The men are all dressed in Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, most in straw hats, and a Pearl Snap Button Shirt. The women, jeans, boots, and a cotton shirt as well. Styles are just as they were twenty years ago and I can’t fathom how. Do they not get television? Magazines?
My stomach rumbles and I wonder if it’s a good idea to stop here. I have no doubt that it’s nothing but the same greasy spoon that it was back before I left. With a heavy sigh, I go for it, grabbing my purse off of the passenger seat, I unfold from the car.
Straightening my skirt, I hitch my bag over my shoulder before I step up onto the sidewalk. Making my way into the diner, my stomach clenches at the smell of the fried food that assaults my senses.
“Have a seat anywhere, hon,” a woman calls out.
Lifting my eyes, I blink at the sight of her. It’s Lulamae. I cannot believe that she still waitresses here, she’s older than my daddy. Without saying a word to her, I make my way toward the back of the restaurant and slip into a sticky booth seat and remove my sunglasses.
“What’ll you have to drink?” she barks as she sets a plastic laminate menu in front of me.
I don’t bother looking at the menu, they won’t have sparkling water, they won’t even have bottled water. It’ll be tap water only, and it’ll probably taste like chlorine.
“I’ll have an unsweetened tea,” I mutter.
She snorts. Lifting my gaze up to meet hers, I blink. “Is there something wrong?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Never thought little Stevie LaRue’d walk in here and order an unsweetened tea,” she practically sneers. “Never thought anybody from Texas would order that. Seems you forgot where you come from, girl.”
“I’m not Stevie LaRue, not anymore,” I say softly.
Lulamae leans down slightly, tilting her head to the side as her gaze scrutinizes me. Her top lip curls up in a look of disgust.
“You sure ain’t. Stevie LaRue would order a sweet tea. She’d also order a burger with tater tots. Then she’d get a milkshake for dessert because little Stevie LaRue loved her desserts. She also wouldn’t have stayed away from her home for almost twenty years.”
I blink, shocked that she said these things to me and that she remembered that much about me. She’s not wrong. Stevie LaRue loved all of those things, but I am not her anymore. I haven’t been her for seventeen years.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Lulamae. I’m just not her anymore,” I say softly.
She nods her head, her eyes searching mine. “She ain’t all gone though, is she? You come home to find her, then?”
Shaking my head, I inhale a deep breath. “I just came home to oversee my daddy’s house getting cleaned up and put on the market. I’ll only be here a few weeks, then it’s back home.”
Lulamae lets out a harsh bark of laughter. “You’re home, girl. We missed you around here.”
Without another word, she turns from me and doesn’t bother me anymore. She also doesn’t say anything when I order a salad with a wedge of lemon for the dressing and refills my unsweetened tea without complaint.
FORD
Fender.
I knew Beau loved music, but naming his kid after a guitar? That’s new, but then again, who the fuck am I to talk? I don’t even have a woman, let alone any children of my own. This little guy, even if he’s named Fender, is fucking cute as shit. As are all of my friends’ new babies.
“Tell me you took pictures of him next to a guitar?” I ask, lifting my eyes to meet Hutton’s.
Beaumont’s wife laughs softly and nods her head. “I did. I also did a little baby faux hawk on his hair too, they’re precious,” she says with a smile.
“You’re next, you know,” Beau announces.
I snort. “Nope.”
“Just because you haven’t found her yet, it doesn’t mean she’s not out there,” Hutton points out.
My eyes scan the baby one more time before I hand him off to his mama. He’s starting to wiggle and as much as I like babies, if they can’t walk and talk, they’re kind of fucking terrifying. Hutton reaches for him, pulling him against her chest, and I swear to fuck the kid purrs. I probably would too, Hutton’s pretty sweet.
“He’s real cute. You guys staying around longer than a minute or two?” I ask, shifting my gaze over to Beaumont.
Beau grins, shrugging a shoulder as he lifts his hand and runs his fingers through his long hair. “Maybe. Touring with this guy was a blast, but I think maybe we’ll take some more time off,” he murmurs.
“Be good to have you around for a while,” I say, admitting more than I probably should.
Beaumont has been my friend since kindergarten, one of my best friends. When he’s gone, I fucking miss him. I get it though, he’s got a career that keeps him away, and a family now. It seems as though all of my friends have new focuses in life. I’m glad that they’re all happy, but fuck, it’s lonely.
We hang out for another hour until it’s Fender’s bedtime. I leave them, knowing that Beau and Hutton probably want some alone time while their little guy sleeps. Swinging up into my truck, I start the engine, lifting my hand and waving to Beau who is watching from his front porch.
I don’t go down the road to my house. I can’t go home to an empty house right now. Instead, I head toward the bar. I don’t go out much anymore, Pardners has the same crowd every weekend, and I’ve had my fill of them. I just want a couple beers before I head home. Just to be around people, even if I’ve fucked them all.
It’s already dark, the parking lot not quite full, but not empty either. There’s about to be a shift of customers. The younger crowd will be showing up, and as fucking pathetic as that sounds, maybe there will be someone new, someone that can fill my lonely night, someone that can take my mind off of my pathetic life for a few hours.
Climbing down from my truck, I head inside. The bouncer doesn’t even ask for my ID, just holds out his hand for the five-dollar cover. Making my way toward the bar, I ask Lucy-Dawn for two bottles of Coors Light.
“Tab?” she asks without even looking up.
“Yeah,” I sigh.
She nods her head, popping the top off of the beers before sliding them over to me, then finally lifts her gaze to meet mine, giving me a small smile.
“Look tired,” she points out.
“Thanks,” I grunt.
Lucy only smirks, thankfully not saying anything else to me. I turn away from her and head over to my table. It’s fucking pathetic that I have a favorite table in a bar, but I do. Sitting up on the barstool, I bring the cold beer bottle to my lips and take a long pull.
Glancing around the room, I look to see if there’s anyone new, any woman that I maybe don’t recognize. I see the same faces in the crowd, unsurprisingly.
Leaning back in my chair, I dig my phone out of my pocket. Scrolling through, I look to see if there are any new messages, anyone I can call and shoot the shit with, but there isn’t. Louis is home with Tulip. Wyatt is with Exeter and their little girl. Rylan and Channing have two little ones at their place.
I’m the only one in our group of friends who doesn’t have someone. I know that I could call any one of them and they would drop everything if I needed them to, but I’m not that guy.