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“All right? I was a revelation over there”

“Clearly you don’t need me to toot your horn!”

“I need you to do so to my horn”

“Jesus, what have I walked into?” Earl slid our drinks in front of us “Will you get a room?”

I pinched the bridge ofstupid ideas”

Earl glanced at hier…”

“That’s enough,” I said dryly “Don’t randpa”

The bartender chuckled “Darlin’ girl, he’s been here for four hours He’s over there playing poker”

I restedNicholas’s shoulder to steady randfather

Sure as hell, there he was In the corner booth Playing poker

“I a back down and giving Earl a hard look “Absolutely not This is on you”

“Relax I’ve been alternating his drinks”

“Like he doesn’t bring his own flask of liquor”

Earl paused “What he does with his own liquor is his business You won’t seebetween a man and his whiskey”

Yeah It was only whiskey

“What food are you serving?” I asked hirandfather The less I knew about his activities, the less I had to lie to ry”

Nicholas shook his head “I knew you were hungry”

“Shh,” I said, patting his shoulder

“Whatever you want,” Earl said “Pearl’s working late for the tourists”

Ah

Pearl was in the kitchen

His wife

No, don’t laugh

Earl and Pearl was not a joke They’d staff had moved at seventeen from Alabama, and the way Earl tells it, she fell in love with hiht