Page 111 of The Barkeep and the Bro

Grandpa I’d Like to Fuck—and do, regularly.

“What are you thinking?” she asked. “You’re smiling.”

“Oh, nothing.”

* * *

There wasn’tany kind of formality to this reception. At some point, Lucy plugged in her phone to play Spotify through the speakers. People created a small dance space in the backyard where Cal and Russ were cajoled into their first dance. Then other couples joined in. The whole afternoon was purely delightful. It was how I wanted my wedding to be.

If we ever decided to cross that bridge. I was turning into one of those people who thought about my wedding when at other weddings. Love, future, it all blended together.

Mitch and I joined in on a slow dance. My heart melted at the way he looked at me.

“Do you ever see us getting married?” I asked him. It was a subject we hadn’t broached. We were so busy with the bar and other physical activity that til-death-do-us-part never came up. It seemed more implied.

At least, for me.

Mitch hadn’t answered my question yet. He considered it as if I asked him about the meaning of life.

“It’s crossed my mind here and there.”

“Oh.” What kind of crossing were we talking about? Like a fleeting thought?

“You?” he asked.

“Yeah. I mean, I...well, yeah. I don’t see myself wanting to be with anyone else. I have a hunch you may feel the same.”

“That’s true.” He was back to his stoneface. It drove me crazy, not in the sexy way this time.

“We make a good team.”

“That we do.”

“With the bar and with other things.”

He nodded, his face indecipherable. Maybe he thought I was crazy or clingy, or he just wanted me to shut up. After all, the man had been married before and hated it. He didn’t want to go through that rigamarole again.

“So maybe it’s worth thinking about?” My confidence faded with each second I clocked his stoic response.

Mitch stopped dancing. He reached up his arm and flagged someone down on the deck. Someone who would cart me away probably. Me and my big mouth.

Leo came over, fixed his tie and his hair. “What’s up?”

“Will you marry us?”

I could feel my eyes bulge out of my skull. Like, pain shot through my sockets.

“What?” Leo looked between us, most likely noticing the shock bleaching my face white. “For real?”

“Yeah. Is that allowed?” Mitch craned his neck to Cal and Russ. “Hey, is it cool if Charlie and I get married right now?”

The newlyweds shrugged at each other. “Sure,” Cal said.

He turned to me. “Is that cool with you?”

“Is that cool with me?” I repeated the words slowly, trying to process the fuckery of the current moment. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

Mitch nodded yes. “You said you could see yourself marrying me. I could see myself marrying you. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We have an ordained minister. So why wait?”

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