—Best Bar Award Goes To…—
..
JENNIE
..
..
It turns out that every single small business on the street is interested in being part of the event. The bars and restaurants are feeling the effects of DB and everyone agrees that the cross-promotion certainly can't hurt.
Lisa sets up a meeting at The Manoban Cap, where we come up with a weekend-long themed event that will take place in the middle of February, piggybacking on Valentine's Day celebrations. I'm grateful that Renata, my new baker, has managed to slide into the role fairly seamlessly. Sure, there have been a few hiccups, but she's got great vision and is a master baker, so I can be assured she'll be able to handle the demands that are coming our way.
Rosé came up with an idea to set up a photo booth outside of Buttercream and Booze to showcase the event. Ever since the bachelorette party she's been getting loads of bookings for weddings, engagement parties, and birthdays. Since Valentine's Day thrives on romance and couples, it's a great way for her to get more visibility and meet some potential new clients.
It definitely doesn't hurt that the local newspapers and TV stations have picked up on the event, which helps us spread the word. Business has picked up again—not like it was before DB came in, but at least I'm not quite as worried about having to cut more of Callie's hours. For now.
A few days before the Love Is in the Air event, my phone chimes with an alert about a new video from Tori's YouTube channel. Over the past few weeks she's made her way through the top ten bars, narrowing it down to five. I watched the one she put up the day after she visited BB and The Manoban Cap. She was kind enough to edit her video to highlight the few funny moments from the final comedian—there weren't many—and focused more on the fun, fresh vibe, the themed drinks and cupcakes, and my eclectic sense of style that was reflected in the ambiance of the café.
I consider calling Lisa before I watch the video, but Rosé's here, setting up her photo booth and taking pretty pictures for the upcoming Valentine's Day extravaganza, so we crowd around my phone as I cue up the video.
"Ready?" Rosé asks.
I nod and we both cross our fingers as I hit Play. Of course Tori takes her sweet time talking about all the amazing bars she visited while she was touring the Pacific Northwest. "I'll admit, it was a tough competition and there are some amazing bars out there. I'm going to post a top ten on my site because narrowing it down was such a challenge, but there is one bar that really stood out among the rest!" She pauses for effect. "It's not just the food or the ambiance that makes one bar stand apart, it's the whole package, and my winner has it all. A charming, homey environment, the most amazing selection of craft beers, delicious food, fabulous entertainment and a seriously charismatic, smokin' hot owner." She fans herself dramatically.
"She won," I murmur and Rosé squeezes my hand.
"The Manoban Cap is the whole package and more, which is why it's getting the Tori Taylor seal of approval and the title of The Best Bar in the Pacific Northwest! I can't wait to celebrate this win with Lisa Manoban!"
The video goes on to show some highlights from her visit to The Manoban Cap. Lisa was wholly captivating, and Tori was happy to wax poetic about the bar, the vibe, and the gorgeous owner.
"I'm so sorry, Jennie. I know how much you wanted this." Rosé slings her arm over my shoulder and gives me a side hug.
"Thanks. I guess at least if I had to lose, Lisa's the one person I don't mind losing to?" It's more of a question than anything, because as happy as I am for Lisa, I'm disappointed for me.
"You're still allowed to be sad about it, though. You're a big part of the reason her events were so successful, especially the karaoke, and your customers were always in her bar after, not really the other way around."
She's right. While we both benefited, Lisa was the one who got the most out of our deal, and now she gets the benefit of all the extra promotion. "The Manoban Cap has a history and a story I can't really compete with, though."
"And you did amazing, despite that." She taps the comments where Tori has posted a link to her top 10 favorite bars in the Pacific Northwest. Buttercream and Booze has taken the number two spot, right under The Manoban Cap.
It's positive promotion no matter what, but I still give myself a minute to be disappointed, especially since we were just so close at the end, and if my final comedian hadn't sucked, I might have stood a chance. I remind myself that it's not Lisa's fault that my original act got sick, or that her cousin offered a poor replacement. It still really sucks, though.
"I should probably go over and congratulate her."
"Probably, but if you need to eat a pint of ice cream later and be sad about it, I'm your girl, okay?"
"Thanks." She hugs me and fixes my hair before she lets me head over to The Manoban Cap.
..
..
It's barely ten thirty in the morning, but I find Lisa behind the bar, tossing back shots with Chan.
Her huge grin widens when she sees me, and she motions to the TV above the bar with Tori's vlog playing out on the screen. "Babe! Did you see?"
"I did. Congratulations on the win." I slip behind the bar and she scoops me up, spinning me around.
When she sets me down, I grip her arms to keep from toppling over. Her wide smile falters. "I'm sorry it wasn't you."
I curve my palm around the back of her neck, determined not to put a damper on her win. "Don't apologize. If I was going to lose to anyone, I'm glad it's you."
She drops her head, her lips finding mine. She tastes like tequila. "I wouldn't have won if it wasn't for you. Without the cohosted events, I wouldn't have stood a chance. I wish there could be two winners."
"Well, that would cheapen the award." I smooth my palms over her chest. "Does Gramps know yet?" I've taken to calling Henry that all the time now. He pops by the bakery quite regularly to say hello, and also for cupcakes. He makes me promise not to tell Lisa about his little addiction.
"I haven't. Should I call him? Or maybe I should tell him in person? Probably in person, right?"
"Definitely in person." I smile at her excitement.
"Yes. Good call. You'll come with me? I want you to come with me. Can you leave Callie in charge for an hour?" She kisses me again, making it impossible for me to answer.
When she finally pulls back, I assure her that I can most definitely come with her if that's what she wants. I pop back over to BB to let Callie know she's in charge for a bit.
Lisa meets me out back and holds out her keys. "I'm too amped to drive."
I chuckle and get behind the wheel, marveling at how smooth the ride is compared to my SUV. It takes twenty minutes to get to Gramps's place, and Lisa talks a mile a minute, her excitement infectious and adorable. "We should have a big party to celebrate, shouldn't we? Do you think tonight is too soon? Can we get something out on social media that quick, or should it be tomorrow? Is that too close to the street party?" She taps the armrest, pausing only long enough to suck in a breath. "Maybe it should just be a staff thing, you know, to show my appreciation for all their hard work in helping make this happen? Oh! I should call the band and tell them. If they're not busy, they could play a set tonight!"
"I think we can totally get a party together tonight as long as you're not looking to have it catered, and we can keep it going through the weekend as a celebration of the win."
"Do you think Rosé would be interested in taking pictures?" Lisa asks. "I'd be happy to pay her."
"As soon as we get to Gramps's I'll message her and see if she's available. And I think you can have a separate staff party to acknowledge how much you appreciate them after the event this weekend. You could even close the bar to the public one evening and have the entire thing catered. And yes, definitely call the band and see if they're available."
"I really don't know how I would've done all of this without you." She squeezes my hand and brings her phone to her ear.
..
..
By the time we get to Gramps's house, Lisa has secured the band for tonight. It's not a stretch since they were already booked for the entire weekend event. I fire off a message to Rosé and before we even get to the front door she's already agreed to take pictures, but she's adamant that she doesn't need to be paid. I'm not sure Lisa will let her get away with that, but Rosé has always been exceedingly generous, so Lisa might have to find another way to compensate her, like free beer and food. Lisa knocks before she lets herself in with the key. The low drone of the TV filters through to the foyer.
"Gramps?"
"Lisa? What're ya doin' here at this time in the morning?"
"I have some exciting news," she calls out.
"I'm in the living room watching The Price Is Right!"
Lisa holds up a finger and drops her voice. "Give me a sec. Sometimes he likes to lounge around in his underpants and it's not a pretty sight."
"Standing by."
She peeks around the corner and then gives me a thumbs-up so I follow her into the living room.
Gramps's gaze bounces from Lisa to me and back again. "Oh, praise the lord!" He makes the sign of the cross. "Ya heard me prayers, Dottie. It's finally happening." A massive grin breaks across his face. "Yer gettin' married!"
"Uh." Lisa and I exchange questioning glances. "No, Gramps, we're not getting married."
Gramps's face falls. "Yer not?"
"We've only been dating for a couple of months."
"When ya know, ya know, though." Gramps's eyes round again and then narrow. "Ya better not have knocked Jennie up or I'll whup yer ass, brat."
"Okay, first of all, you will not whup anyone's ass, let alone mine, and secondly, no, I did not knock Jennie up."
"Oh." He slumps back in his chair. "Well, whatever the news is, it can't be that great, now can it?"
"You were ready to give me an ass whupping for knocking Jennie up two seconds ago and now you're disappointed I didn't?" Lisa sounds amused.
"I figure if you knocked her up, then you'd have to do the noble thing and marry her."
"Well, I might if it wasn't the twenty-first century. People have kids without getting married all the time." She turns to me. "Not that I don't want to get married or have kids. I just wouldn't expect you to suddenly want to tie the knot should I happen to knock you up accidentally."
"That's reasonable."
"Do you want to get married and have kids?"
"Now? No. But down the line I wouldn't be opposed, when the timing feels right. We can talk about this later, though. Like months from now, even." I put a hand on her arm and incline my head toward Henry, who is smiling gleefully.
"Oh, right, yeah." Lisa clears her throat. "Remember that YouTuber I was telling you about?"
"The lady with the really long eyelashes who makes all the videos that aren't the dirty kind?"
I fight a laugh.
"That's the one," Lisa confirms. "So she came through Seattle a couple of weeks back."
"That's right, I remember."
"And she stopped by The Manoban Cap."
"She's not using my bar to make dirty videos."
"Gramps, we already established she doesn't make dirty videos. She named The Manoban Cap the Best Bar in the Pacific Northwest. It's going to be featured on her YouTube channel, and she's partnered with Food and Drink and The Seattle Morning Show, so they'll be featuring us, too. We did it, Gramps! We got the bar back on its feet, and this is going to keep it standing."
Henry folds down the footrest on his La-Z-Boy and slowly pushes to a standing position. He hobbles over and pulls Lisa into a hug. "I'm so proud of ya." He smacks her on the back a couple of times before he grabs her by the arms, eyes watery, smile wavering. "Dottie would be too if she was here. I know she's looking down on you from heaven with a big smile on her face. She always believed in you."
"I know she did."
He pats Lisa's chest and turns to me, pulling me in for a hug. "You're the one who lit a fire under her ass, so I hope she's told you how much she appreciates you."
I hug him back, choked up about the whole thing, especially since I know Lisa's story and Henry's, and how much this bar means to him and this family.
Lisa tells Henry that she's planning to throw a party tonight, and she would love it if he would be able to come to the bar for dinner at the very least to celebrate.
"Are you kidding me? I'm coming right now. You kids hold on a few minutes while I get ready." His slippers make a whoosh-whoosh sound as he shuffles down the hall.
"I can't believe he thought I knocked you up."
I can't believe he thought Lisa asked me to marry her. "I like that he got all righteous about it."
"Yeah, well, I think fifty percent of the reason he couldn't wait to marry my grandma was so he could finally get into her pants, because back in the sixties that was how things went."
I roll my eyes. "That's how you think things went. It wasn't any different than it is now. Teenagers had sex back then just like they do now, only now it's easier to get contraception and kids actually know that standing up after sex doesn't prevent pregnancy."
"Okay, we need to stop talking about sex and teenagers and pregnancy, because it's sending mixed messages below the waist and I'm having some conflict over that."
I glance down at her crotch. "Are you aroused?"
"Not fully." She's amusingly defensive.
I poke the front of her pants. "You have a semi?"
"You said 'sex' twice and 'contraception,' and some parts of me don't realize it doesn't mean right now."
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm excited, about a lot of things, not the least of which is my girlfriend spending the night with me. Tell me you can get Callie to open for you tomorrow. I really want you to celebrate this win with me because it never would have happened without you."
"I'll talk to her as soon as we're back at The Manoban Cap."
"This is as much your win as it is mine."
"This is yours, Lisa. Don't feel bad about being excited."
"I know how much this meant to you, though."
"And it means a lot to you, too, and to Gramps." As much as I wanted the win to be mine, I can't begrudge Lisa this. There's so much love here. History and connection and family. It's impossible to compete with that kind of beautiful backstory. "I can't think of a better way to honor your grandmother's memory."
Henry appears in the hallway. "What do ya think? Not too dressy for the occasion, is it?" He tugs on the hem of his suit jacket and I want to burst into tears. Like everything else in this house, it's a throwback to the nineties, and it's obvious he's lost some weight since he put it on last.
"You look perfect, Gramps. You're gonna knock 'em all out," Lisa says, her voice breaking.
Henry looks to me and winks. "Jennie, I need another woman's opinion, not this hipster jackass."
A half giggle–half sob bubbles up, but I manage to swallow it back down. "You look absolutely dapper."
"I haven't worn this suit in a while, but I figured if ever there was a reason to wear the family tartan, this is it." His smile is huge, and my heart melts for the woman who stepped in and brought her grandfather's bar back to life.
..
..
..