Champagne Toast (24 page)

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Authors: Melissa Brown

BOOK: Champagne Toast
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Oh God, I

m so sorry.  I

ve been really wrapped up in myself lately, haven

t I?

She nods, her lips forming a straight line.  I

m not going to get out of this one easily.
I sit down on the bench, looking up at her, defeated. 

I know how much you love them and I hope you have a great time, Bree.
Seriously, I

m sorry.  I promise I

m going to get my shit together and be a better friend.


Stop being so dramatic, Kate,

she says, exasperated, sitting down beside me on the bench.

I know you and Evan aren

t doing well, I get it.  But, you know what?  Jon and I are hardly ever doing well,

she says with a sardonic laugh,

but right now, we

re good, like really, really good.  And I haven

t been able to tell you about it.


I

m sorry,

I say, lightly touching her shoulder.

Things are good?

I smile, hopeful for my friend.


Yeah, they are. But, with my luck that just means he

s cheating on me on the side,

she laughs again. 


Wow, look at the two of us,

I say, looking into Bree

s pained face.


I know, I know.  The two damaged barmaids,

Bree mutters.


Yep.  So pathetic,

I say, nudging her in the arm with mine.  She puts her arms around me and gives me a gentle squeeze.


I love you, Kate
,” s
he says softly, kissing the top of my head.

You deserve him, you know?


I wish I could believe that,

I sigh.


I have to go, Jon

s waiting.  Are you going to be okay?


I think so,

I say, standing up and tying my apron around my waist.

Have fun.

Two hours later, I

m exhausted and irritated from the obnoxious Saturday night crowd.  I

m in no mood to deal with the just-graduated assholes who

ve swarmed the bar tonight.  They

re fall-down drunk already and it
’s only 9 P.M
.
I

ve had my ass grabbed twice and have been hit on more times than I can count.  Thoroughly annoyed and almost ready to hand my keys to Vince and walk out the door.
But, I won

t.  Instead, I stand behind the bar and continue to take drink orders with the best smile I can muster.

One of my regulars takes a seat at the bar.  Fred is in his late forties, a father of four and a really nice guy.  He

s been
a friend of
Vince
’s
since they were five years old and loves to tell me stories of the trouble they stirred
up ‘
in the old days

.  He sits at the bar when his wife is out of town on business (which happens pretty often) and reminisces with Vince as he nurses a beer.  He

s a nice man and I always enjoy seeing him walk through the door of Molly

s.  He

s one of our few regulars whom I genuinely like.


Hey there, Katie
.” 
He smiles widely, raising his beer to me in a friendly gesture.  For the record, I never allow anyone to call me Katie.  It makes me feel like I

m about seven years old.  But, for some reason, when Fred says it, it

s okay with me.  I actually kind of like it.  But, I pretend to be annoyed when he says it so Vince and the other employees don

t get any ideas.


How are you, Freddy Boy?

I ask, pouring him his favorite draft.  He nods in appreciation as I slide the drink his way.


Same old, same old.  Mrs. Fred is off traveling, the kids are all doing their own thing.  So, here I am.


Well, we

re happy to have you, as always.  You know that.


I don

t exactly fit in here, ya know.  This place is crawling with college kids
.” 
I look around in disgust.  He

s so right.  I nod in agreement as I wipe down the bar.


How

s Mr. Maxwell?

Fred asks, taking a small sip from his beer.  He

ll make that beer last for hours at this rate.


He

s all right
.” 
I shrug.

He

s traveling, just like Mrs. Fred.


Business trip?


Yep, I miss him.


I

m sure you do, Katie
.” 
I nod again, avoiding eye contact. 

If you don

t mind my asking, you don

t seem yourself today.  Maybe you

re just having an off day, but I

m used to you being sassy and kind of a spitfire.  Today, you just seem sad,

Fred says in a compassionate tone.  Normally
,
if someone was prying into my private life at a time like this, I

d blow up at them, storm away and avoid them until they left the bar.  But, I can

t do that with Fred.  He

s one of the kindest men I

ve ever met and I could never treat him like that.


It

s complicated, Fred,

I offer, trying to appease him with these simple words.  But, I know he

ll push me to tell him more.  Not because he

s dying for gossip, but because he genuinely cares.  Why doesn

t my own father talk to me like this?  Fred

s kids have no idea how lucky they are.


I

m not going anywhere for a while, tell me what

s going on
.” 
His bright blue eyes pierce into mine and I don

t want to look away, I want to spill my guts to this acquaintance of mine. 
I need to talk to someone.


I think Evan might break up with me.


Any particular reason or are you two just drifting apart?

Fred presses.


No, we

re not drifting.  It

s, um
. . .
sorry, I

m not good at this,

I admit, looking away, scanning the crowd.


Talking?

Fred winks.  He knows exactly what I mean.


Yeah, talking
.” 
I smile.

I kind of have a track record with guys and it

s not a good one.  I think it

s finally coming to bite me in the ass.  And I don

t think Evan trusts me anymore
.” 
In fact, I

m pretty sure he doesn

t.  And it kills me.


Hmm, that

s a tough one,

Fred says, placing his elbow on the bar and leaning his chin into his fist.

Would you like some advice?  I

ll only give it if you want to hear it
.” 
I stare at him for just a moment before nodding slowly.


The best thing you can do is talk to him, really talk things through.  And if you

re right and he doesn

t trust you, then maybe it

s time to walk away
.” 
I wince as Fred says these words.

He takes a deep breath and co
ntinues.  “
There

s no way a relationship can make it without trust.  And I have a feeling you

re a girl who deserves to be trusted.  If he can

t see that, then, well, maybe it

s time to move on.


I don

t want to move on from him, Fred
,”
I say, my brows knitted and my eyes betraying me again with goddamn tears.  Thank God, I

m able to take a deep breath and keep them from spilling from my eyes.


I know. But Katie, all you can do is the best you can do, ya know?

Such simple words, but he

s right. I

m just not ready to admit it yet.


Enjoy your beer, I need to take some drink orders
.” 
I smile warmly at Fred, trying so hard to hide the sadness in my eyes, but it

s impossible.

Walking over to a group of four college guys, I want to groan.  They have t-shirts that say,

Flanagan

s House Bar Crawl

and they already look smashed.  From the looks of them, I

d say we

re one of their last stops on the crawl.  Lucky us.  Assholes on parade.


Oooh, boys, look at this sweet piece of ass,

the redheaded guy with tons of freckles says.  I bet he

s Flanagan.  He looks Irish.


Welcome to Molly

s, boys.  But, if you talk to me like that again, I

ll have your asses thrown out of here so fa
st your fucking heads will spin.”
I quickly form a giant fake smile.

Now, what can I getcha?

  The boy I

ve deemed Flanagan looks stunned
,
with his mouth hanging open like a moron.  I pass him a napkin.


Darlin

, wipe your chin; drooling doesn

t suit you.  Now, boys, what

ll it be?

I ask, tilting my head to the side and whipping out my notepad and favorite pen that says,

Don

t fuck with your waitress.


Um, uh, four beers,

the tall skinny one replies, tilting his baseball cap further down to hide his eyes.  He must be afraid I

ll release my venom on him next.  But, instead of torturing them any further, I decide to let them off the hook.  For now.


I

ll put that right in.  Thanks
,
boys,

I say sarcastically and walk towards the bar. I look back at them and laugh.  But, when I do, I bump directly into the man standing in front of me.  Someone I

ve been avoiding for days.  Shawn. 


Ugh, go away, Shawn,

I say, rolling my eyes in disgust.

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