Page 80 of Gin and Bear It

Jada turns the corner into a large living room, where Jeremiah is sitting on the couch in a white undershirt, a towel over his shoulders. To his left in a recliner is what I can only assume is a human soul trapped in a dog. She’s a Shih Tzu with a church-lady haircut on the outside, and a judgmental older woman on the inside.

“Do y’all have a preference for the movie?” Jeremiah asks after nodding hello.

“Anything, as long as it’s not boring and sad,” Jada says, going over to the dog. “Hi, Ms. Beulah.”

She pets the dog, who only give her a simple thump of the tail before looking straight at me. If she opened her mouth and spoke fluent English, I wouldn’t be surprised.

“She’s…” Jeremiah looks between me and the dog. “Not friendly, but not hostile, either. She won’t react much when you pet her.”

“I’ll leave her be, then.” I stand, unsure of where to sit. Jada nudges me over to the couch, pulling me to sit down next to her. “How old is she?”

“Ancient.” Jada snorts. “Even Waylon is shocked she’s as healthy as she is.”

Ms. Beulah turns to look at me again, dead serious.

“Blink once if you’re a human trapped in a dog’s body,” I say. Ms. Beulah blinks once, deliberately, and keeps staring at me.

I wish I hadn’t asked.

Ms. Beulah snaps back into her dog act when Ray comes into the room, taking the little steps off her lounge chair and rushing to him with her tail wagging.

“Here’s the cobbler,” Ray says, putting a tray with several bowls of hot, delicious cobbler on a side table. “Hope you like peaches, Ash. And ice cream.”

“I love everything,” I say. “Thank you.”

Her dad distributes the bowls, and Jeremiah moves down to the floor. Jada scoots behind him on the couch and pulls some stuff out of her bag.

“Ew, what is this movie?” Jada asks when Jeremiah presses play on something.

“A sci-fi thriller. It’s supposed to be good,” he says, picking up his bowl.

“According to who?” Ray asks, sitting on the recliner where Ms. Beulah was. The dog climbs up and wedges herself between her dad’s thigh and the couch.

“According to people with taste.” Jeremiah sounds tired, like they’ve had this conversation countless times before. “It’s my turn this time, so we can’t change it.”

Both Jada and her dad boo Jeremiah, making me smile. It’s like I’m not even here, but not in a bad way. No one is grilling me about anything or making me feel like I don’t belong. Jada works through Jeremiah’s hair with practiced hands, using a little tool to retighten each loc at the root.

The movie isn’t really for me, and after about fifteen minutes, it doesn’t seem like it’s for Jeremiah, either. He starts making offhand comments which opens up the floodgates for Jada and Ray to start snarking, too. The movie is too self-serious to take at face value.

“Hang on,” Jeremiah says, pausing the movie about forty minutes in. “Bathroom break.”

He hops up and goes down the hall. Without Jeremiah there as a buffer, Ray’s attention feels more direct. Ms. Beulah’s gaze isn’t helping. But Jada leans back against my leg, steadying me. It’s been fine so far—I don’t need to worry.

“The numbers for the hotel look great,” Ray says to Jada. “I’m proud of you.”

He must do the accounting for the hotel. The pride on his face is so open and intense that I choose to look at Ms. Beulah instead. My own father has never looked at me like that, much less said he was proud of me. Even though it makes me uncomfortable, I’m glad he’s saying it to her. She’s dedicated to the hotel.

“Dad.” Jada looks shy. “It basically runs itself these days. Aside from the whole renovation situation.”

“Don’t discount your efforts,” he says, giving Ms. Beulah a scratch between her ears. “You’ve worked hard. It’s not easy.”

“Thanks.” Jada curls her knees up to her chest. “At least the renovation budget isn’t being blown up anymore. That was stressing me out.”

“Finally. It’ll fly by now that they’ve gotten the structure fixed up,” he says, then glances at me. “Have y’all discussed Stryker Liquors being served at the bar?”

“Not yet,” Jada says quickly. “I’ve talked to Rose about making cocktails for the menu, though.”

Ray nods slowly, and I can’t read his expression. Were we supposed to talk about it? Jada said something about her grandparents wanting her to work on the hotel with a partner, or at least have a partner to talk to. We’re not in a relationship, so why do I wish she’d confided in me?