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He did that turning thing with the bottle again so it wouldn’t drip as he brought it away froe to serve alcohol in Florida is eighteen, not twenty-one" He stepped behind lass "But yes, I’ the law I’ll be sure to tell the police chief at table six when I bring hione His usual snide Sawyer voice had returned

My h He set the empty bottle on his tray and removed the ice bucket from the table By that time he seemed to realize all on his ohat he’d done His lips parted He looked at htened and turned very pale underneath his tan "I’m sorry," he said to my mother "That was uncalled for"

The table was silent My mother’s eyes had never left hied

"I’ize"

"It’s okay, Sawyer," I heard h over his head, folded the stand, and hurried across the restaurant He disappeared through the folding door into the kitchen

"What did you say that for?" I hissed at my mother

For the first tial for hied, why did you let Dad order alcohol from him?"

Dad didn’t jump in to defend her He raised his eyebrows at her like he thought it was a good question

"I didn’t knoas illegal," my mother said

"Obviously you had so so and embarrass him" I threwwith you people"

"Not again," Dad said

"Can I have yours?" Barrett asked

"Young lady,"the tables I had a hard ti anyone, and I wasn’t even carrying a heavy tray and a stand like he had been At the door to the kitchen, I hesitated, looking around to see if any of the restaurant staff atching As I glanced into the bar, a smaller room on one side of the restaurant, aze, like he wasn’t surprised to see me Hefast If anybody wanted to throw me out, they’d have to catch uys’ ined six people worked in the Crab Lab kitchen ThereThe equipinal exposed brick likewas embossed tin Oil, steam, and Spanish floated in the air If any cooks called to me, I didn’t understand what they said Iopen, which I assumed led to the Crab Lab’s porch for employee breaks Sawyer and Tia had experienced more escapades there than I’d really wanted to hear about

Outside was a different world The night, though warrees cooler than the kitchen, and full of the s, not just from the Crab Lab but also from the barbecue restaurant on one side and the Indian restaurant on the other Industrial-strength air conditioners shouted fros up and down the alley But the Crab Lab’s porch was an oasis, sheltered with an awning, furnished with picnic tables and ashtrays overfloith cigarette butts The railing was spun with twinkling white lights

Sawyer stood at the edge of the wooden stairs down, ar at the ancient brick-paved alley When he heardstartled "I aht into hi his ar me back," I said into his shoulder "You have to do that sometimes We can’t always run to your truck to find the pelican outfit e need to hug"

Ito cal on in our heads But as he obediently slid his hands around my waist and nestled his face in my neck with his h was between h his T-shirt and htened ed before--not when one of us wasn’t dressed as a pelican, anyway I regretted this now, because ainst his His breath was soft in le

Without warning, he releasedto a bench hi the space beside hiet you in trouble for being back here?"

"Nobody gets in trouble for anything that happens on this porch That’s one reason I used to drink so much"

"Ah" That htly when she worked here last summer I hadn’t understood then why she put herself in that position with him over and over I could definitely see the appeal now