Page 18 of Happy Trails & Honey Pots

“We ordered two larges and three pitchers if you’re good with that.”

“Sounds great.”

I wanted an excuse to stand in line and speak with Zoe, but I realized this wouldn’t be the time—not with every eye pointed in my direction.

We walked over to the table and sat down. Daphne, who I’d been introduced to earlier in the parking lot of the ballpark, was alone at the table as we sat down. “So you two just got engaged?” I remembered Harlan had mentioned that he’d popped the question about a week ago.

“Yep.” Daphne smiled from ear to ear.

I rarely ever forgot a face, and Daphne looked so familiar to me. I’d been trying to place where I knew her from, since we’d been at the baseball field, and it was driving me crazy.

“Yes, we did.” Harlan pulled Daphne close and nuzzled into her neck. I’d noticed he took every opportunity to touch and kiss his fiancée. I would say they were in the newlywed phase, but something about them made me think he would still be behaving this way when they were eighty.

“Congratulations. Are you from here?” I asked her.

“No, I moved here a few months ago.”

“She used to live in L.A.” Harlan explained.

“Did you work in the entertainment industry?” Most people thought Los Angeles was so big, and square footage and population-wise it was, but as far as the industry itself, it was actually pretty small.

“I was a producer at Pulse.”

“Oh, okay.” As soon as she said Pulse, it clicked. I’d seen her on red carpets before, and she’d done a dating show on Pulse calledDating in the City. She’d also been rumored to date an actor named Kale Butler. Kale and I went up for the same parts often, and the press always tried to pit us against each other and create a rivalry, but I’d never even really met the guy.

“How is it living here in Firefly?” I asked, wondering how the transition from living in Los Angeles to moving to a small town across the country would be.

A glow of absolute bliss fell over her face as she beamed at her fiancé. “It’s the absolute best.”

He pulled her in for another kiss. “You’re the best.”

“Okay, I’m gonna go sit with my girls.” Daphne planted a kiss on Harlan before hopping up and making her way to the table where Ashley and Nadia were seated. The women waved at me. I lifted my hand and waved back.

“Mr. Ford.”

I looked up and saw AJ standing with two of his teammates.

“I told you, it’s Miles.” I knew that it was a sign of respect, but I didn’t want AJ calling me Mr. Ford. It just felt wrong.

“Can you take a selfie with Stevie and Ritchie?”

“Absolutely.”

I stood, and what started out as two selfies quickly turned into a dozen. There was a line of people, and pretty soon I had taken selfies with everyone at the establishment, including the cooks in the back.

When the pizza came out, everyone went back to their seats and gave me the space to eat in peace. That was not something Iwas used to. Most people didn’t care if I was eating, working out, driving, or even using the restroom. It was nice to be somewhere where people respected boundaries.

Dawson arrived while I was taking photos, and while we ate, he and Harlan continued to tell me all about the adventures that they’d had with Austin. The trouble they’d gotten into together. The laughs they’d had. The dreams they’d had.

As we finished our pizza, Dawson sighed as he glanced over at AJ, who was playing video games with his friends. “I hate that Austin’s not here to see AJ grow up.”

I could see the pain in both of the friends’ eyes as they looked at the kid.

“It must be so hard. Thank you both so much for tonight. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear all the stories about him.”

“We’re happy to.” Harlan took a drink of his beer. “We love talking about him. We know Zoe has a tough time, but we always tell AJ anytime he wants to talk about his dad, we’re happy to talk about him. We feel like that’s what keeps him alive. You know.”

If Zoe didn’t even like talking about Austin to AJ, it made sense why she didn’t want a movie made about him.

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