Rosie’s schedule was packed on Thursday, so I stopped by the Lone Star lounge myself that afternoon to scope things out. Rosie had asked me to take some pictures so she’d know what to expect since she couldn’t make it. My buddy Lucas, who worked out of the space most days, waved me over to a table almost as soon as I walked in.

“Hey man,” he said, “long time, no see.”

Lucas was a computer programming wunderkind and an old friend. He’d been diagnosed with a heart defect in college, and we’d actually met in group therapy. Specifically, we met at a support group for young adults with serious health issues. I’d been there when I was still walking with a cane from the accident. It was through Lucas, that I originally met Victoria. They’d been dating at the time.

“Where’s Rae?” I asked, thinking that it was good that Victoria was not around today.

Rae was Lucas’ girlfriend. They’d been together for about a year. Lucas was a long-term kind of guy.

Lucas and Victoria had lasted a long time too—well past the safe shelf life of their relationship. By the time they finally imploded in spectacular fashion, it was inevitable. In hindsight, they should have broken up years before they did. They still didn’t get along well, and probably never would again. It was best that they simply avoided one another.

“She’s here,” Lucas replied, smiling and pointing over to the bar. Rae was talking to Ward, the owner. She waved at me and I waved back. Her dark red hair had grown out since the last time I’d seen her. It was long enough for her to sit on now.

Rae was about a billion times better for Lucas than Victoria had been. Lucas didn’t need a volatile rock star for a girlfriend. He needed someone more like him: hardworking, brilliant, no-nonsense, and down-to-earth. Rae was all that and more. In fact, when I first met her, I asked her to dance myself. But she was Lucas’ and not really my type anyway (Lucas had a serious weakness for intimidating redheads). We got along great, regardless.

“Are you two coming to the show Friday night?” I asked the question with as much of a neutral face as possible. Rae and Victoria disliked one another immensely.

Lucas shook his head. “Hell no.” Then he grinned. “But say hey to Ian for me.”

I exhaled in relief. That would have been unnecessary drama.

“I will,” I replied, “and that’s probably for the best. It might be a bit intense.”

Lucas stared at me with a suddenly intent expression on his face. His hazel eyes sparkled behind his glasses. “What’s up?” he asked me, kicking out the chair across from himself and inviting me to join him. I sunk down into it and considered his question.

“It’s a long story. I don’t want to interrupt while you’re working.” In reality, I could use some genius help, and Lucas was the only one I knew. I didn’t count Ian. He might be genius drummer, but outside of that domain, he was rubbish.

In reply, Lucas spun his laptop around. He was browsing Reddit. “I’m done for the day. Try me,” he said. Fair enough.

“My girlfriend’s dad is coming into town next week, and he’s bound to figure out that she’s been lying to him about giving up music. She’s opening for Victoria’s band, and I have a feeling it’s going to jump-start her career. He won’t be happy. Oh, and he’s my boss.”

It sounded incredibly dumb when I boiled it down that much, and I winced.

“You have a girlfriend?” Lucas asked. “Since when?”

I counted backward and grinned. “A little more than a week.”

Lucas grinned back at me. “And what’s her name?”

I felt a bit like I was being interrogated, but I knew he was just curious. “Rosie.”

“And she’s a singer?”

My head bobbed up and down. “And a student at UT.”

“And Rosie’s dad doesn’t want her to be a singer. What does he want?”

I took a deep breath. “He wants her to go to law school. He’s a lawyer. And my boss. Did I mention he was my boss?”

“He’s coming to the show on Friday?”

I shook my head. “No. Thank god, no. He’s not coming to town until the week after.”

Lucas processed the information by taking a sip of his beer. He always drank the same beer, with the same garnish: an orange slice. It was almost pathological.

“Yeah,” he said after a moment. “I got nothing. That’s probably going to suck for everyone involved. Especially you.” He frowned. “On second thought, actually, especially her.”

“Did I mention she’s also only nineteen?” I added. Her being so young really did contribute to the overall intensity of the situation.

“You did not mention that, no.” Lucas hid a smile. His eyes widened behind his glasses like he was attempting not to laugh. “I didn’t figure you for a cradle robber.” I frowned at him and he waved a hand. “It’s not that weird,” he said when I opened my mouth to protest. “But I can see how that would make things worse. Is she financially dependent on him?”

“For now, yeah. She’s about to start making quite a bit of money though.”

“Well that’s a plus.” He cocked his head to the side as he thought about my conundrum. “So, what’s your strategy for dealing with him?”

Strategy? I sighed. “I feel like we have to just tell him the truth. I’ve gone over all the other options, and it seems like honesty is going to be our best bet.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow. “No elaborate lawyer tricks?”

“He’s the one that taught me most of mine.” I rolled my eyes. There was no chance that elaborate misdirection would be successful with Calvin Ross. Even Rosie admitted that it would only buy us time.

“I see.”

“Besides,” I added, “I’ve come to terms with losing my job over this.”

Lucas nodded sagely. “That’s probably good. I’d offer you advice, but it doesn’t sound like you need it.”

“No, I definitely need it. Please. If you’ve got anything, I’m listening.”

He smirked at me. “If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from Rae, it’s that elaborate lies aren’t very effective.”

“God, you’re no fun anymore.” He was so damn adult. For some reason it bugged me. If he had some kind of secret solution, I wanted it.

He merely laughed in reply. “I might not be fun, but I am happy. You should try it some time.”

Lucas, like Ian, had long contended that I was too brooding, lonely, and withdrawn to ever be happy. “I’m in a bar at three p.m. on a weekday. Doesn’t that make me fun by definition?”

“Either that, or an alcoholic.”

I smirked. “Oh dear. You said yourself that you weren’t fun, so I’ll have Ian recommend you a good AA group. We’ll get you the help you need.” I pushed his water glass closer to him, in front of his beer.

He stared at me and then laughed. “I walked straight into that one, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.”

Talking to Lucas was always good for a laugh. He was quick and clever, but not impossible to outwit.

“We really ought to hang out more,” he said, reading my mind. I nodded.

“Yeah. We do.”

“You and Rosie should come over to dinner sometime soon.”

I nodded. I could imagine Rae and Rosie getting along. They had compatible personalities. Actually, the combo might be slightly frightening. There was only one way to find out.

“That’d be great.”

We made tentative plans for the week after next. I couldn’t wait for Rosie to meet my friends. I knew they were going to love her, and a part of me really wanted to show her off. If we could just make it through this Friday, I believed that everything would be ok. Our future, once we made it past her father’s inevitable wrath, was bright and full of promise. All we had to do was weather the storm.