Old Fashioned Sweetie by Megan Wade
Vaughn
After completing a rash of orders coming in quick succession at the bar, I take the moment of quiet to wipe down the counter then grab another bucket of ice from out back before Otis gets overwhelmed by thirsty locals again. Closing the bar down for Kellen and Jade’s wedding has made us extra busy tonight, so we all have to bring our A game.
In my haste to get the ice and return, I almost collide with the Remy, who's walking along with what looks like a laminated menu in his hand.
“What are you so focused on and grinning about, Rem?” I ask, scraping my bucket into the ice machine then heading back to the bar alongside him.
“This magnificent work of art,” he says, showing me what's in his hand. “It's a cocktail menu for the bar. Our signature drinks will be a cosmopolitan and an old fashioned—for your girl and for Kellen’s—and the rest are just whatever I have ingredients for.” He chuckles to himself as his eyes move over his handiwork. “Reckon I did a good job makin’ it fancy and shit.” I graze my eyes over the artistic elements and nod. He’s put little line drawings of cocktail glasses and fruit garnishes around the edges.
“The women of Whisper Valley will surely salute you.” I clap him on the back with my free hand as we make it back to the bar and I dump the ice into the well before stowing the bucket under the counter. “What are you gonna do when you and Otis find a cocktail-loving cutie? You gonna put four signature cocktails on that thing?”
“Sure.” He nods slowly. “Would make sense, right?”
“What would make sense?” Otis asks, tuning into our conversation while he pulls a beer.
“Remy’s cocktail list,” I inform him. “He’s put two signature cocktails on there. One for Jade, and one for Charity. He’s gonna save space for when you and he find yourselves a soulmate the way Kellen and I did.”
“Soulmate?” Otis’s eyebrows shoot up as he glances my way. He’s got the same green eyes we all have, but where I have practically black hair, and Remy and Kellen both have brown, Otis is fair with light blond hair. He doesn’t even grow a smidge of facial hair because he thinks it looks almost see through. “How can either of you know you’ve found your actual soulmate when you only just met? If you ask me, everyone in this family rushes too fast into things.”
“Ah, I dunno,” Remy says, slotting his newly made menu into a stand to display. “Mom and Dad always said that when you know, you know. They got married two weeks after meetin’ each other too.”
“Yeah. But Kellen did it within twenty-four hours and then this guy goes and proposes within the same timeframe. How does that even happen?”
“Charity told me that Jade calls it a soulwink,” I say, taking a quick order while my brothers process this information.
“A soulwink?” Otis says, the expression on his face telling me he’s not even slightly convinced something like that could exist.
“It’s when you meet the person you’re meant to spend your life with and your souls kinda wink at each other.”
“Like a ‘how you doin’ of the spirit, huh?” Remy says, unwittingly echoing Charity’s explanation while nodding slightly. “I like it.”
“Makes sense, right?” I say, uncapping a couple of bottles and setting them in front of customers. “Reckon if we explained the phenomenon to Mom and Dad they’d totally agree with it.”
“Let’s keep in mind they’re also a little crazy and highly irresponsible people,” Otis points out, ever the pragmatic one. “The books to this place were a total nightmare when we took over. We’re lucky the doors are still open.”
“I wouldn’t call it lucky, bro,” I say, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “I’d call it smarts. And to be fair, Mom and Dad knew they struggled with the business side of things, which is why they had us all take that small business class at the community college.”
“You’ve gotta give them that,” Remy puts in, glancing up at the clock because it’s almost time to open the kitchen for dinner service. “They raised us all to know that anythin’ is possible—even something like love at first sight.” He gives Otis a wink and Otis scoffs.
“Soulmates and soulwinks,” he says, shaking his head. “I think I’ll leave that fairy tale nonsense to the rest of you. When and if I ever get married, you can bet you’re ass I’ll take my time makin’ sure she’s the right one for me.”
“Not me,” Remy says, moving toward the kitchen door. “When I meet the girl I wanna spend my life with, I’m grabbin’ on with both hands and holdin’ on for dear life. There’s no way I’m riskin’ missing out on what I see Kellen and Vaughn experiencin’. I mean, look how happy this guy is.” He gestures toward me and I broaden my smile, waggling my eyebrows at the same time.
“We’ll see,” Otis says with a dismissive grunt.
“Yeah,” I say, exchanging a smile with Remy as he leaves for the kitchen. “We will see. And I reckon you’re gonna be the most blindsided of us all.”
