Page 69 of The Summer of Christmas

“Sir? You don’t have to call him sir, Dad. You’re not a limo driver.”

“Driving around this much talent, I feel like one,” Mitch said proudly.

“Use the alley behind the theater. We’ll go in the back way,” Ivy said. Mitch listened and drove. They were soon at the back door of Eddie’s. Ivy was reluctant to get out. “High Noon,” she remarked without much bravado.

“If you’re going to keep making movie references, then make sure I am the new best friend. And as your new best friend, I want you to text Nick, right now, that you will meet him at your old favorite booth.”

“How did you know we had a favorite booth?” Ivy wondered.

“I read a lot ofArchiecomics. You’re so Betty. Amari is Veronica. Archie could never decide. Now text him.” Ivy did. And they were off. “Let’s go,” Griffin said as they walked in through the back. He tipped the Teamsters smoking by the door and waved to J. B. and Frannie in the kitchen, who had found a quiet spot to talk. Frannie admired how great Ivy looked, smiled, and gave her the thumbs-up. Maybe Frannie was rooting for them. Griffin and Ivy walked into Eddie’s. The crowd parted. Ivy felt like a princess arriving at the ball.

The always-watching Olivia and Ella whispered to Griffin, “Are you and Ivy together?”

“We got a great brother-sister thing going on,” he said with a wink.

“Ivy, you look great,” Olivia said.

“Thanks to the two of you.”

“Stunning dress,” Olivia said. “I’m glad you picked that one.”

“Amari had been eyeing it,” Ella said.

“If you want to know what is going on on a movie set, always talk to the hair and makeup people,” Griffin said. “So what’s the intel?”

Olivia leaned in. “No Amari sighting, but Nick just grabbed that corner booth. Paid the sound guy a hundred bucks for it.”

Ivy smiled. Nick did that, she thought as Griffin pushed her in Nick’s direction. “You go to Nick. Olivia, Ella, and I are going to be watching as we drink some Christmas cosmos.”

Ivy disappeared into the crowd. Griffin went to the bar. Rory pounced on Olivia and Ella. “So, ladies, what was all that about?”

“Go away,” Olivia said. “We don’t talk to the press.”

Rory retreated. Ella commented, “I don’t like that one. Gossiping. Making money on other people’s lives.”

Lane, the location guy, walked up to them, money in hand. “What’s the pool up to?” he asked.

Ella checked a small notebook. “About twenty-one hundred dollars.”

“I wanna put a hundred on our writer sealing the deal with Nick tonight here at Eddie’s.” Olivia took the money as Ella marked the entry.

***

“Of all the gin joints in all the world, you walk into mine,” Ivy said, standing across from Nick.

“I got us our old booth. And isn’t that fromCasablanca?”

“Very good, Nick. I’m impressed.” Ivy slid into the same side of the booth as him. It was a tight, intimate arrangement.

“There’s more room on the other side,” Nick suggested.

“I think with what we need to say to each other, we should be as close as possible, like on our first real date when you said—”

“There you are!” Amari called out. Before Ivy could blink, Amari had settled in the booth across from Nick, leaning in with her low-cut shirt. “So great that the three of us can get together like this.”

Nick didn’t know what the hell was going on. Ivy squeezed his thigh, while at the same time Amari (shoe off) rubbed his leg with her foot. The small talk about the movie started. Ivy and Amari talked about everything except Nick. Until Amari said, “Next week, we will film the breakup scene. Honestly, Ivy, I do not understand how you could ever let a guy like Nick walk out of your life.”

“I didn’t,” Ivy said as she looked at Nick. “He dumped me. And you already know that.”