Chapter 59

“I don’t know how much work I’ll get done with you here,” I said, taking turns stroking Patrick’s red beard and Wilbur’s head, “but I wouldn’t mind the company.”

“I’ll wait until it slows down a little, and then head out.”

Patrick dropped by at the start of my shift several times a week. He lived about thirty minutes away and ran his own pharmacy. His workday was supposed to last from eight in the morning to seven at night, but as he’d said more than once, “Being your own boss isn’t an eight hour a day job.” After working the counter, he still had all the ordering, record keeping, inventory, plus what he referred to as “etcetera, etcetera” to do. Patrick was a people person. He enjoyed interacting with his customers, answering questions, and helping them in any way he could. That and the etcetera kept him at O’Hanlon’s Pharmacy way later than seven o’clock many nights.