The tacit approval—finally—to make his life his own unwound something in Jax’s spine that had been ratcheting for years. He let the lassitude seep into his posture and spread to his extremities, and he breathed unencumbered for the first time in ages. Maybegroupiewasn’t exactly right—but then, bartender-slash-musician hadn’t been either, and he didn’t regret that choice.
He had time.
“ARI? MAMAN?”
Ari looked up from the mirror in his parents’ foyer, where he’d been adjusting his shirt, and turned around to see his sister behind him. “Afra. Hi.” He glanced at the clock. “You’re early.” And ifthatdidn’t set off alarm bells.
“You think you’re so funny.” She huffed, but he could tell it was put on—she looked…happy, but nervous underneath that. “I was hoping to talk to you and Maman and Baba before we leave.”
That would probably make themlateinstead, but considering what the atmosphere at the bar was likely to be on the event of Jax’s PhD celebration, he doubted that even the guest of honor would notice. Besides, this seemed serious. “They’re upstairs. Do you want me to—”
But before he could finish, their parents appeared at the top of the stairs. Unlike Ari, they seemed to have expected Afra’s presence. “There you are.” His mother smiled. She had been doing more of that in the past week now that her radiation therapy had finished. “Right on time.”
Was Ari the only one who thought that was spooky instead of something to smile about?
“Let’s go into the study,” Baba suggested, including Ari with a gesture of his hand.
“Now.” Ari’s mother settled in her desk chair this time, because there were only four chairs total. “What did you want to talk about, Afra? It sounded important.”
She looked down. “It is. I—” Finally she met their gazes, each in turn. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking….”
By the end of the impromptu family meeting, Ari felt shell-shocked and Afra and their mother were both dabbing away happy tears.
“You’re sure this is what you want?” he asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
He almost died of shock when his mother echoed his concern. “This is a big decision. You’ve always been my independent daughter….”
Afra laughed and nodded as she wiped away a tear. “I’m sure, Maman, Ari. I hope… I know it’s a big change.”
And Ari didn’t always take well to change. Yes, he understood the subtext. He took his sister’s hands in his. “I could not be happier for you. If this is what you want, you should do it.”
Baba slapped his hands on his thighs and stood as though this closed the issue. “Well! It seems as though we have one more reason to celebrate tonight.”
“Maybe two more reasons.” Their mother beamed as she stood, less smoothly than she used to but already looking stronger than she had a week before. “But let’s not forget that tonight is about Jax.”
And speaking of Jax— “We’d better get going,” Ari said, noting the time. Good thing Ben had volunteered to pick up the cake on his way over from work.
Murph had offered the Rock for the afternoon for their private party, with all Jax’s friends and family and former coworkers in attendance. When they went in, Jax was center stage, banging away at “School’s Out,” hamming it up in a velvet top hat that kept falling down over his eyes. Kayla was barely keeping it together.
“You know,” Ari’s mother said at his elbow, “I was wrong about him.”
He offered her his arm out of habit, even though she hadn’t needed it for support for weeks now. She took it anyway. “I know, Maman. I’m glad you figured it out.”
“Laughter is its own kind of medicine.” She sighed happily as Ari deposited her at a table far enough away from the stage not to be overwhelmed by the sound from the speakers. Then she looked up, her eyes full of a mischief Ari couldn’t ever recall seeing in her, though her expression was smug. “And it looks like I’ll have you married off to a doctor after all.”
“Maman,” Ari protested, his face heating.
He was saved from further embarrassment by Ben’s arrival with the cake, which prompted Murph to hop up on the bar and call for everyone’s attention. Jax was one of the last to give in, possibly because he couldn’t see anything with the enormous hat over his eyes or hear over his own repeated refrains that school was out forever.
“All right, shut yer pie holes,” Murph shouted. “We’re here today to celebrate the accomplishments of Dr. Jax Hall—one of the finest bartenders ever to pull a beer. Even though he left us for two months to freeze his arse off in Boston.” He hefted an enormous bottle of champagne. “So!”
The cork hit the disco ball when he popped it, then somehow managed to land in the tip jar on top of the piano.
“Come and grab a glass and we’ll have a toast!”
Even a giant bottle of champagne wasn’t actually enough for everyone, though of course there was more behind the bar. As Murph, Bruce, and Naomi poured, Ari maneuvered through the crowd until he found Jax.
“Has it sunk in yet?”
