Chapter 2
2
J ace Marriott stood on Sunset Beach Road in front of his bar. He stared at the bar, then turned his head to the right and stared at the thrift shop next door. It was an older building made of cinder block, painted faded fuchsia, though that was peeling. It looked in need of repair, but he just found out it was going up for sale, and he wanted it. He wanted that old, dilapidated building torn down, and he wanted to expand Sarge's Sandbar. The bar he'd grown immeasurably over the last year. He wanted it to grow even further. Not so big that it would be a big giant bar with no personality. What he really wanted was to expand the inside a bit more, so he had more kitchen space. His food business was growing by leaps and bounds. He wanted the bar area to be expanded. And he'd just been informed the town council expected him to have a buffer of thirty feet all around his business as a noise barrier. He'd offered to plant trees around the area as a buffer. They said they'd take it under advisement. That meant he needed the thrift shop because, right now, he was encroaching on that buffer. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if he couldn't get the thrift shop and he couldn't plant trees. That was going to be his next big challenge.
He strode toward the front door as a truck approached. He turned to see his friend, Quinn, driving toward him. Quinn waved as he passed, then pulled into the parking area at the Sandbar and Jace hustled to meet him.
Quinn stepped out of his truck and chuckled. "What are you doing staring at the bar from the road? I almost hit you."
Jace shrugged. "I just found out that ugly old thrift shop is going up for sale and I want it."
Quinn nodded. "I was just coming to tell you that I heard that this morning when I was in the bakery. Hanna had a group of ladies, her Tuesday Ladies, as she calls them, in the bakery having a chat. They were talking about Lorraine, the owner of the Thrift Shop, moving out of town. Apparently, one of the women is friends with her. She did say she's a motivated seller."
Jace nodded. "Well, that's good to hear because I'm a motivated buyer. I'm going to need to buy that property. The town council just told me I don't have enough of a buffer between these two buildings, and I'm going to have to do something about that. Plus, I need to expand."
Quinn nodded as they walked into the bar. Quinn perched himself on a bar stool. Jace strode around behind the bar.
Quinn responded, "I heard Margo Price is listing the property from Price Realty. Do you know her?"
"I know of her. I've seen her around town here or there, and she's been here, but I don't really know her. Is that who helped you buy the barracks?"
Quinn chuckled, "One and the same. She's a very good real estate agent. I'm sure if you make a fair offer, she'll do what she can to help you buy the building."
"That's what I need. Perfect. I think I heard her husband was sick or something though, right?"
Quinn nodded. "Sounds that way. Sounds like he's not doing well. He hadn’t been feeling well for a while but refused to go to the doctor. She finally made him. Sounds like he hasn't come out of the hospital since then."
Jace shook his head. "Man, life is fragile, right?"
"That's a fact," Quinn responded.
Jace tapped the top of the bar. "Are you drinking something?"
Quinn looked at his watch. "Well, since it's only ten in the morning, I better stick to coffee. How about coffee?"
Jace shook his head. "I had to put a new coffee pot into the kitchen just for all the people coming in early in the day wanting coffee. Let me get it for you."
Jace hustled back to the kitchen, poured Quinn a cup of coffee, grabbed the creamer and sugar, and hustled back out to the bar. Setting the steaming drink in front of his friend, he asked, "How're the barracks coming anyway?"
Quinn poured creamer in his coffee and nodded. "It's coming along great. We've got the walls torn down in the first building. The architect was there yesterday. He's given us the go-ahead, and Jared's there right now getting the framing up. I'm on my way over there, but I just heard the news about the thrift shop and wanted to let you know."
"If I get this thrift shop and expand, I'm going to need to hire a couple more people, and maybe they'll be your first tenants."
Quinn nodded. "That would be good. Hopefully, I'll be ready in time. So, tell me your plan with the bar. I thought you didn't want it to be this big monstrosity of a business."
"I don't, but we're bumping into each other in the kitchen, and as you know, I was retrofitting things back there as our menu grew, but now we've outgrown the kitchen, so I need more space back there. And I'm going to need some new equipment. Also, with us having music now on weekends, our business is booming, so that's making the town council a little irritated. Apparently, one of the town council members lives close enough that, get this, he thinks he heard music the other night." Jace held the first two fingers of each hand up and bent the fingers, simulating air quotes. "He thinks he heard music."
Quinn laughed. "Oh my god. Well, I'm happy to go to the next town council meeting with you if you need someone who thinks they don't hear music. I'm not that far from here, and I think I know who you're referring to. I live closer than he does."
Jace laughed. "Well, I may take you up on that. We'll see."
Quinn sipped his coffee.
Jace stared out the window a moment. "Have you set a wedding date yet?"
Quinn's grin spread to a huge smile. "We have. That's the second reason I'm here. We'd like to follow in Sid and Grace's footsteps and get married here. Maybe we won't use the stage. Hanna would kind of like the water to be a backdrop. What do you think of that?"
"Well, I'm never gonna turn down business, so I think that sounds pretty fucking great."
"Good." Quinn laughed. "And I'd like you to be my best man."
Jace smiled. "I'm honored. What about Sid?"
"He's gonna be my best man, too. I'm gonna have two best men."
Jace laughed. "Boy, oh boy, you two. I think that sounds pretty great. I wouldn't want Sid to be left out at all. He's good people."
"That he is. Okay, so we're getting married at the end of the month, and we're gonna have it here."
"Excellent. So, are you here to make plans?"
Quinn started laughing and held his hands out in front of him. "Oh no, I wouldn't dare. I'm gonna let Hanna come in and talk to you about all that. I just told her I'd see if you had the date open here before we moved any further."
Jace grabbed his appointment book and flipped it to the end of the month. "What's the date?"
They looked over the book together. Quinn pointed to the last Thursday of the month.
"You want to get married on a Thursday?" Jace asked.
"Well, I believe you have live music here on Fridays and Saturdays, so yes, we're thinking Thursday."
"Okay, but a lot of people work during the day and aren't gonna be able to make it, so why don't you think about Sunday afternoon?"
Quinn's lips pursed a moment. "Okay, let me ask Hanna about Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, why don't you put those two days on your calendar, and I'll let you know when you can clear one of them?"
Jace chuckled. He marked Quinn and Hanna on both Thursday and Sunday and set his pencil down. "Okay, I'm going to call Margo Price's office and see about getting an offer made. Why don't you hop skip over to Margo Price's office and tell her that your good friend, Jace Marriott, is eager to make an offer on that thrift shop, in case she doesn't know who I am?”
Quinn laughed. "Oh, I think everybody knows who you are, but I'll absolutely do that for you. Let me just finish my coffee."