“Definitely beats instant noodles,” Sebastian said. “Which I managed to cook and eat last night, by the way.” He sounded very proud of himself.
Christine laughed. “I don’t know if adding hot water to a cup qualifies as cooking, Sebastian.”
He grinned. “It does for me!”
Sean looked across the street at the restaurant. “Dude, they do serve those tacos every night, they just cost two dollars more. We made a lot in tips today. Who wants to go get some food?”
“Yeah!” Christine said. “We could all wait with Danny, and see what Jeremiah does!”
“As long as he doesn’t see us in the back alley, I think it’d be fine,” said Bridget, imagining a plate of her favorite food and a nice cold beer. I don’t want Dad to have to wait there alone, she thought.
Then she remembered Mary at the library. “You know what? Let’s all go over to Big Bobby’s!”
Everyone cheered and clapped, and Danny led the way. When they reached the doors, Bridget held back. “Can you guys save me a seat? I have to pop down to the library really quickly. There’s a woman there who helped me out this afternoon, and I want to invite her to dinner, too.”
She smiled to herself as she recalled Mary’s interest in meeting Danny. “Save two seats for us, okay?”
Within twenty minutes, she was walking into Big Bobby’s Burgers with Mary just behind her. It didn’t take long for the white-haired librarian to hit it off with Danny, and soon the two were talking about quarks, gluons, and string theory. It made Bridget so happy to see them hitting it off.
Though they all finished eating by eight, everyone was so excited to see how the evening turned out that no one left to go home. Mary ordered a round of drinks for everyone, and Bridget was feeling loopy from the two beers by the time ten o’clock approached.
“You got this, Dad?” she asked her father as he excused himself from the table with the small backpack in hand.
He pulled a white trash bag from his back pocket and wrapped the backpack in it. Then he slung it over his shoulder and winked at Bridget. “I’ve never been more ready,” he said. “I feel a bit like St, Nick, with his bag of gifts.”
Bridget chuckled to herself as she watched him walk to the exit. Leave it to her father to turn a blackmail attempt into a sort of holiday—he’d always had a knack for seeing things in a way that others couldn’t. I think I take after him in that way.
She looked back to her table, and her eyes swept over the happy faces of her friends. Her gaze settled on Sebastian. Like Sebastian, she thought. I think I see something in him that others don’t. As she looked at him, she couldn’t deny the attraction she felt. It was palpable, and she didn’t know what to do about it.
Her father returned to the table just minutes later. “Well, it’s done! I deposited the trash bag into the dumpster. Now... we wait! What a delightful experiment!”
He settled back into his seat and joined into the discussion taking place, which was all about Space Opera novels. Sean couldn’t wrap his mind around what the appeal was, while Adrienne argued that they were the best form of literature available to readers.
When Sebastian admitted that he hadn’t picked up a book in years, but that he used to like science fiction as a child, Adrienne promised to give him some of her favorites. This led to a rousing discussion about how impossible it was to pick out favorite books, and Bridget found herself joining in and losing track of time altogether.
She had no idea how long had passed since her father deposited the cash in the dumpster, but suddenly, Jeremiah appeared at the table. He held the shoebox of cash in his hand. The gift wrap was gone, but he’d replaced the ribbon.
He stepped forward, and the chatter around the table hushed. He was wearing all black, as if he’d decided to fully commit to his role as a criminal by dressing the part. He even had two black smudges of paint beneath his eyes, but the paint was now runny and smudged, and Jeremiah’s eyes were puffy. It was clear he’d been crying. He placed the box ceremoniously down on the table.
“Danny, I am so sorry,” he said. “I can’t accept this.”
“Nonsense,” Danny said happily. “Son, I hear it’s for a good cause.”
“But it’s yours,” Jeremiah said. “And what I did was wrong.”
Danny nodded thoughtfully. “I agree, you didn’t go about it in the right way, but everyone makes mistakes now and then. We learn from them and move on.”
“Can we.... Can we move on from this?” Jeremiah asked. “Can you forgive me?” He looked around the table, as if he was proposing this to all, instead of just Danny.
Slowly, heads began to nod. First Christine, then Sean, then Sebastian. Bridget felt a warm glow in her heart as she looked at Jeremiah and forgave him for his poor decision. Danny nodded too, and finally Adrienne spoke up. “We forgive you, Jeremiah.”
This brought a faint smile to Jeremiah’s lips. “Oh, thank the stars,” he said. “You guys are the best.” He looked down at the cash. “Adrienne, I did this for you—for Henry, mostly. I wanted you to see that I could provide for you and your family. I went about it in all the wrong way. I’m not really that kind of person.”
Danny spoke up. “Adrienne, your son’s tuition—it’s how much? Remind me.”
“One hundred thousand,” Adrienne said sadly. “Way, way too much. I know it’s absurd.”
“Young Henry knows what he wants,” Danny said. “I propose a toast—to the first ever Danny Belvue scholarship, which is hereby being offered to Henry, in the amount of 100,000 dollars.” He lifted his drink.
Bridget watched Adrienne’s eyes get wide. A smile spread slowly across her lips, and then she leaped out of her chair. She practically tackled Danny, whose beer sloshed out of his mug with the impact. She placed a kiss on his cheek, which made Mary look slightly wary.
“Oh, Danny!” Adrienne exclaimed. “You’re too wonderful! Henry is going to be over the moon!”
“He might well be, one of these days,” Danny said as he tried to steady his mug while Adrienne squeezed him. “My prediction is that space travel is going to become privatized and much more accessible, one day very soon.”
“To the Danny Belvue scholarship!” Sean said, while holding up his beer.
Christine scooched her chair over, and Sebastian reached for an empty chair nearby. He motioned Jeremiah over to the seat, and Jeremiah joined the table.
“To my dad!” Bridget exclaimed.
“To physics!” Mary added. Glasses clinked as the toast was made.
“I wish we could hang out here all night,” Christine said. “But it’s almost midnight. Sean and Adrienne and I have to be at work tomorrow at 6:00. I should probably head home.”
“Actually,” Sebastian said. “Let’s close up Glitter Cup tomorrow. We’ll all take a paid holiday. I think we deserve it.”
Bridget was feeling so happy and lighthearted that all she could do was laugh. She felt her cheeks flush with happiness as she looked at Sebastian and shook her head. “You are too funny,” she said. “I love the idea, but Sebastian, we can’t just decide not to open. That has to come down as orders from the top!”