"Did you get it?" Andy's voice sounded excitedly through the speaker before I even had a chance to say hello. I was cradling the phone between my ear and shoulder struggling to drive my house key into the lock on the front door. I had three bags of groceries, a pile of mail, and my workbag that I was, not so successfully, trying to manage. Finally, I was able to unlock and twist the door open. Stepping inside, tossing everything onto the table, I refocused my attention on Andy's question.
"Get what?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
"The invitation I sent! Dad's birthday is in a couple weeks and I thought it would be so much fun to rent out the old restaurant and surprise him. Get everybody back together to sling drinks like old times! Cam and Jackie already said they're in. Still waiting to hear back from Jack but it won't be the same if we don't all commit!"
I hadn't thought about the restaurant in forever. It had been five years since Andy, Jenna, and their dad Kurt had sold it. I had just started teaching English at a middle school and was trying to figure out how I was going to manage teaching and bartending. I loved that family so much I couldn't see myself ever quitting. When they decided to sell, I was gone a few weeks later. That place was an anchor for me throughout my late teens and early twenties. The people there, employees and customers both, became like family to me. After I left, most of those relationships stayed intact, some inevitably faded.
