As soon as Lauren flipped theClosedsign on the front door, Monique hightailed it out of the café.
As Brad cleaned the counter and Lauren tallied up the cash in the register, Lauren said, “Paige and I are headed to Pop when we’re done. You want to come with?”
Brad was tired, but suddenly the prospect of a cocktail was tempting. “Sure.”
“The whole gang is going to be there. Lindsay, too. I don’t know what your deal is with Lindsay, but just so you forewarned.”
“That’s okay. Things are a little ambiguous, but I’d like to see her. And I’m, like, 89 percent sure she doesn’t want to stab me anymore.”
Lauren smiled. “Cool.”
When they left about a half hour later, Brad was struck by how chummy and normal this all felt, like he’d been incorporated right into the friend group. Lauren and Paige were clearly close friends, but they didn’t fraternize with the rest of the café staff in the same way. And now they were headed for a post-work drink, but in a way that felt like Brad had been invited to the adults’ table. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. Did this mean Lindsay’s friends accepted him?
He decided to just roll with it as they walked into the bar and saw Lindsay, Evan, and Caleb already seated. Brad opted to sit next to Lindsay, who greeted him with a smile.
“And how is everyone?” said Evan once they were settled in their seats.
“My mother is going to be my undoing,” said Paige. She turned to Lauren. “You were smart to have a small wedding. If my mother calls one more time to offer an opinion about flowers or colors, I’m going to scream.” As if on cue, Paige’s phone lit up from where it sat on the table. The display said “Mom” was calling. Paige crossed her arms. “I’m not answering that.”
Josh walked in then, clad in a suit. He’d probably come straight from work; if Brad’s memory served, Josh worked for the Brooklyn DA’s office. He slumped into the seat next to Paige and looked at her face, then the phone. “Your mother calling?”
“You were right. We should have just gone to city hall.”
Josh kissed Paige’s cheek. “Only a month to go. By the way,mymother has decided to fly out a week early to ‘help out,’ so we’re going to have to get skilled at the art of deflection. I plan to use Hannah. Like, look, Mom, grandchild.”
“Hey!” said Lauren.
“Sorry about it, but this is a dire situation.”
Brad followed this conversation for a few minutes. He understood the basics of the relationships between these people. Evan, Lindsay, and Lauren had gone to undergrad together. Josh and Lauren were siblings. Lauren and Paige had met somewhere work-related. Brad, of course, had his own friends, but he was touched that Lindsay’s had brought him into their circle with open arms. Being with Lindsay likely meant a lot of nights just like this. Brad looked forward to that, assuming this all worked out.
Lindsay patted his knee and smiled at him before turning back to the conversation.
And Brad thought, yeah,thisfor the foreseeable future? This he liked.
Once everyone had cocktails and an assortment of small plates were strewn across the table, Evan said, “Guys, I have major breaking news.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” asked Lauren.
“I was waiting for you all to settle in, because this is going to blow the tops of your heads right off.”
Everyone turned their attention to Evan.
Now that he had the full court, he grinned. “So, okay, most of you know the last couple of years have been a bit of a trial for me romantically. There were a lot of bad first dates, there was an ill-conceived reunion with an ex, and then there was Will. Poor, sweet Will, who was a perfectly nice fellow but didn’t ignite my loins.”
Lindsay leaned toward Lauren. “Is this a speech? Is he giving a speech?”
Lauren shushed her.
Evan went on. “So, two days ago, I was headed home from the café after doing some work there, and on a whim, I dropped into the bookstore. And, of course, who should be working there but Pablo.”
Lindsay leaned over to Brad. “Did you hear this whole story? Pablo is the love of Evan’s life.”
“Yeah. The bookstore guy, right?” Brad whispered back.
Lindsay nodded.
Evan went on. “So, I decided to browse the new releases and picked up a new biography of Andy Warhol, and Pablo walks over and tells me how great the book is. Like, he’s doing the hand sell thing very well. Most of the time you can’t even hear his accent, but he’s got a little bit of the Bronx in his voice, just the way he says certain vowels, and when it’s quiet, you can hear it and it’s magical.”
