Page 25 of The Calendar of New Beginnings
Okay, so it sucked that her mother had obviously told everyone she’d agreed to do the calendar before bothering to tell Lucy therewasa calendar.
“Me too,” he said, checking her out again.
She wanted to roll her eyes, but someone grabbed her hand just then, making her jump.
“Hi, Miss Lucy,” Danny called out, grinning up at her in his Star Wars shirt and jeans. Could he be any more adorable?
She let a smile spread across her face. “Hi there, Danny Hale. Wanna sit on the bar? My dad always let me when I was your age.”
A glance over her shoulder brought Andy into view. He was taller than most of Hairy’s patrons and looked well dressed in a dark blue button-down shirt and tan slacks—or at least that’s how she read the colors. Her friend had never much gone for the casual look of jeans and a T-shirt. She always looked like a slob next to him, and today she was no different in her worn jeans and ribbed green top.
“Can I, Dad?” Danny asked, and when he nodded, Lucy lifted the little boy up on the bar top.
“Hey, Andy,” she said to her friend, a little self-conscious of how Jeff was watching them.
“Hi. You planning on getting my kid to serve beers?” Andy asked, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.
She could feel everyone in the surrounding area watching them now, including her dad. “Not yet,” she answered. “I don’t corrupt minors.”
“Funny,”Andy said, keeping his cool despite all the eager eyes on them. “How’s it going, Jeff?”
“Pretty good, man,” Jeff responded, shaking his hand. “I’m going to play some pool. Wanna come, Lucy?”
He was sweet. But…he was testing out her feelings by asking her to accompany him. “I have to order my friend a drink.” She pointed to Danny. “It was good talking to you, Jeff. I’ll see you around.”
His eyes held hers for a tad longer than appropriate. “Sure. Come find me if you change your mind. See you later, Andy.”
Her friend waggled his eyebrows at her as Jeff walked off. “Some things never change.”
She socked him, and her dad, who was still watching them, laughed and turned away. “Whatdoyou mean?”
“You always stir up male interest wherever you go,” he said, shaking his head.
While it was true, she wasn’t in the mood to converse on the subject. “How would you know? I haven’t lived here in forever.”
He gave her a bland look.
“Can I help being friendly?” Since she wanted to consider that subject good and closed, she turned to Danny. “What would you like to drink, kiddo?”
When the boy opened his mouth, Andy said, “No soda today, Danny. You had your quota for the week at Mrs. O’Brien’s party last night.”
“But Dad!” Danny cried, swinging his little legs off the bar. “It’s a special drink if Ms. Lucy is paying.”
Her lips twitched, and Andy shot her a look.
“Not a word,” he told her.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied, chuckling under her breath.
Andy wouldn’t want her to tell Danny that once upon a time his dad had been her soda partner in crime. Her mom had rationed her intake as a kid since her father would give her endless soda whenever she visited the bar. Somehow, her mother had believed in the evils of excessive sugar in children before it became popular.
That hadn’t stopped Lucy. She’d found other ways to get her fix when she wasn’t at Hairy’s. Andy had let her steal cans from the Hale refrigerator on more than one occasion, and sometimes he’d even sneaked them into her house. She’d drunk soda in her bathroom and thrown the cans in her neighbor’s garbage on her way to school. As far as she knew, her mother was still none the wiser.
“Milk or orange juice today, Danny?” Andy asked, making his son frown.
“How about we try a new drink?” Lucy asked, making the kid perk right back up. “Milkandorange juice. Maybe it will taste like orange sherbet.”
Danny nodded enthusiastically. “Cool.”
