Page 33 of OctoBEARfest

"No problem, bro." Jon broke away from the group and headed for the office, where Bill assumed he'd be printing outreservedsigns. The others drifted apart, leaving Bill to stand in the middle of the pub, watching it begin to fill up hours before the show was meant to start. The clientele was completely different from their usual: younger, and much,muchlouder. They were also ordering food and beer like it was the start of along night of partying, and, watching them go up to the bar, it was clear that very few, if any, of the people who had arrived so far were using the free beer pass Gwen had suggested. That was great for the bottom line, although Bill also hoped the people who'd bought early ticketswouldcome, and that they wouldn't be disappointed with the show.

"You can't make everybody happy, cuz," Ashley murmured as she walked by.

"Am I that obvious?" he muttered after her.

Ashley stopped and came back to him. "You look like a man who's been given a million dollars and a kick in the gut at the same time. Look, Bill, the jazz thing worked for the pub for a long time, but a lot of that crowd have turned into people who are babysitting their grandkids on Friday or Saturday nights sotheirkids can get out on a date. I know the jazz festival is still huge here, but people haven't been turning up for the unofficial opening weekend here at the pub for a while, right? I think it's great that we're doing something different, even if you didn't quite mean to. Except I think subconsciously you did."

"Jon said something like that, too. I didn't think anybody else had noticed about the numbers falling off. I'm not doing such a great job here, Ash."

"Don't be ridiculous. You've taken on a job two people used to do and you're beating yourself up for not being able to do it all by yourself as well as they did. I tell you what, if this place was mine to run I'd really shake things up."

Bill, taken aback, said, "Seriously? Is that something you've thought about?"

"Oh my God, yeah, obviously. I love this place. I've always envied that it belonged to your parents and not mine. I'd have kicked my folks out ten years ago. Well. Okay, I was like seventeen ten years ago, but you know what I mean. Yeah, I'd love to manage this place," Ashley said wistfully.

"Why didn't you evermentionthat?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "Because itisyour parents' place, not mine, and you never ask for any help!"

Bill opened his mouth and shut it again as a cold ball of dismay sank all the way from his throat down through his stomach. "I ask Jon and Laurie…"

"No, you don't. Not the way you think you do. You've never sat them down and said, this is too much, I need you guys to pick up these specific tasks going forward. Have you." The last two words weren't a question at all. Theywerea challenge, and Bill flinched almost guiltily.

"I shouldn't have to! They're adults, they can see what's going on around them."

"They see their competent, responsible older brother handling it all, Bill. You ask them to do this or that, but they don't see it as an ongoing job, just something you can't do in the moment. And then you get really frustrated, and I get that. But they see this place as yours, not theirs, and they don't want to step on your toes."

"And you…?"

Ashley sighed. "I'm a woman, Bill. I want you to look up a thing online, a comic strip about mental load. Right now you're carrying a lot of mental load, but women end up doing it a lot, like alota lot, so maybe I can see it easier when you're doing it."

He stared at her a few seconds, then nodded. "Okay. I'll look it up. But, Ash, if you want to talk about managing the pub…this weekend probably isn't any good, but maybe after this craziness is all over?"

She smiled up at him. "Yeah, not now, but yeah, I'd really like that. Rightnow," she said, her smile growing, "you should go grab Gwen and take her and maybe the rest of the band over to the diner for something to eat in comparative peace and quiet before the show."

CHAPTER 21

Magically, just at the moment Gwen's energy was starting to flag post-setup, pre-show, Bill appeared at the little backstage area, said, "Let me take you all out to dinner. I think you're going to need something in your stomachs before the crowd demands your souls, because I'm pretty sure that's what's going to happen tonight," and shooed them all out a staff door to walk down the block toward a diner. None of them ate a lot—they rarely did before a show—but getting out of the venue and getting some fresh air and a little time to unwind was good for all of them. Tempers that had been fraying and tensions that were rising were restored, and by the time the band bounced back in the staff door half an hour before showtime, everyone was excited to get on stage.

Gwen hung back a moment, smiling up at Bill. "Thank you. That was just what we needed."

"Honestly, I should be taking you out for steak and seafood or something. I can't believe how much of a crowd you've brought in."

"Oh, this whole mess was like handing candy to a baby for Penny. She thrives in an emergency, and she's incredible at rallying the troops. I'll see you after the show, all right?"

"Assuming I can make my way through your throngs of screaming fans, definitely."

Gwen laughed and, on impulse, stood on her toes to kiss the big man's cheek. He turned pink, and she made her way to the backstage area with the rest of the band, all of whom were now looking at her like Penny had done earlier. Gemma, in the tone of a band member who had seen far too many bad decisions on the part of its lead singer, said, "It's like that, is it?"

"Maybe." Gwen dimpled. "He's nice, anyway."

"Nice is good," Gemma opined, then lifted her chin at the stage. "We doing the new stuff for the encore or you wanna mix it it up in the main set?"

"Keep 'em here," Myles said. "Do it last except forMidnight Kiss."

"I amnotplaying until midnight," Sandy said automatically, and Myles gave her a lazy grin. They'd been making the same joke about the song name as long as they'd both been in the band, and it made Gwen smile every time.

"Someday I'm gonna make us do a ballad version of that song," Penny said, completing the ritual, and then they were on, walking out onto the little pub stage to a crowd that lifted its voice in a cheer.

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