secondary purpose. Get Everett to realize how much he’s worth.