The Albright Hotel (A Frosty Season #4)

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

T uesday night was Calvin’s bachelor party. Robby spent all morning and afternoon trying to come up with an excuse to miss the party. He was sick, maybe. Or he had a job to do in the next town over and needed his rest. But when Calvin’s brother Steve came to bang on his door wearing a silly hat and then stuffed another silly hat on Robby’s head, Robby knew he was in for a wild ride. He couldn’t say no.

It was Calvin’s big day. He had to be there for him.

“My baby brother is getting married again!” Steve howled into the night. He was probably seventy-three years old.

The first stop of the night was pizza.

“We have to coat the stomachs,” Steve explained as they sat down and looked at their menus.

Robby glanced around the table. Brad was there, as were a few other townsfolk, plus Calvin’s two other brothers and his ex-business partner from before he retired. There was tremendous love for Calvin here. It felt just as joyful as a ten-year-old’s birthday party. There was just a heck of a lot more beer.

Calvin ordered most of the menu. “Eat up, boys!” Robby laughed and grabbed a slice of pepperoni and a slice of sausage with black olives. Brad was beside him, drinking a glass of red wine and waving his hands excitedly as he explained what happened on Thanksgiving. “I was all set to ask Maya to marry me when Phoebe walks in and gets proposed to!”

Robby chuckled sadly. “I don’t like the look of that guy.”

“Me neither!” Brad exclaimed. “What is it about him?”

“I can’t put my finger on it. But he’s definitely not good enough for our Phoebe,” Robby said.

He immediately blushed. He wasn’t allowed to say “our Phoebe” anymore.

But Brad continued as though he hadn’t heard. “I still want to ask her, of course. I’m in love with her. But Christmas is upon us, boys! It’s all stress! It’ll be stressful at the Albright Hotel for at least the next five years! Who has time to get married with all that?”

It was clear Brad was glum about the topic, but his tone was bright and happy, as though he wanted to try to find a way to joke about it, too. Maybe that was the secret to life , Robby thought.

Calvin raised his glass of beer. “Don’t think about the stress. Just think about your happiness. Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her?”

“More than anything,” Brad declared.

“Then you have to do it now! Do it today!” Calvin cried.

“I’m at your bachelor party!” Brad said.

Calvin waved his hand. “I give you permission to leave. But come back when she says yes!”

Everyone laughed. But Brad stayed, whispering to Robby, “Maya would kill me if I proposed today. She has a huge meeting with someone tonight. Some wine connoisseurs.”

Robby nodded. “Do you wish she hadn’t opened the hotel?”

Brad’s color paled. “No. That’s not it. I love seeing her take the lead on her own life. She’s been through so much.” He pressed his lips together thoughtfully. “I just hope she always finds a way to fit me into it.”

Robby understood what he meant.

Everyone was so afraid of being left behind.

Later, they bar-hopped through Hollygrove—an activity that didn’t take long, as there weren’t that many bars in Hollygrove to begin with. Of course, they wound up at Binkley’s. Robby was tipsier than he’d been in a while. Maybe that was why he decided to raise his glass and make a toast.

Robby wasn’t usually the type to make toasts.

What was getting into him? He’d performed at the Christmas Festival. And now this?

The bachelor party turned to look at him, giving their full attention. Robby grew immediately nervous yet barrelled through to say, “Calvin, I’ve known you since I was a boy. I’ve always looked up to you. And even now, I find new things to learn from you. In life, we only get a certain number of second chances. And you’re grabbing hold of your second chance. You’re not letting go.”

Not the way I did.

Robby’s eyes filled with tears. He blinked rapidly as the rest of the crew cried out in agreement and sipped their beers.

Robby fled the table and hurried into the chilly night. He didn’t want anyone to see him cry.

Once there, he pressed both hands on the brick of the exterior wall and took a deep breath. From inside came the sounds of the bar: celebratory men and women headed for Christmas. Most everyone had joined the bachelor party because almost everyone knew and loved Calvin. The rumor was that Stacy’s bachelorette party was going to join them in a little while. They hardly did anything apart. He’d even witnessed Calvin take a call earlier that was probably from Stacy.

Suddenly, Calvin left the bar and closed the door behind him. He looked at Robby expectantly. Robby felt as though he’d been trapped. He let his hands drop and straightened himself out.

“How are you doing, Calvin?” He tried to smile. He didn’t want to bring the party down.

Calvin looked serious. He set his jaw. “Thanks again for coming out to celebrate with me tonight. I know it’s not the most celebratory time for you.”

Robby didn’t know what to say. He was so done talking about Olivia. At the same time, she was all he wanted to think about.

Calvin shook his head. His eyes were soft and gray. “I knew your father so well, Robby. Before he died. He was one of my best friends. But you know that.”

Robby’s heart throbbed. He loved and hated when Calvin spoke of his father. How Robby loved his father! How he missed him!

“He never got over when your mother died,” Calvin said softly. “She was so young. You and your sister were just little kids! And when Addison left, I thought, well, history is repeating itself.” Calvin bowed his head.

Robby was speechless. Was his life just a repetition of his father’s life? Was he doomed to this story?

Could he ever break out of this narrative?

“Your father was a romantic, like you. Like me,” Calvin said. “But your father never allowed himself to live after your mother died. Not once did he date anyone. Not once did he open his heart up. I tried to get him to do it. I tried to push him. But he refused. And maybe that’s romantic. But it’s sad, too. Because he didn’t waste those years. But he didn’t let himself live them fully, either.”

Robby understood where Calvin was going with this.

“I know you tried with Olivia,” Calvin said. His eyes were soft and humble. “And we were all pulling for you. We thought —finally, a woman worthy of our Robby. But she messed up. Maybe both of you did. I don’t know.” Calvin raised his hands. “It takes two to tango, I suppose. But I hoped you’d consider your Ruth relationship a healthy first step.”

Robby tilted his head. What did he mean?

“You didn’t date anyone for years and years,” Calvin explained. “Finally, a woman pushed you out of your comfort zone. A woman demanded something more of you! And you rose to the occasion! Don’t let that be the last time, Robby. Please.” Calvin rubbed the back of his own neck. He wasn’t wearing a coat, and his lips turned blue in the winter air. “I want you to bring a date to my wedding.”

Robby sniffed. “Your wedding is four days away.”

Calvin raised his shoulders. “You know, Joanna is really someone special. I keep saying it.”

Robby remembered Joanna’s soft smile at the hardware store. He remembered that his heart had fluttered when he’d seen her.

It hadn’t been the same when he’d first seen Olivia.

When he’d first seen Olivia, it was as though a rocket had gone through his body.

The world had shifted off its axis.

But maybe that kind of thing was too dangerous. Perhaps such a dramatic beginning didn’t allow for a true partnership.

“Tell me you’ll think about it,” Calvin urged. “Because she’s on her way here with Stacy, and I want you to ask her tonight!”

Robby grimaced. “Tonight?”

“No time like the present. You’re the one who just made that toast in there!” Calvin said. “It’s time to listen to your own advice, don’t you think?”

Robby chuckled and bowed his head. He thought of his father, alone in that hospital room, while Robby and his sister came and went. He thought of his mother’s grave, which his father visited every single day for the rest of his life. He avoided vacations and skipped special events just to make sure he went to her grave to talk to her.

It was true what Calvin said. Robby’s father had stopped living. He’d lived only for his dearly beloved in death.

“Here she is!” Calvin cried, his arm extended.

Robby turned to find the bachelorette crew coming toward them. They wore feather boas and puffy coats and had glitter on their faces. Stacy led the charge and swallowed Calvin in a hug. Joanna was behind them, grinning madly. It was clear they’d had a few glasses of something before they arrived.

Joanna’s eyes fluttered to Robby’s. Robby tried to get up the nerve to ask her now. But instead, he followed the bachelorette party into the bar, deciding to go about this the old-fashioned way.

A man walks into a bar, buys a girl a drink, and starts to live his life again, he thought as he strode to the counter.

But why did Olivia come to mind the minute he ordered the drink?

When he turned around to find Joanna, she was waiting for him. It was as though Calvin and Stacy had already primed her, telling her that Robby would finally ask her out.

“Merry Christmas,” he said when he reached her. His cheeks were hot from the bar and embarrassment. “This is for you.”

Joanna took the glass and smiled. She blinked up at him expectantly. Robby felt his heart swell. But it wasn’t because he wanted to ask her out. In fact, his mind began to make up excuses for why he couldn’t go to the wedding at all.

Suddenly, Joanna raised her chin. “Will you be my date to the wedding this weekend?”

Robby was caught off guard. He wasn’t used to women asking first.

Then again, he wasn’t used to dating at all. He hadn’t done much of it in over twenty-five years. Maybe the rules had changed.

“Okay,” Robby said, stuttering slightly.

“Okay,” Joanna repeated, then sipped her drink. “Pick me up at five. I’ll be the lady in the nice dress.”

Robby chuckled. He felt euphoric. Maybe it’s time to live again. Already.

Incredible.