life.”
That time I laughed. We both did, though Brody’s faded quickly.
“I think some of it for me is that Sophia’s done a ton for us,” he said. “She did for Nite Bites too. And now we have Aamee and Xander and Sean believing in us. So then I wonder how much of our success is really us and how much of it is the people in our corner.”
Sophia had done a lot for us, more than we’d ever asked her to. She’d researched comparable establishments, mocked up some other graphics and ads to share. She’d even set up a newsletter for us, and through all our combined contacts, we already had a good number of subscribers. Brody and I had created the content for the first one that went out to advertise the grand opening. We included some promos we planned to run that first week, as well as some pictures of the outdoor space in progress and a list of the types of games we’d be offering.
Aamee had also been supportive, and now she and Xander would be helping us at the bar. But they weren’t the reason this would be a success. Just like they couldn’t be blamed if it failed.
“Does it matter why it works, as long as it does?”
When Brody turned toward me, I sensed the gravity of what he was about to say before he said it. Somehow his eyes looked heavier, and his lips held a tension I’d seen there only a few times before.
“It matters to me” was all he said.
We were silent for a few more minutes, both of us presumably unable to find anything to say that was worth saying.
“Do you two ever do any work?”
I didn’t think I’d ever be happy to hear Aamee’s voice, but I guess there was a first time for everything.
Brody lit up when he saw her, a smile sweeping across his face. “We’re taking a break,” he said. “You don’t want us to overheat, do you?”
She plopped down on his lap with more force than was necessary, causing him to wince.
“Guys are so dramatic,” she teased.
“Oh yeah, we’re the dramatic ones,” he said.
She put her finger in front of his lips to serve as a warning for him not to continue.
“You done for the day?” Brody asked her. “Or do you just have an aversion to labor too?”
Aamee seemed to consider her response for longer than was necessary before she said, “Both, actually.”
Brody laughed, and it was nice to see him lighten up. Aamee was good for him.
“Where’s Xander?” he asked. “Is Sean letting him leave early too?”
“Yeah, but he’s in there ‘experimenting’ with new drinks,” she said, using air quotes to show how ridiculous she thought it was. “He said he wanted to create some signature cocktails for the Yard with a summer or outdoor theme or something. Sean said it was fine as long as he didn’t try it with any top-shelf stuff.”
“That’s cool. He come up with anything good yet?” I asked.
“He’s being pretty secretive, but I saw him making something with peach schnapps, cranberry juice, lime, and prosecco that looked pretty freakin’ good. I asked if I could try it, but you know how he gets when he’s superfocused.”
I definitely knew how Xander got when he was in his zone. He was so far into his own thoughts, the outside world ceased to exist.
“Did he even respond to you?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
All three of us laughed before Aamee asked how much longer we’d be at the bar.
“Probably another hour or so, and we’ll be good here,” Brody told her. “We started looking at some advertising stuff when we took a break to cool off.”
“Advertising stuff,” she repeated, teasing. “You guys are such professionals.”
I heard her squeal and realized Brody had squeezed her. She tried to swat him away, but he continued, not letting her go.
I was starting to feel awkward. “Okay,” I said, “I’m gonna go see what Xander’s up to. Let me know when you two are done”—I waved my hand around—“whatever you’re doing.”
When I turned to head back to the main entrance, I heard Aamee call after me.
“Wait, Drew. I’m going, I swear. I’ll let you guys get back to work.”
She’d already stood up since Brody had been kind enough to let her go.
“I’ll see you later, then,” he said to her, standing to give her a hug goodbye.
Even I couldn’t miss the intention behind his words or in the way he looked at her. I looked