Page 23 of The Guy in the Alley

“The short answer is Detroit,” he said. “That’s not an opinion—it’s a fact.”

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. He thought I didn’t know? But that era was history.

“With that said…” he went on. His gaze followed me as I took a pull from the smoke. “Some of my favorite memories are from when we had our rivalry with the Canucks.” Aw fuck yeah, those were good times. Ben grinned a little. “They got PTSD just from hearing ‘Chelsea Dagger.’”

I let out a laugh. Too fucking true. “We went to a lot of games in those days,” I admitted. “My old man took me—said he wanted me to see it live whenever we beat those freckled fuckin’ Swede twins. In his words.”

Ben laughed softly. “Ah, the twin sisters. They were annoyingly good.”

Right. The trash talk back then was something else. I smiled and shook my head, so many fond memories rushing back. Each one kinda made me miss Dad.

Fucking Florida.

I took another drag and let out a long breath as I peered up at the night sky.

Aside from missing my dad, I was more and more determined to ask Ben to stick around. I really liked him. We couldn’t afford another employee right now, but it was only a matter of time. Adam and his family went back to California in a few days, and Sandy’s wife was pregnant. Said wife was also the main breadwinner, so it wouldn’t shock me if Sandy took paternity leave.

Ben would probably make a good addition in both the kitchen and behind the bar.

I shivered as a wind blew past, and I threw the smoke down into the snow-covered pot next to the stoop.

I cleared my throat and folded my arms loosely over my chest. The only reason I stayed outside now was because I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t want alone time with Ben.

We had an hour until the place closed, and then cleanup, which took another hour.

Maybe I could dig a little.

“You ready to go back in?”

Uh, no. But he was freezing. I supposed I could dig when we mopped the floors later, so I nodded. The cold had sobered me up, and we’d see if that was good or bad.

* * *

I was always eager for the last customers to get the fuck out.

Tonight, I was also eager for the staff to go home. I played it off with expert-level bullshit. Oh no, Tonya, you gotta catch that train. Sandy, go home right now because you’re on early tomorrow. Jamaal, you too. One by one, they trickled out. All the workstations were clean and the tables had been wiped down, so we just had the mopping left. Which meant we had to put the chairs upside down on the tables first.

My stomach snarled and tightened, reminding me we hadn’t eaten since…fuck, five thirty? Thereabouts?

“I’m hungry,” I said. “You wanna split some leftovers with me?”

He nodded and flipped one more barstool upside down on top of the bar. “I could eat.”

We headed out to the kitchen, and I went to the staff fridge where Petey and Julie always stored our leftovers. Container after container, labeled in Julie’s neat script. Cheesy bread, pizza soup, some wings… Fuck yeah, this was gonna be good. Our budget options for pop too. I was a Crush fan, and Ben took a Pepsi.

I brought everything to the nearest stovetop and pulled out two pans and a small pot.

So…I should start off easy, right? To feel him out?

“Can you tell me about your son?” I asked.

Okay, I didn’t fucking know which topics were safe or easy.

Ben pretended to be interested in opening his pop, but he didn’t look too bothered. “I’d hate to remind you of your ex, so I better answer.” His slight smirk put me at ease. Banter was good. “His name is Alvin.” The humor faded, and his expression turned wistful. “From the moment he was born, he’s been the light of my life.”

I kept him in my periphery as I started preparing the food.

“Unfortunately, it, uh… Things haven’t been easy,” he said. “By the time he was three, we knew he was different. If we pulled him away from something he was engrossed in, he screamed himself into a full-blown panic attack. He was very late to learn to speak, and his developments came in rapid bursts. Like… Okay, so when he started speaking. He went from absolutely nothing to…fuck, being able to carry on conversations with adults within the span of a year. And then nothing again for a couple years.”

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