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I was glad to have a few hours alone, before dinner with everyone. After recharging my southern accent with long talks with my mom and Krista back in Georgia, I changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and headed down to the cafe. I put a reserved sign on a six-top and went behind the counter to pour myself a cup of sweet tea.
"Have you gotten any comments about the changes coming?" I asked Sally.
"A couple of questions, but most people only seem to care about the menu. As long as we don't change that or the prices too much, they're just curious."
"Good. I think they'll like it, once everything is done."
"Glad I got here first," Tom said, sitting down in the chair beside me. He put his arm around my shoulders, pulled me close and kissed my cheek.
"Hi, Tom. How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing OK. Just feeling a little frustrated."
"Anything I can help with?" I asked.
"Actually, you’re more the cause of my frustration than the solution. I'm frustrated that I can't kiss you like I want to."
"No one is sorrier about that than I am," I said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
We talked a little about the plan for the night while we waited for the others to arrive. Laurie showed up next.
"Oh my god, Tom, your face is a mess," Laurie said.
"Thanks, sis. I didn't know."
"Sorry. I just didn't expect it to look so bad. How are you, Everly?"
"OK. Did you have a good day at the shop?"
"Not bad. We really need to schedule a girl's night soon."
"Maybe next week," I said, as Jim bent down to kiss my cheek. I was surprised that he repeated that gesture with Laurie. I'd been thinking of matchmaking the two of them, but it looks like things might happen organically without me playing puppet master.
When Chance arrived, we placed our dinner orders, anxious to get on with the night's tasks. Local gossip took over the conversation while we ate. I finished eating and surveyed the rest of the customers. It had been a good crowd but was starting to thin out.
"You guys need anything else?" Sally asked.
"I can take care of it, Sally. If anyone else comes in, sit them in section A if there are empty tables," I said. "We'll start moving things out and cleaning where we can do it without disturbing anyone."
The night progressed in good humor with good friends working together to get Hairy's painted. It was fun. Tom and Chance being the tallest, focused on the ceiling, while the rest of us concentrated on the walls.
"That's the last of them," Sally said as she locked the door and turned off the open sign. "I'll go help Rick clean up out back so we can all help."
A few minutes later, Hairy's staff joined me and my friends in the dining room. Everyone settled into the work, and we made good progress. My phone alarm sounded at 11:00. "Gus. Rita. That's your cue to clean up and head for home," I said. "You two have to open in the morning, so you need to go home and get some sleep."
We finished just after midnight. "I can't believe we got it all done," I said. "It looks great."
I sent Rick and Sally home, while the rest of us set the tables and chairs back to rights. "Thanks for helping, everybody."
"Let's plan something for next Saturday night that doesn't involve work," Laurie said.
We all high-fived. Jim kissed my cheek and walked Laurie to her car before he left. I was left standing in the parking lot between Chance and Tom. Chance threw his arm around my shoulders. "You coming out tomorrow?"
"Sure. Want me to bring lunch?" I asked.
"If you want," he said. Tom was watching our exchange. "I need to get her up-to-speed on some cold weather skills before you guys head into the wild again."
"Good idea." Tom said. "Thanks, Man. Good night."
Chance kissed my cheek and headed for his car. "I'll walk up with you," Tom said. He followed me upstairs and into my living room. He hugged me, and I put my face against his cheek. "Does it hurt?"
"It's getting better," he said, taking my hand and placing a gentle kiss on my palm. "Night, Everly. I'll call you tomorrow."