Love In Between(63)

As I picked up Lily and swung her around, I kissed her. “I can’t believe it, babe. I can’t believe this is all mine!”

“I’m so happy for you,” she said as I put her down.

The door to the bar opened and my mom, dad, Maddie, and Charley walked in.

“Uncle Luke!” Charley exclaimed as she ran over to me.

I picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. “Welcome to Luke’s Bar and Grille, peanut.”

“Yay!” she exclaimed.

I put her down as my mom and dad walked over and hugged me.

“We’re so proud of you, Luke.”

“Damn proud, son,” my dad said.

“Congratulations, manager.” I smiled as I threw the extra set of keys at Maddie.

I stood there and looked around the bar. My life was exactly where I always wanted it to be. I was the owner of a bar, and I had a woman that I was madly in love with standing by my side. As I was in deep thought, Lily looped her arm around my neck.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

“Just how lucky I am to be able to share my dream and this moment with you.”

She leaned into me and softly kissed my lips. “I’m the lucky one.” She smiled.

As we were having our little moment, Candi burst through the doors of the bar. “Hey, boss.” She smiled as she hugged me. “You have no idea how happy I am that you bought this joint.”

Candi was one of the best bartenders I knew. She was forty-two years old, and she had never been married. Maddie had always been jealous of her long, curly black hair, and the two of them worked together for years. Both being single, they were constantly getting hit on by the customers. Candi used to be a prostitute. She stumbled into the bar one night after being beat up by her pimp. She was only twenty-two years old at the time. When Bernie saw her, he took her to the hospital. After she was released, they had a long talk, and Bernie brought her back to the bar, taught her how to make drinks, and gave her a job. That was twenty years ago, and she told us every day how Bernie saved her life and gave her a second chance.

I decided to have a celebration party with family and friends tonight. I put up a sign on the door, saying that the bar was closed for tonight only and would re-open tomorrow. Lily walked over to me and gave me a kiss goodbye. Chris, the principal of the school, had called her in for a meeting. As I looked over at the stage, I chuckled when I saw Charley up there, pretending she was holding a microphone, and singing her little heart out. My mom and dad left just as Sam came walking in.

“Dude, congratulations!” he said as we fist-bumped. “I never thought I’d see this day.”

“Me either, Sam. You and Gretchen are coming tonight, right?”

“Of course we are, and depending on how Giselle is feeling, her and Lucky will be here.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” I said as I looked at Sam. “Today’s the day of her appointment at the clinic. Lily wanted to be there with her, but Giselle told her that Lucky was taking her.”

“It sucks that they got themselves into this situation in the first place,” Sam said as I handed him a beer.

“Uncle Sammy!” Charley shrieked. “Did you hear me singing?”

“I sure did, and I think you’re going to be the next Taylor Swift.”

Charley’s eyes widened as she smiled. “Do you really think so?”

“Yes, I do. In fact, I’m going to call up American Idol and tell them I have a nine-year-old celebrity sitting next to me.”

I chuckled as I poured Charley a coke. “Here, peanut. Take this and go sit over at the table.”

“Thanks for the beer, man. I’m going to head home, get changed, and then wait for Gretchen to finish her photo shoot. I’ll see you later,” Sam said as we did our handshake.

***

As I was sitting in my office, going over some paperwork, Lily walked in, and I immediately knew something was wrong.

“Hey, babe. What’s wrong?” I asked as I got up from my chair and wrapped my arms around her.

“The teacher that I’m subbing for is coming back to work on Monday. Her husband passed away sooner than they thought, and she said she needs to come back to teaching to take her mind off of it.”

“Aw, babe, I’m sorry,” I said as I held her tight.

“I mean, I can understand her needing to come back, and I’m sorry her husband passed away, but I’m going to miss my students.” She started to cry.

“I know you will. I know how much they mean to you,” I said as I kissed her head.

My heart broke for her. She loved her job and her students. I wanted to take away her sadness, but I didn’t know what to do for her. “You can work here at the bar.”

She broke our embrace and looked at me. “Thank you, but no. As much as I love you, I don’t want to work for you. Anyway, Chris said that one of the teachers will be retiring at the end of the year, and when they move some other teachers around, there will be a position available, and she said it’s mine. I’ll just focus on photography for a while.”

“That’s my girl.” I smiled.

I tilted my head as I looked at her and gently wiped away her tears. I brought her face closer to mine as I softly brushed her lips. “You know, in order to make this place perfect, we have to have sex here.”