Page 35 of Truth or Spare

“Did you do the lanes yet?” Bryce asked, but Dewey shushed him.

“You just got back and you’re already looking for work.”

Bryce made a dismissive sound. “Come on! Let me do them,” he insisted, then hooted and sprinted off to the workshop when Dewey gave in.

It was immediately obvious just how much was missing with Bryce’s absence. His voice and his laughter filled the alley and he was everywhere Theo looked, emptying trash cans, wiping down tables, tossing shoes over the front desk to Dewey, vacuuming, skipping down the gutters to manually clear balls… He was like a tornado of laughter and joy, but instead of leaving a disaster in his wake, Bryce tidied and teased patrons as they welcomed him home with big, tearful hugs.

And Bryce was a phenomenal bowler! He rolled nothing but strikes and could roll them backwards and between his legs or with his eyes closed. He’d swipe balls off the return and send them spinning down the lane without so much as a glance, high-fiving and chest-bumping the other bowlers as he passed. If Bryce wasn’t fixing or cleaning something, he was bowling and celebrating on the lanes.

“I can see why you miss him so badly,” Theo said to Dewey as he leaned back against the counter.

Dewey chuckled and nodded, resting on his elbows as he watched Bryce. “He’s our world and it was so damn hard to let him go, but we all wanted to see how far he could fly.”

“They’re all proud of him,” Theo said, pointing at all the players on the lanes and gesturing around them. “All of Oslo is excited about his return and this whole place is glowing.”

“Yup. Roddy thought he’d be ‘the one’ to put this Oslo on the map, but Bryce is the smartest and the brightest thing to ever come out of this town,” Dewey boasted. “Everything’s easier when he’s here, but his mom and I wanted Bryce to follow his dreams. The whole town’s rooting for him because he’soursand we all know he’s the best of us.”

“Maybe not the best,” Theo said with a wink at Dewey. “I’d say he had an excellent role model. Or is he the same model, just a younger version of his uncle?” he wondered out loud, earning an eye roll from Dewey.

“I just did whatever my dad did and made sure Bryce knew he was loved. He’s got everything under control out here so I’m gonna hang out in my office for a while. Catch up on some paperwork.” Dewey waved at Bryce and pointed at the office before leaving.

“Good luck with that,” Theo said weakly and grimaced in Bryce’s direction.

He didn’t know if it was his place and assumed that Bryce probably knew or at least suspected that Dewey had a drinking problem. Theo decided to be subtle and leave it up to Bryce, if he wanted to discuss how Dewey was managing his addiction.

“He’s doingpaperwork,” Theo said out of the side of his mouth when Bryce popped behind the counter to find the disinfectant spray and a clean towel.

Bryce crossed his arms over his chest and chewed on a lip. “Is that what he told you?” he asked and Theo hissed as he stepped closer.

“I suspect he might be napping.”

“That’s a good bet,” Bryce said, then gestured for Theo to follow him. “It’s going to be slow for the next hour and I’m guessing you’ve never checked the balls.”

“Checked the balls?” Theo repeated.

Bryce’s tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek as he tossed the towel over his shoulder. “Stuck my finger in some sort of purple syrup when I was straightening up on 3,” he said as he strode around the ball stand at the end of lane 1. He patted the largest ball on the end then nodded down the line. “We want to keep a good variety on each stand. Right now, most of the kids’ balls are on 9 and 10. I heard there was a party on Saturday. And I’m seeing that most of the heavier balls are down here. The blue hairs don’t use them as much.”

“I see…” Theo frowned as he turned and leaned and noted that nearly all of the brightly colored balls were at the other end. Why hadn’t he noticed or even thought to check?

“Most places don’t do it, but I like to wipe all the balls down and disinfect the holesat leastonce a week,” Bryce continued. “And I like to make sure there’s a good selection on each stand at the beginning of the day.”

“Once a week? Brooks never mentioned that they needed to be done,” Theo said, earning another eye roll.

“He wouldn’t ask you to do something, if he couldn’t do it himself,” Bryce said and braced his hands on his hips. His brows climbed up his forehead as he waited for Theo to catch on.

“What do you mean? If you usually…” Theo shook his head, still confused.

Bryce’s hand slapped the top of the ball on the end of the stand. “Did you know that these start at six pounds for the kids’ balls and go up to sixteen pounds for the adults’?” Bryce said, earning a grimace from Theo.

“I didn’t know the exact weights but that seems correct.”

“How many balls are in this alley and how many times have you seen Doobie pick one up?” Bryce asked briskly. His nostrils flared and there was a hard gleam in his eyes as he waited.

Bryce could have cracked him over the head with one of the balls, Theo was stunned as his ideal American bowling alley experience toppled around him like pins. “What did I miss?” he whispered in horror.

“A hell of a lot, Theo.”

Now that Theo’s eyes had been opened, the contrast between Dewey and his miniature, Bryce, was stark. “How old is Brooks?” he asked weakly.

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