Chapter 9
HAPPY HOUR
WILL
Work had been nonstop. Three closings, a stubborn appraisal, and a client who changed his mind halfway through escrow. By Friday, I was wired and worn out. The kids were with Kelly this week, and the house was too quiet—cleaner, too, which somehow made it worse.
I texted Evan around five.
Will: Beer?
Evan: Bear and I were going to pick up chicks, but we can make time for you.
Will: Sancho’s 5:30?
Evan: Ten-four.
I met my best friend, Evan, back in fifth grade during junior lifeguards.
We hit it off instantly and started surfing together whenever we could.
His parents split up when we were in seventh grade, and after that, Evan spent more time at our house than his own.
My mom picked up on what was going on at home.
She always made sure he was fed, looked after, and knew he had a place with us.
Over time, he became more than just my best friend. He became my brother.
Evan went on to become an incredible surfer.
He traveled the world chasing waves and living that untethered life most people only dream about.
But a bad wipeout a couple of years ago forced him to slow down.
That’s when he came back to Orange County and started teaching private surf lessons just for a little income and something to do.
It didn’t take long for that to turn into a full surf school.
That’s Evan for you—laid back on the outside, all heart and hustle underneath.
He was my sounding board during my divorce, the one person who always showed up without needing the full story.
That’s how it’s been for us our whole lives.
He stuck by me as I juggled law school, getting back together with Kelly, marriage, the birth of my children, all while never resenting the fact we were in different places in our lives.
Besides me, Bear has been a constant for Evan ever since moving back to O.C.
This beast of a mutt pulled at his heartstrings during an adoption event held at the beach and the two have been inseparable.
My kids love having Bear around to play with every time Uncle Evan comes over.
Times may have changed since junior lifeguards but Evan and I are still riding the waves of life together. But now, it’s the three of us.
Sancho’s was near the beach. No neon signs, no TVs blasting sports commentary.
Just cold drinks, decent tacos, and a patio strung with white lights that had probably been up since July.
The kind of place where you ordered at the counter, grabbed a number on a stick, and hoped your table wasn’t sticky.
December air skimmed through the open windows—cool enough for a hoodie, not cold enough for real winter. The surf was close enough to smell it, and you could hear the occasional bike chain click as someone coasted by on their way down Balboa.
It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t trying to be. And that’s what made it perfect.
When I arrived, Bear was already curled up under our table, leash looped around the leg of Evan’s chair like he’d claimed it.
“William,” Evan said as I slid into the seat across from me, grabbing the beer he ordered for me. “Everything okay? You’re not dying, are you?”
“What? No.”
“Getting married?”
I shook my head. “Definitely not.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Then what’s with the emergency beer meeting?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What emergency? Can’t a guy have a beer with his best friend?”
“You’ve got something going on. You would have planned this dinner last week if something wasn’t on your mind.”
I leaned back, watching the slow roll of traffic. “There’s this woman.”
Evan clutched his chest like I’d just confirmed all his suspicions. “I’m shocked.”
“She’s just someone I’ve noticed lately.”
“Name?”
“Natalie.”
He tilted his head. “Natalie…?”
“She’s one of the moms at school. Her daughter’s in Ivy’s class.”
Evan squinted. “Wait, is she the one Ivy’s always talking about? Her best friend’s mom?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Her daughter and Ivy are inseparable.”
Evan froze mid-sip. “Oh, man. That’s dicey.”
“Nothing’s happening,” I said quickly. “I just… I don’t know. She’s been in my head this week.”
“Because she’s super hot?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “It’s more than that. Something about the way she is. Last week at the Christmas concert, there was something more.”
Evan leaned forward. “And that’s when you realized you had a crush? Over a Christmas tune?”
I hesitated. “Okay, smart ass. Maybe. I don’t know if it’s a crush.”
“You’re lying.”
I smirked. “Maybe.”
“Alright. So she’s grounded, sad, mysterious. What’s the catch?”
“She’s married.”
That’s when Evan let out the whistle. Long and low.
“I never saw this coming from perfect Will Parker.”
“I’m not doing anything,” I said. “It’s not like that.”
“But you’re thinking about what you want to do.”
I didn’t answer that.
Evan tilted his head. “You’re telling me Ivy’s best friend’s mom is hot and married and you are thinking about her?”
“It sounds worse when you say it out loud.”
“It is worse. But also kind of poetic.”
“She’s smart. And quiet, in a way that makes you want to know what she’s really thinking. She notices things. And the way she is with her kids—she just… gets it.”
Evan raised his beer. “God help me. You’ve got it bad.”
“I don’t know what I’ve got.”
“Is she happy in her marriage?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to be around. He wasn’t at the concert.”
Evan didn’t say anything right away. Just looked at me. All the teasing faded.
He watched me for a beat, then said, “So what now?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s probably nothing.”
“You sure about that?”
I didn’t answer.
He nodded like he already knew. “Man, you never get caught up like this. That’s what’s throwing you. I don’t remember you like this ever, not with Kelly either.”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “That’s exactly it.”
We sat there for a minute, both of us watching the street beyond the patio—families walking past, someone in flip-flops carrying a surfboard, headlights pulling into the liquor store lot across the way.
Evan raised his bottle and bumped mine. “To not making it a thing… unless it turns into a thing.”
I laughed under my breath and took a sip.
But even then, I already knew, I’d probably already made it a thing.