Page 3 of Your Place or Mine

I glanced at my brother and smiled. “Surprise.”

Drew chuckled as I pushed open the door to the back room and let it swing shut behind me with a soft creak. I only flipped on one of the lights. I knew the bar like the back of my hand. Every nick, scratch, and squeaky board… was all part of me, etched into my bones after ten long years.

I leaned against the doorway momentarily, letting my eyes scan the room. The low amber glow of the light above cast long shadows across the wood-paneled walls stacked with metal shelves and cardboard boxes full of booze.

I walked across the room, and even my boots thudded with dismay. The floor was uneven in spots due to decades of shifting and settling, but I didn’t mind. The imperfections gave it character, a story.

“This bar’s seen more good times than anyone’s got a right to ask for,” I muttered. “It doesn’t need a damn thing changed.”

The ghosts of memories seemed to linger in the bar, heavy and warm. I thought about the corner booth where old man Travis sat every Friday night, nursing a beer and telling anyone who’d listen about the time he won the county fair pie-eating contest. His memorial was also held here.

Near the dartboard was where Danny Peters had proposed to his girlfriend, surprising everyone in the bar, especially his girlfriend, who’d burst into tears before saying yes.

And the tiny makeshift stage. It wasn’t much, just a few feet of space barely big enough to fit a drum kit and a couple of amps, but it had hosted some unforgettable nights. Like when the traveling bluegrass band had stopped by on their way to a festival and played for hours, the crowd stomped and clapped until the floorboards shook.

Or the time Drew had grabbed a mic after one too many beers and serenaded the bar with a painfully off-key rendition ofSweet Carolineto his childhood crush.

I grinned despite myself.

“Place has got soul,” I said aloud, my voice echoing faintly in the quiet. “Not something you can buy with a fancy remodel.”

The Ludlowes’ talk of the new owner and her dream of modernizing came back, and my smile faded. What would a city woman see when she walked in here? Faded paint, scratched furniture, mismatched barstools? Would she see the laughter, the music, the life? Or just the flaws?

I grabbed a box cutter and started dismantling the boxes in the corner.

“Hell,” I muttered. “She’d probably rip out the bar itself. Replace it with some shiny, soulless counter made of some sparkly stone.”

I could already hear her smooth and businesslike voice explaining why the jukebox had to go. “People don’t use those anymore,” she’d say. “We’ll put in a Bluetooth sound system. Cleaner, more efficient.”

And the walls, with their mismatched photos and yellowed newspaper clippings. She’d probably want them bare or covered with overpriced artwork or floral wallpaper. “It’s about creating a cohesive aesthetic,” she’d explain, as if the bar needed an aesthetic beyondexisting.

I snorted and shook my head. “Aesthetic. What a crock.”

“Uh-oh,” Drew’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I turned to see my brother standing in the doorway, arms crossed and smirking. “You’re talking to yourself again.”

I scowled. “I’m not talking to myself. I’m talking to the bar.”

“That’s somehow worse,” Drew teased, walking over to me. He leaned on the shelf beside me and looked around the room. “But I’m here for you, even though nothing has happened. The building has just changed owners.”

I gave him a flat look. “This bar means something to people, Drew. It’s not just a business.”

“I know that,” Drew said, holding up his hands. “But maybe don’t think the sky is falling until it actually is, Chicken Little.”

“I’m dreading this afternoon.” I shook my head.

“That’s when she’s coming?”

“I guess that’s when she’s visiting the town. Lucky us.”

“It won’t be that bad. She might even like the place.”

“You don’t get it. This isn’t just some dive bar. It’s... It’sours.The town’s. It’s the kind of place people walk into and feel at home.”

“Idoget it,” Drew said, his voice softening. “You’re preaching to the choir, man. But you’re spinning yourself up over something that hasn’t even happened yet.”

“The Ludlowes flat out told me she wanted to modernize the building,” I said, stopping near the stack of flattened boxes. “I can see her ripping everything out right on the spot.”

“But let’s not get all riled up until we know.” Drew stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

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