“Good evening, Mayor,” said a young woman farther away.
Joe gave them both a nod. Several other people waved at him, and he had to follow a ritual of going around shaking people’s hands and wishing them a good evening. Poor guy couldn’t even get a beer anymore without getting swarmed. He’d proven himself to the town these last few years, and they always wanted to show their appreciation.
“It’s funny,” I said, watching Joe as he moved from well-wisher to well-wisher.
Carl and Perri looked at me. “What is?”
I pointed with my beer bottle at Joe. “It’s just funny that a guy we know from high school is the mayor. It’s not something I ever imagined back in the day. Did you think Joe would be mayor?”
My friends chuckled. Both of them shrugged.
“He did always like bossing people around,” Perri said and winked.
As I watched Joe continue to work the room, I sipped my beer and thought about how I was happy I only had to make my daughter happy and not everyone in town. I got tired just thinking about it.
Joe finally made his way over to our table. Jenny hurried over to set his beer down.
“Thank you,” he said.
She smiled at him and headed off.
“I think that little meet and greet takes longer every time I come in here,” Joe said. He smiled. “But it’s nice to know people still think I’m doing a good job.”
“Good job?” I said. “No one’s even gonna run against you next year. You’re the best mayor we’ve had in a while.”
“I’m sure someone will.” Joe shrugged. “It’s good for democracy to have choices, you know.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Perri said with a grin.
“Or maybe me,” I said, given them both a meaningful glance. “Perri and I do all the real work at the town hall anyway.”
Everyone at the table shared a laugh.
Joe lifted his bottle and nodded to Perri and then me. “Well, thank you then, ladies.” He gulped down some beer, and his smile disappeared. He looked over at Carl. “You might as well get it over with. It’s what we’re probably all thinking about anyway.”
My breath caught. There was only one topic that would get Joe so serious so quickly during one of our Wild Mustang nights. Only one big thing that had changed lately.
“What?” Carl said, sipping his beer and leaning back in his chair.
I wasn’t sure if he honestly didn’t know what Joe was getting at or if he was playing some sort of game. I tried not to be annoyed. I mostly succeeded. Only mostly.
“Last time we talked, you said you’d be picking Alex up today,” Joe said, frowning slightly.
Perri reached over to give my hand a squeeze. I gave her a grateful smile.
“Yeah, I picked him up. He’s going to stay in the cabin while he’s here.” Carl shrugged and looked over at me.
“I’m okay with that, Carl,” I said. “Maybe I didn’t make that clear enough before. I’m not asking you to turn your back on Alex.”
Joe picked up his beer and took a long drink. “I still don’t get why he came back after all these years.”
Carl looked around and then leaned in. “You have to understand the situation,” he said, his voice low.
“What?” Joe said.
Perri and I watched in silence, though my heart raced.
“Right after the reunion, there was an accident at the construction site,” Carl said. “I didn’t know about it until recently myself. Big explosion, a man was killed. Turns out Alex was almost killed too.”