He walks away but turns around when the door bursts open, and I hear my name yelled.
“Livi! Liviiii! Oh, my Liv!”
Riley rushes into the room, stopping to toss her light-pink backpack on to the closest piece of furniture she can find. I look up to see Grace walk in behind her and smile. I love Grace. She’s Mr. W’s full-time caregiver, but when he’s here all day long anyway, she is the one person I know I can trust when there’s a conflict with Riley and work. Luckily, she’s also a good friend, so she loves her Riley time, and it’s not just a favor.
When the little tornado is done taking off her backpack, jacket, and shiny black shoes, she moves around the room greeting a few of the regulars like the world-class charmer that she is. She saves her favorite for last, climbing into Mr. W’s lap and resting her elbows on his shoulders. She presses her nose to his and looks him wide-eyed into the face. I wait, knowing she’ll be giving me my favorite sound, and I’m not disappointed when exactly ten seconds later, she giggles and backs away slightly. Her hands come up and frame his weathered face, still laughing.
“How come you always win?!” she exclaims on a giggle.
“Because in my day, if you moved, the big bad guys would find you.”
“Were they monsters?”
“They were like monsters to a lot of people.”
“That’s not good. Monsters are bad. Did you put them in time-out?” she asks, completely oblivious with her childhood innocence.
Mr. Westchester, the gentlest man I’ve ever met, is a hero. He’s spent a lot of time talking to me about his service in the Army, so I know the monsters he’s referring to are from his time enlisted. He’s opened up to me a lot over the years, and I always soak in his military stories. He always gets a twinkle in his eye when he tells me how he lied about his age so he could enlist and get to Korea. His first taste of war was in Panmunjom back in 1953. As he says it, he was a young man full of piss and vinegar ready to take on the world and make a difference. He doesn’t talk much about his time in Vietnam, but I do know he was in la Drang in the mid-sixties. He didn’t retire from the Army until he had given over thirty years of service, retiring as a Master Sergeant. He made me stop thanking him for his service after six months, but I still silently do it. Heroes like him make it so I can rest easy at night. There will never be a day that I’m not thankful for the sacrifices he’s made for our country. I tell him often that he’s lived so many lifetimes in his eighty-three years, and he just smiles and tells me another story.
“I put them in time-out forever,” he whispers with the tone of the rascal I’m sure he’s always been.
“Forever?” Riley gasps.
“Forever!” he booms, laughing so hard that Riley joins the instant his belly starts shaking, and just like that, they’ve moved on to something else. I leave them to it, knowing she’s in good hands while Grace moves in close.
“Hey, you.” She wears a smile, her blond curls dancing around her face.
“Hey,” I greet, walking around the counter to hug her. “Thank you for picking her up for me.”
“It’s no problem. I knew Bobby wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, so it isn’t like I have anything to do until it’s time to get his Jameson-drinking cranky bones home.”
I laugh softly, squeezing her shoulders affectionately.
“He thinks you don’t know about his secret stash,” I whisper.
“He thinks a lot of crazy things, but I still love the old menace.”
“Let me go tell Riley that it’ll be a later night than she thought, then let’s have a cup of coffee so you can fill me in on that hot date you had Saturday night.”
She rolls her eyes. “Bobby tell you about that?”
“You darn tootin’ little girl! You think it’s safe to be walking around town in those toothpick shoes? Just waiting for a young hoodlum to get the wrong idea, I tell you!” Mr. W bellows from his seat, Riley thinking he is the funniest man on earth with tears rolling down her face from her laughter.
“They were very subtle heels, Bobby.” She sighs.
“In my day—”
“In your day, women couldn’t even show their cleavage. We get it, you cranky old man. Finish your drink and your time with Riley, or you don’t get to play poker while we watch Jeopardy tonight, mister.”
He mumbles under his breath, Riley kicking up her laughter even harder. I look up and around the room, seeing that most of the customers are just watching the madness with smiles. Anyone who spends any time here knows about Riley and Mr. W. Before my eyes can get back to Grace, I glance toward the room that houses the four giant men. All four of their eyes are on us. The mix of amusement and … worry, a confusing hue of emotions on their faces. Surely, they aren’t worried that she will bother them. Riley may be young, but she knows better than to go near those rooms.
The thought is immediately gone when my gaze clashes with the one who has always drawn me in. It’s the heat in those stormy eyes that gives me pause. It feels like I’ve been physically burned.
What on earth is going on today?
“Days Like This” by Van Morrison
“She’s out cold, Ms. Kelley.”
I look up from my computer screen, pushing the glasses that I wear to block out the blue lights to rest on the top of my head. Lewis, the sweet seventeen-year-old we hired last year, stands in my doorway. His glasses held to his face with an eyeglass chain pulled tight behind his neck. His pimple-covered cheeks blush profusely.
“When are you ever going to call me Olivia, Lew,” I joke, standing and walking around the desk after I shut off my computer, thankful it was a slow night so Riley could play while I took care of payroll. Not that it would have mattered. Everyone who comes here loves her.
“My mom always said that I should address my elders with their proper title until I’m of age to be speaking to them as a peer.”
“You’re just the sweetest thing, Lewis,” I gush, tapping his nose with my finger as I walk by.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he says, his eyes looking away in embarrassment.
I giggle softly. “So polite. You’re going to make someone very happy one day, you know.”
His cheeks get even redder as I walk away from him and into the main room. I almost choke on my tongue when I see Riley. She looks like a starfish, clinging to one of the larger couches in the middle of the room, taking up every inch possible with her tiny body. One of her arms and one leg hangs off the side, dangling above the floor. The other leg lays straight down the couch body, and the other arm above her head. Her hair, tangled all around her head, covers her face completely. My Lord, she’s perfection. And just like her mom. Right up until we lost her, Emma would sleep hard and just as messy.
Moving over to the register, I rest my hip against the wood on the other side of Ella and watch as she finishes changing out the receipt tape. She looks up and arches a brow but continues her task.
“When did the giants leave?” I ask.
“About a half hour after you went into the office. They were here one moment, gone the next. For men that big, they shouldn’t be able to move without a single person even noticing.”