Page 30 of Operation Sunshine
Ben raised an eyebrow. “How so?”
“I thought you were going to be a hard-arse. Some suit with spreadsheets and no soul. But you’re more…” Ollie waved a hand. “Messy. In a good way. Human.”
Ben laughed. “Thanks, I think.”
“Still don’t know if I’m a liability though, do you?”
Ben took a breath. “No. But I know you’re not invisible, and I think you’ve been treated as if you are. As though everyone’s decided you’re‘just like that’, so there’s no point in asking more of you.”
Ollie was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed. “Franco tried, once.”
Ben looked up.
“First year I worked here. I was showing up hungover, sometimes already buzzed. He pulled me aside, and he looked so fucking disappointed. He didn’t yell or threaten, just said he didn’t want to watch me fade away.” Ollie’s mouth tightened. “That made it worse.”
“Because he cared?” Ben asked.
“Because I couldn’t stop, not then.” He looked at Ben, his eyes raw. “Still not sure I can.”
Ben nodded slowly. “Then don’t focus on stopping. Just focus onchoosing,one night at a time.”
Ollie gave a humourless laugh. “You sound like my therapist.”
Ben smirked. “I had a good one.”
They sat in silence again, the quiet around them companionable now. Outside, rain streaked the windows with silver threads.
“Hey.” Ollie broke the silence. “Thanks for not giving me a lecture or pretending I’m fixed just because I drank water tonight.”
Ben gazed at him. “Thanks for not pretending you’re fine when you’re not.”
Ollie gave a small smile. “Let’s call it even.”
There wasn’t a single customer in sight, and the rain outside didn’t look like it was letting up anytime soon.
Ben finished his espresso and straightened. “Go home.”
Ollie straightened. “What?”
“You’ve been standing there polishing the same three glasses for the last twenty minutes. You may as well head off before the bus schedule gets worse.”
Ollie hesitated, clearly torn between the urge to protest and the chance to leave early. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.” Ben smiled. “Besides, if this keeps up, we’ll all be right behind you.”
With a shrug that was more grateful than he probably meant it to be, Ollie gathered his things. “All right. But don’t do anything exciting without me.”
Ben chuckled. “I’ll leave the exciting activities to Franco.”
Ollie headed for the front door. As it clicked shut behind him, Ben walked over to the kitchen and poked his head around the corner. Raj was up to his elbows in soapy water, scrubbing a stockpot.
“Raj, where’s Franco?”
He glanced in Ben’s direction. “Upstairs, I think. He said something about cleaning the function room because he was bored.”
“Go home.”
Raj blinked. “Really?”
