Lib Novel Page 28
“I’m glad you made it,” she said as I took a seat. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to hang out with an old lady, so thanks for indulging me.”
“You’re hardly an old lady.”
“I’m getting awfully close to sixty. That number sounds significant.”
“It’s a milestone but that doesn’t mean you’re an old lady. You’ve just leveled up.”
“See, this is why I like you. You know how to put a positive spin on things.” She turned toward the bar and raised her voice. “Hey, Rocco. What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here? Flash her boobs?”
I covered my mouth and laughed behind my hand. Rocco, the lumberjack bartender, crossed his arms and raised his bushy eyebrows as if to say,go ahead, I’m waiting.
Sandra laughed. “Leave it to Rocco to call my bluff. I’ll go get us drinks. What do you want?”
My first thought was a lemon drop, but I was trying to cut down on sugar. And this didn’t seem like a lemon drop sort of place. “What are you having?”
“Vodka soda. I used to be a margarita girl, but I can’t do tequila anymore. And Rocco makes terrible margaritas.”
“I heard that,” Rocco grumbled.
Sandra grinned, pretending to ignore him.
“I’ll have the same. But let me get them. I want to celebrate not being unemployed and having the funds to treat a friend to a drink.”
“I won’t argue with that. Thanks.”
I went to the bar. Rocco was busy with a customer, but another bartender came out from the back. He was younger than Rocco, with shaggy dark hair and no beard. He looked vaguely familiar, but a lot of people around here did. Plus I wasn’t great with faces—or names—unless I knew someone well.
Or if it was Josiah Haven, apparently.
The bartender eyed me with a vaguely annoyed expression. “What can I get you?”
“Two vodka sodas. One with lemon, if you have it.”
He didn’t say anything. Just nodded.
Okay, so not the chattiest guy.
I waited while he made our drinks. When he finished, he slid them across the bar, along with the check.
“Do you want to start a tab?” he asked.
“Sure, that would be great. Thanks.”
He nodded, still looking slightly irritated. Maybe he didn’t like his job. I picked up the drinks and took them to our table.
“So how are things going?” Sandra asked. “Are you getting settled in?”
“Yeah, I think so. My house is great. Super cozy. I still feel like I’m flying blind at work but Lou doesn’t seem to dislike me too intensely, so I have that going for me.”
“He likes you fine.”
“I hope so. The last thing I need is to get laid off again.”
“Lou is pretty loyal. He won’t get rid of you unless there’s a good reason. Or if the paper finally shuts down.”
“I’m afraid to ask, but do you think that’s possible?”
She shrugged. “I imagine Lou will keep it open as long as he can. That paper is all he knows. His wife has been trying to get him to retire for years but he’ll probably croak in his office when he’s ninety. But small-town newspapers are dinosaurs. The meteor hit, the sunlight’s been blocked, and it’s only a matter of time before the last of them die off.”