Adam wrung out the dishcloth and wiped down the bar one last time.
"Quittin' time," he called to Jeremy. Jeremy was in the back of the Pub setting the chairs on the table.
"Thank god," Jeremy said, slapping his apron on the bar. "I hate seniors night. If cranky old Mrs. Alamain had asked me for one more bowl of oyster crackers...."
"What the? What's that racket outside?" Adam said.
Suddenly a gaggle of their cousins burst through the Pub's front door. They were laughing and patting each other on the back, but every time someone patted too hard, they winced mightily. Sean D. was holding his ribs protectively, every time he laughed, he grimmaced. Will was nursing a quickly blackening eye. A spot on Roman's jaw was bright red. Nick's knuckles were scraped and bloodied. And poor Jack was pinching his nose and tilting his head back.
"Oh, man." Jeremy said. "We told you guys not to go out without Faith. You need SOMEBODY to protect your sorry butts."
"I'll get the ice," Adam said.
"I'll get the Box." Jeremy told him. The Box was actually a first aid kit, only on a Brady sized scale. Jeremy disappeared into the kitchen and lugged back a carton about the size of a microwave. It was filled with gauze, butterfly sutures, disinfectant- everything a brawling Brady needed.
"Who's first?" Adam asked, wielding the Bactine.
"If thad's some sord of paidkiller, I'd like a dose of it right here," Jack said pointing to his nose. "Becaud I think I'm a lod more pain than thede guys."
"Oh," Vic said. "Buck, Jack. For a first-time fighter, you did pretty well. You only cried that once."
"Tell me something, Vic," Sean D. asked, wincing as Jeremy examined his bruised side. "How is it that managed to get out of there without a scrape?"
"Well, when somebody punched," Vic said. "I stayed out of the way."
"Oh, so THAT's what I was doing wrong!" Will slapped his forehead. "OWWW."
"What the hell happened to you lot?" Grandpa Roman asked from the stairs.
"A fraternity," Nick said. "But you should see them."
"Boys, what have I told you about fighting?" Grandpa Roman said.
"Always duck?" Will said.
"Exactly," Grandpa Roman laughed. "Now you're lucky you weren't arrested- this time."
"Sgt. O'Hara says hello, by the way," Roman said.
"So the cops did show up," Grandpa Roman said, examining Will's eye.
"Yeah, but once we told them who we were and how those big bad fraternity guys were picking on our little Will, here," Vic said. "They got hauled in and we got let off with a warning."
"Well, thank heavens for small favors," Grandpa Roman said. "Steak."
Adam handed him a porterhouse. He slapped it on Will face.
"OWW!" he howled. "That's attached Gramps!"
"Serves you right," he said. He looked at little Roman's jaw. "Ice pack."
He was about to slap it against Roman's face, when Roman took it and said. "Thanks, granpa, but I'll do it myself."
Jeremy had Nick's knuckles soaking in witchhazel. Jack's nose was pronounced unbroken, but he whined unbearably while they packed it with gauze.
"Now that, is what you've been doing wrong," Sean D. said. "If you want to reel my sister in, You should have started wearing gauze on your nose a long time ago, be cause that, my friend, is a sexy, sexy look for you."
"How did you know-" Jack said. "Am I that obvious?"
"Yup," the boys said in unison.
"But Faith is just so great, isn't she just- she's just Faith and there's no other way to describe her." Jack said. "Unfortunately her attentions seems to be focused elsewhere."
"Well, you're a regular ass-kicker now, go find the guy and kick his ass," Vic slapped him on the back.
He really had no clue, Jack marveled. How anybody could toss Faith to the wayside chasing an airhead like Abby Devereaux was beyond him.
"At least you know who you want," Nick said. "I haven't woman who makes me fell like that."
"You'll find somebody, cuz," Sean D. said. "Look at me, here I was, thinking maybe I was destined to the priesthood as much dating as I was doing and bam- Kat runs into me at this very bar and pours her soda down my shirt."
"And that's romantic, how?" Roman asked.
"Hey, every interprets romance differently," Sean D. said. "Speak of the devil."
Kat, Faith, Abby, Stephanie, Andi, and Kay poured through entrance of the Pub, giggling the heads off. They stopped in their tracks.
"What happened to you guys?" Faith demanded.
Roman saw Kay.
"Why aren't you at home waiting to bail us out?"
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