Page 2 of Amazing Grace
Pulling into a spot at the rear of the parking lot — she felt lucky to find one at all — she made her way into the tavern. Looking around, she spotted Pete and a few of the guys at a table near the bar and walked over to join them. She settled onto a barstool at a high top they were sharing.
“Dude, don’t bother sitting down. It’s Thursday!” Dave, one of the workers, said, excitement pushing the pitch of his voice higher than usual.
Grace moaned and ducked her head. Thursdays at the Whitewater meant open mike night. Without fail, her boys would elect to get up and sing some rock anthem — awfully — and expect her to join them.
Not.
Happening.
She couldn’t carry a tune with both hands and a bucket, and she knew it. The rest of the town didnotneed to know it. She shook her head vehemently when they asked her. “No. You go ahead. I’ll be your cheering section, but I’m not going up there. And that’s final.”
“Come on, Grace. It’ll be fun!” Pete urged her. He knew she wouldn’t go but delighted in busting her chops about it.
“No, Pete. And I’ll thank you to stop egging the rest of them on. You know me better than this.” Grace tilted her chin down and glared at him.
He must’ve known she was serious, and that he’d reached the point of no return, because he backed off. “Yes, boss. Okay.Come on, guys. Let’s go sign up. What do you want to sing tonight?Bohemian Rhapsody? Oh, wait. I know.Highway to Hell!”
They walked up to the sign-in podium in a knot, chatting excitedly about their choice of song.
Grace was grateful when her beer arrived, brought by a cute brunette server with a button nose and big blue eyes. She took a long swallow and sighed contentedly.
“Long day?” The server grinned at her. She had to be at least ten years younger than Grace, maybe not long out of college.
“Yes, and it’s about to get longer. That’s my crew up there getting ready to belt outHighway to Hell. I doubt if they know all the words, and I know they can’t carry a tune.” She gestured toward her mug. “It’s going to get ugly. I may need another of these to get through it.”
The server laughed. “I’m Molly. Molly Sunshine, and yes, that’s actually my last name.”
Grace returned her smile. “Grace Conroy. I’m the one building the hay maze outside of town. Do you know it?”
“Oh, I love that maze. I go every year! It’s for charity, right?”
Grace nodded. “Yup. This year, it’s for Autism and Related Disorders.”
“That’s awesome. Do you know Jenny and Alicia Mae and their son, Micah? He’s autistic.”
“Yes! That’s where I got the idea.” Grace swallowed another sip and screwed up her courage. Molly had to be at least ten years younger than Grace, but she was getting some strong vibes from the pretty little server and decided to take a chance. “Listen, what time do you get off work here?”
Molly checked her watch. “In a couple of hours. I had the afternoon shift today.”
“Would you like to grab some dinner with me? I was going to get a burger, but Italian sounds pretty good to me, too.” Grace held her breath, waiting for the answer.
She didn’t have long to wait.
“I’d love that. I’ll meet you here when I get off shift.” Molly tossed her a wide smile and trotted off to do her thing.
Grace took another sip of beer, feeling warm and gooey inside. She had a good feeling about Molly Sunshine. What had started out not to be adate-date with Pete had turned out to be anactualdate with Molly.
She was in such a fine mood that she didn’t even cringe when the opening notes ofHighway to Hellblared out over the speakers. And when her boys finished, she applauded and wolf-whistled the loudest, even calling for an encore.
***
They settled on eating at the Club Diner, where the owner, Marco, made some delicious Italian food.
Grace ordered stuffed manicotti, and Molly ordered chicken cacciatore, which they happily shared. They each had a glass of cabernet and toasted to a new friendship.
Over a dessert of tiramisu, Grace sought to make clear the meaning of their date. She didn’t want to accidentally wander into the friendship zone.
“I guess by now you’ve figured out that I’m gay,” she said. She watched Molly’s face for clues to what she was thinking. What she found was a smile.