For a long moment, he stood there in the quiet alley, the weight of years pressing on his shoulders. Then his phone buzzed again, another call. He glanced at the screen and saw Kimberly. Of course.
He answered.
“Ryan! I’m trapped, reporters outside the house, Mom’s losing it, Dad won’t wake up, please, you have to come, ”
He ended the call mid-sentence. He couldn’t deal with her hysteria. Not now.
When he returned inside, the noise of the restaurant washed over him like balm. Laughter, music, the sizzling of oil. For a few seconds, he could almost pretend the world outside didn’t exist.
Eve looked up from behind the counter. “Everything okay?”
He nodded. “Just work.”
But his eyes were darker now, the storm barely contained.
After closing, they gathered around a small table at the b
