Page 66 of The Bartender Special

Two months later they were gone.

The memory took Benny’s current complicated feelings and patted them down to a soft nostalgia.

Not sad, not happy, just a middling feeling of loss.

Callum turned to him and paused.

Maybe he felt it too.

He gave him a small, small smile.

The same one he'd given Benny on his sixteenth birthday, while taking pictures of him and his date right before prom. The same smile he gave Benny when he had been standing in his graduation gown, posing with his diploma.

The I'm sorry they're not here, but I am and I love you smile.

All at once Benny knew exactly what he felt.

Horrible.

He shouldn’t have hidden the truth from Callum about Marcus, and he shouldn't be lying to him about Jack now.

Not after everything they'd been through.

Not after everything Callum had done for him, when he certainly hadn’t had to.

Benny opened his mouth to tell him everything, but Callum recovered before he could say a word.

“Everyone had a bet going on if Roger was going to paint the nursery or if Zelda was going to hire someone to do it,” he said, smile turning into a grin. “I bet that Roger would cave and outsource. I guess I was right. What's he paying you?”

“A boat.”

Jack had his arms over his chest. Benny’s discarded shirt was in his hand.

How long had he been in his room?

“You mean he's giving you Roboata?” Callum's eyes had widened. It was enough to temporarily pull Benny out of his guilt.

“Roboata?”

“Yeah. You know like Roberta but, well, put 'boat' in there instead. Row-boat-ah.”

That did it.

A simple, stupid little thing and his overwhelming anger at himself somehow became a laugh.

Maybe that was the power of their dad, through Callum.

He had always had a way of making their mother lose whatever steam had made her loud when the occasion arose.

Jack was also clearly amused.

“We're borrowing her,” he added on. “In return for painting the nursery, we can use it in the parade for a float.”

“Definitely easier to pull and decorate a small boat than make a small parade float,” Cal agreed. “Smart.”

“And Ms. Peggy's idea,” Benny pointed out. “We got as many decorations as we needed for the parade and the party today from her. All Jack had to do was tackle some of her yard work.”

“While slowly sweating to death,” Jack interjected.