Page 32 of Heart Like Yours
Despite all that, I still felt like I had to come check on my dad. To make sure he was alright, even though he’s never done thesame for me. I’ve never asked for his affection, even though the loss of it hurt. Some days, the pain from losing who my dad once was, was almost as painful as losing my mom. I was helpless to both, forced to accept that neither of them would be there for me while one was still living.
The car jostles thanks to a pothole I would have warned Garrett about if I weren’t so distracted. It’s been there for as long as I can remember, doomed to be complained about but never fixed.
“Since we still have an hour until check-in, we can grab lunch in town if you want.” I suggest.
“Just tell me where to go.”
Considering I’ve barely spared this place a second thought since leaving, it’s second nature to give directions. Unlike most small towns, our “Main Street” is made up of the middle school, a family-owned auto repair shop, the fire station, and a total of three other businesses.
The Sassy Loon happens to be one of those three. Garrett pulls into the parking lot that’s half filled with the same run-down vehicles that were here when I was in diapers.
“You know,” Garrett starts as he waits for me to join him at the back of the car. “When you said you lived in a small town, I wasn’t expecting…” He motions toward where we pulled in.
“I know.” I laugh. “People definitely don’t come here for the nightlife.”
He steps ahead of me, reaches for the green front door, and holds it open for me. The teenager behind the hostess stand perks up, a welcoming grin stretching across her face.
“Hi! Just the two of you?”
I nod, quickly glancing around the mostly empty pub as we follow her to a table. A few patrons linger at the bar, and an older couple sits at a table by the window. “I’m Jenna. I’ll grab you guys some water and give you a minute to look over the menu.I do need to warn you that I can’t serve alcohol. My eighteenth birthday is two months away, so if you want that, you’ll have to go see my uncle Jay at the bar.” Something about the grin on her face tells me she doesn’t actually mind not being able to serve alcohol and she disappears before I can even say thank you.
“Huh.” I unintentionally muse out loud.
“What?” Garrett asks, picking up his menu.
“Jay has owned this place since I was in diapers. It was his dad’s before that. More times than not, they wouldn’t let anyone under the age of eighteen in without a parent or guardian.”
Jenna breezes through the bar, smiling widely at everyone she passes.
“I didn’t know he had any siblings, let alone a niece.”
Shaking my head, I tear my attention away from Jenna so that I don’t come off as a creep and find Garrett watching me with an amused grin.
“What?” I glance down, wondering if I somehow managed to get something on my shirt already.
He shakes his head. “I grew up in a city with a population over seven hundred thousand people. The only person I knew by name, who didn’t raise or teach me, was my barber.”
“Maybe it’s because I grew up here, but I love the idea that no one would know me. It’s one of the things I love most about living in Tampa. Yeah, I stumble across a familiar face every now and then, but no one who has seen every high and low of my life. Sometimes it’s nice not to have everyone in a restaurant know what it looks like to see you cry.”
Garrett watches me intently, but luckily, Jenna returning with our waters saves me. “Can I get you something to eat? Or do you need a couple more minutes.”
“Is Kenny still cooking?” I inquire.
Jenna’s infectious smile grows even wider. “He is! No matter how many times we tell him that he could retire, the old man refuses to let anyone else grill here.”
“Perfect.” I glance at Garrett. “I’m good if you are.”
He raises a pointed eyebrow at the menu in front of me. “You didn’t even open your menu.”
Bracing my elbows on the table, I rest my chin on top of my hands. “Don’t need to. Kenny grills the absolute best bacon burger and his potato salad is better than sex.”
Jenna chokes out a cough and I flash her an apologetic smile.
“So one bacon burger with a side potato salad. And for you?” Still slightly blushing, she turns to Garrett. I follow her gaze and find him staring at me with an indescribable look. He answers without taking his eyes off me.
“I’ll have the same.”
It’s only when Jenna is well out of hearing distance that Garett says anything.