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While it’d been Gallagher’s, things like the ceiling lights flickering and a beer tap pull handle being invisibly pulled and leaving a mess for the bartender to clean up were common. So was hearing the faint laughter of a woman and the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom dispensing on its own while a patron sat on the toilet. No wave of their hand beneath the electronic device was needed to activate it.
“Well, hello, Riley Martin and Rhys Silverman! It is so good to see y’all!” Mrs. Jenkins said when she reached our table.
“How are you doing, ma’am?” I asked her.
“I’m peachy, honey. I heard about both of your broken engagements,” she said, looking at Rhys and me. “How are you two holding up with everything?”
Rhys and I cut our eyes over at each other. Then he answered for both of us, saying we were doing fine.
“Are y’all back together?” the robust, mid-50s waitress continued.
“No, ma’am, we’re not.”
“The happiness showing on your faces made me think otherwise. Selfishly, I’d love to see you two high school sweethearts reunite.”
I didn’t know how to respond, and Rhys didn’t either. We both just kept staring at Mrs. Jenkins. She grinned again and asked us what we’d like to drink.
“Two sweet teas with lemon, please,” Rhys told her.
“Got it!”
“Riley and I already know what we want to eat, too, if you’d like to write that down.”
“What’ll you have?”
“Irish nachos.”
“One or two orders? You know how big they are.”
Rhys looked at me and shrugged.
“No, I cannot eat a whole order by myself, but leftovers are amazing,” I told him.
“You’re right about that!”
“Then two orders, it is,” Mrs. Jenkins said. “I’ll be back in a jiffy with your teas, cutie pies.”
After she walked off, I turned to Rhys. “My gosh, she hasn’t changed at all. Still direct as ever.”
“Yep.”
“Something that I hadn’t thought about is how shocked the folks who know us around here will be whenever they see us together.”
Rhys nodded. “They’re all likely to assume we’re a couple again. It’ll be difficult for them to imagine us being just friends.”
“Is it that way for your family?”
“The only thing they’ve said is they’re happy for us.”
“That’s what mine said, too, and Macie, of course.”
“My mom and dad mentioned how much they’d love to see you before you leave town.”
“I would love to see them. I’ve really missed them.”
“Then go. You’ve always been welcome, Riley.”
“Even after…”
