I smiled. “Coming right up. You have a designated driver?”
She sighed and leaned more against the bar. “You really are one of the good ones,” she murmured. “We do and his name is Ricky. He drives the bus I hired for tonight.”
“In that case, drink up and congratulations on your freedom.”
“Thanks.” The woman left an impressive tip and took the tray of shots like a pro in one hand and carried it back to her friends. “Two more rounds before we hang up our stilettos ladies!”
By the time one-thirty rolled around I was the last one standing inside my bar, thankfully. I swept the floors and wiped down all the tables, leaving the rest for the cleaning crew to take care of before lunch tomorrow. The kitchen was clean enough to eat off the floor and the bathrooms, well the cleaning crew would have their work cut out for them, because I sure as shit wasn’t touching them.
I made sure the front door of the bar was locked and made my way towards the back exit where there were a couple spots reserved for employees, all of whom I’d sent home hours ago. The truth was the bar did enough business that I could hire more people, but that would cut into the hours for the men and women who relied on this place for full-time employment. College kids and single mothers in town were happy to fill in when they were needed, and everyone was happy, which made my life easy, and that made me happy.
“Grady!”
I turned on full alert and reached out for the person coming up behind me. It was Carlotta and I released her immediately. “Sorry. Don’t sneak up on people in dark alleys.”
“Sorry,” she said, her eyes wild and her voice frantic. “How did the party go tonight? Sorry I didn’t make it, but I was at the hospital and by the time it occurred to me to call, it was already so late, and I rushed right over,” she said and sucked in a breath, presumably to jump back into her endless word vomit.
“Carlotta breathe.” I put my hands on her shoulders and breathed in deeply and out slowly. “That’s good. Are you all right?”
“Me? Yeah, I’m fine.”
I clenched my jaw. “Then why were you at the hospital?”
“Oh,” she rolled her eyes. “Right. Margot passed out in her office today. Chase was there when it happened, so he called me because Margot’s father died a few years ago and her mother lives in one of those retirement villages in Florida and Margot didn’t want her to worry.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Don’t know,” she said and looked away. “I saw the light on so I stopped, but I’m headed to Margot’s place for a change of clothes since they want to keep her overnight.”
“Overnight? That’s not nothing, Carlotta.” For a brief moment my heart squeezed at the idea of something being truly wrong with Margot. She was a snob, but she wasn’t a bad person, I’d seen her go out of her way to help nearly everyone in town who needed it. It was just that her and I were like oil and water, we simply did not mix.
Carlotta waved off my concern. “She hit her head when she passed out so it’s just a precaution.” She looked away again, but not before I caught a flash of something that looked like guilt on her face, but I had no idea what she would be feeling guilty about, so I shrugged off the thought. “Anyway, did tonight go well?”
“It went perfect. The partygoers drank a lot, and some even ordered food without bitching that it wasn’t included in the event. They paid happily and tipped generously, filled their bellies and offered their compliments to the chef.”
“Great. Good. Excellent,” she nodded. “I should have called. I’m sorry.”
I brushed off her apologies. “Nothing I couldn’t handle Car. It’s late, you should get going if you want to get back to Margot.” For a brief moment I thought of offering to drive her back to the hospital, but I was literally the last man on earth Margot would want to see when she was in such a vulnerable state.
“Thanks Grady. You’re the best.” She jumped up and kissed my cheek and took off towards her giant SUV.
I couldn’t help but smile as she tore down the narrow alley in her oversized vehicle, eager to get back to her friend. Carlotta was a character, much like most of the people in Carson Creek, which made me wonder if that’s what people now said about me.
It was late by the time I finally sat down on the sofa to eat my stew and sort-of fresh bread while I binge watched a few episodes of a space drama. The stew wasn’t as good or as hot as it had been in my fantasies, the bread was almost stale now, and the show didn’t hold my attention for long, and it was all Margot’s fault.