16. Brandt #2
I watch, waiting for the burly guy in the flannel shirt to ask Rylan what he wants, but he never does. Barman simply reaches into the cooler and pulls out an ice-cold bottle of Silver Lining Sour.
Well I’ll be damned.
“Make that two, would ya?” I toss out there, hoping it’s okay that I order off menu.
Throwing back the rest of my Party Mode, I swallow the liquid down hard and take a minute to catch my breath.
It’s been a long damn time since I threw back like that.
And for good reason—I am not twenty-two anymore.
Bartender hands us our beers, clearing away my empty pint glass, all without saying a word. Hell, he barely acknowledges us. Certainly not the response I’ve witnessed with other customers, leaving me to wonder if he knows who I am.
Naw…that’s crazy. He was friendly when I walked in. Then again…
“Yeah, well…we haven’t sorted everything out yet, have we?” I offer up as an answer to Rylan.
“Guess not.”
He takes a long pull, smiling as he lowers his bottle, looking at the label. “It is nice when it all comes together.”
I chuckle, then point to the beer he’s holding. “You know that was a happy accident, right?”
“This?” He holds up the bottle, his brow scrunching. “This was a mistake?”
“Yup, hence the name.” I nod. “We were trying to come up with something else, something sweeter, but got the chemistry wrong. That was the result.”
“Damn good mistake, if you don’t mind my saying.”
“I don’t. Milo and I thought the same thing, so we kept it. It was the silver lining to it.”
“Ha. You should tell Lindee that story. She’d love knowing that other alcohol creators go through that. She had a heck of a time finding the right balance with some of the flavors for Wink I don’t need to be a jackass.
“Apparently not in the way these guys want us to be. We’ve never been a major, presenting sponsor of anything. Mostly because my PR queen of a mother believed that you couldn’t end up hitched to the wrong wagon if you weren’t hitched to anything. Especially when it came to celebrities.”