Families
It was a wedding reception like no other. Pat’s Pub was filled with friends and family from Boston, New York, Florida, and a few other places. They could have gone anywhere for the wedding or the reception, but this was the place that meant the most to them. Parker stood up and lifted his glass. “To Pat’s Pub and Tuesday afternoons.” He looked at the owners and added, “I thank you all for not kicking us out that first day when we came in like two drowned rats seeking shelter from the storm. We ordered a plate of the best potatoes and two sodas. The rain stopped, but the conversation carried on for many years.”
“Sláinte!” One of the pub owners shouted. He was always Dixie’s favorite. Over protective of his older sister and every woman that crossed the threshold of the pub from what she could tell.
That was the thing about Pat’s Pub. It really was more than just a place for two kids to meet on Tuesday afternoons before they ran off to make-out or later drive off to a secluded area to have sex in the back seat of a car. This was the place they did all of the talking about all of the things that really mattered. About their miserable little lives, the challenges they faced, their hopes and dreams.
Parker put his arm around her and pulled her in closer to his side. “Look who’s in our booth.”
“I’m really glad you told him about the coaching job and you decided to run the business. I mean, I think you would look awesome in those coaching outfits, but you are a Chadwick.” She smiled up at him. He had a graduate degree in business and marketing. Sure, he had played football in college, but he had no aspirations to go pro, unlike his recently injured friend.
“For once being a Chadwick doesn’t feel like a bad thing to me.” He kissed her forehead.
“Which is really good for me since I just changed my last name.” She winked.
“You know what I mean.” He gave her one of those sincere expressions of love and vulnerability that she simply could not resist.
“I do. I also know that when we have kids, they are not going to be ashamed of the name or of their parents. They may still have some issues with their families, but who doesn’t?”
He chuckled. Two of the owners were in a sporting debate already at the bar. “Yeah I guess even these guys have seen disagreements.”
“Is he single?” Dixie looked at the man rolling a tomato from one location to another on his salad plate.
“I think it’s a little late for you to be interested.” He chuckled.
“But not too late for her.” Dixie nodded in the direction of her friend and coworker from New York.
“He just took a job here in Boston.”
“She just quit a job in New York. I’m just saying. I could easily make her the manager I’ve been looking for.” Dixie had plans to open a spa based on the business model of her former employer. Because they were far enough away, the owner actually invested. It wasn’t exactly a franchise, but it was a way for both of them to get something out of the situation and she didn’t want Parker’s company or his personal accounts to pay for her dreams. She still had to achieve some goals on her own.
“Sis.” Her youngest brother, Tucker approached. “This is for you.”
He handed her an envelope from the community college. She opened it and smiled. “You really did it.”
“I told you I would.” He hugged her and she squeezed tighter than necessary, but he had no idea how proud she was of him. He had always been a bit different, like her.
“Well, if you need a job…”
“I’ve already got one.” He smiled. “They want me to finish my bachelors, but in the meantime I can work as an assistant.”
“That’s awesome, Tucker.” She hugged him again. He shook Parker’s hand and then headed back into the crowd.
“He’s a lot like you.” Parker squeezed her hand.
“He is.” She smiled wider as her friend approached. “Do you think I should introduce them? I need to know right now before she gets here.”
“He’s in a lucky booth, maybe it will work for him. I don’t know though, Dixie. He’s pretty down right now.” Parker’s honesty gave her pause.
Mandy approached with a smile bright as the sun. “Who is that guy in the booth looking like someone just stole his puppy? Is he single?”
Mandy’s enthusiasm was enough that Parker wanted out of the conversation entirely. “I’m going to go…over there.”
He kissed her lips and whispered, “Good luck.”
Dixie looked from her handsome husband to the sulking man in the booth. “He looks really miserable, Mandy. I don’t know.”
“Why is he miserable? Is he divorced?”
“He’s leaving a professional baseball career in Florida for a teaching job at a private school right here in Boston.” Dixie frowned as she looked from Mandy to Bradley McFadden.
“Hmmm. So he is single?” Mandy had her determination expression and Dixie laughed. “What?”
“Go on over and talk to him. You’ve already decided you’re going to.”
“How do you know that?”
“You have that look. The one you get whenever there was a challenge ahead of you in class, at work, when we had to throw that birthday party with no budget…yeah, that look.” Dixie knew her friend well. “Just be careful okay? He’s one of Parker’s only friends and you are one of my best friends so I can’t choose sides and you will definitely see each other again in the future.”
Mandy nodded. “Got it. Go big or go home.”
She started to walk away as Dixie said, “That’s not at all what I just said.”
It was too late. Mandy was making a straight path to Bradly. Giving up on the things out of her control, Dixie turned to find a very handsome man staring at her from across the room. Parker motioned for her with an index finger. She was his and he was hers and nothing else mattered.
The End
Be sure to check out Mandy and Bradley’s story in Run Wild.