Raleigh shrugged, because, “Maybe not, but still. That was a bit more of a scene than I was really expecting.” He hadn’t been expecting to make a scene at all, actually, but he also couldn’t complain about that sort of reaction to his return. He chuckled at the observation, nodding as he said, “It’s nice, yeah. Maybe I should have announced when I was coming home, apparently I’ve been surprising people.”
Since he didn’t know the man talking to him, perhaps he should have offered more of an explanation of that statement, but Raleigh didn’t think of it, distracted by the question. “Yeah, we went to school together. Kindergarten all the way to graduation,” Raleigh answered, glancing over his shoulder as if Ashley was going to appear again. “Town this small, everybody knows everybody growing up, for better or worse. It just sort of happens that way, no matter what.”
Turning to the bartender when he stepped over, Raleigh grinned as he went through another round of being welcomed home and then ordered a beer. Once he he’d done so, he turned back to the other patron, raising his bottle in a gesture that almost resembled a toast, saying, “To continued health and happiness.”