Heartwood (13 page)

“Whoa, there girl! At the rate you are going, we’ll both be under the table in an hour.” I tried to keep my tone light. She stuck her tongue out at me and downed her shot in one quick motion. Turning away she pounded on the bar, motioning for the bartender to give her a refill. “Robin, seriously. What the hell?”

“It’s just been a really shitty week at work.” She said without looking in my direction.

“Well, it’s gonna be even more shitty when we have to take you into the ER on your day off. As a
patient
. You’re going to get alcohol poisoning.” I replied.

“Just back off, Molly.” She snapped.

“Wow. That sounded just like Princess Patron.” I muttered, knowing that comparing her to our ex sister-in -law was the lowest of the low blows. I turned away from her. “Can we get two glasses of water, please?”

When I turned back, her lip was quivering.

“Robin, don’t cry. I’m sorry, that was a cheap shot.” I felt like a complete bitch and Robin was one of my favorite family members. She was the closest thing I’d ever had to a sister, and I’d always wanted one.

“No. You’re right. I’m a hot mess.” Her voice cracked when she said it.

“Okay. I’m going to pry whether you like it or not. You need to talk to me. Now.” I demanded.

“You wouldn’t understand, Molly.” She said, and a tear slipped down her cheek. I glanced around and saw the rest of our party was on the dance floor, including Loose-tie, who was the meat in a Slut Sister sandwich. “You have a job where you get to whip up cool food and make people happy all day long. I get to get clawed at by drunks, talked down to by interns, and watch people die day after day.”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “You also get to save lives every day. I could never do that. Blood freaks me out. And the first time someone needed CPR, I’d choke under the pressure. I’d be hiding in the bathroom. I bet I’d call in sick all the time if I had to do your job.”

“I’m just so damn burnt out.” She released a bone-rattling breath. I could tell she was beyond done and I pushed the shot glass away from her.

“Do something different.” I put my arm around her. “You’ve paid your dues in the ER. Anything would be a stress reduction after that.”

The bartender sat down the water glasses, and I picked one up and handed it to her. She took three large gulps as I drank some of mine, too.

“I’m looking, believe me.” She replied. “I have resumes out all over town. I should have done this a long time ago. It’s like I use up all my ‘give a shit’ at work. When I come home, I’m just trudging through the family stuff. I skipped the kids’ open house the other night so I could sit at home and drink wine from a box. I never thought I’d be ‘that mom’, ya know?”

I didn’t really “know”, but my own reaction to motherhood wasn’t how I thought it would be either, so I felt comfortable nodding.

“Have you talked to Mason? Can’t he help take some of the pressure off of you?” I asked. “I know he wants you to be happy.”

“Of course he does.” She replied. “And he does help me. But we’re used to making a certain amount of money. We’re used to doing Disney every other year and having a cleaning service come in every week. Cutting back isn’t easy with my bunch. They have needs.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t need to have a cleaner or expensive vacations if your job didn’t suck the life out of you.” I replied, and Robin spilled some water on her shirt trying to nod and drink at the same time.

“I’m gonna tell you what Joe’s shrink told me.” I put a hand on her arm to make sure I had her attention. “You need to take care of you or you won’t be able to take care of anybody else.”

“Touche.” She sniffed, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

“No more drinks tonight, okay?” I begged.

She nodded.

“Wanna go to Roppolo’s and get a slice? I don’t think anyone will notice we’re gone.” I forced her to make eye contact with me and she nodded.

“Molly, aren’t you gonna come dance?” Mr. Loose-tie appeared at my side like a preppy bad penny. I wanted to scream at him Tamryn-style to just ‘go away’.

“I just need to finish my drink.” I picked up my water and took another swig.

“Oh! There’s Paul.” He waved over the dude we’d ditched at Coyote Ugly. Paul appeared disheveled as he made his way toward us.

“That place completely disintegrated after you left.” Paul explained to Loose-tie, and then he turned to give me a cheesy smile. “People came into the bar just to
join
the fight. The cops showed up and everything. Here’s what’s left of your shoes. Sorry.”

“Damn.” I took my trampled shoes from him and had a moment of mourning for them. One of the heels was hanging by a thread, and they looked like the big, stinky cowboy had rolled around on them for a couple of hours. I looked around and tossed them in a nearby garbage can.

“So, does this mean I can buy you that drink now?” Paul asked, his eyes wandering over me. I found his attention pretty hilarious, considering my stupid t-shirt and clown shoes.

“No, I’m buying her a drink.” Loose-tie tried to step between us, but his friend nudged him away.

“But I braved the bar fight for the lady’s shoes. What do you say? Can I buy you a cold one?” With his curly hair and bright eyes, Paul looked a little like an actor that I’d always liked. When he smiled pleadingly, I automatically nodded.

“What about you, Sweetheart? You want anything.” He asked Robin.

“World peace. And maybe a cup of coffee.” She slurred, and relief settled over me. Paul waved a money clip and the bartender appeared as if by the sheer magic of Capitalism. He took a step closer to me, his chest pressing against my arm. After the recent invasions of my space, it made me mildly uncomfortable. ‘‘What do you want?’

“Shiner.” I replied, chugging down my water.

“You heard the lady.” The condescending way he failed to even look at the bartender made me want to cold-cock him. I’d spent way too many years in the service industry to find that kind of dismissiveness anything but rude.

“Hey, Handsome. Come dirty dance with us.” Slut Two said, tugging at both men’s sleeves. Paul did a double take at my cousins extremely low cut dress and tossed some money at me without looking in my direction. He and Loose-tie went off to dance with the Sluts Squared. Robin and I looked at each other and burst into gut wrenching laughter.

“I always knew those two would come in handy someday.” She drawled. “I think I’m gonna go throw up now.”

“You need me to come along?” I put a hand on her shoulder, truly hoping the puking would work in her favor. “I will...but I just told you about me and my tolerance for bodily fluids.”

“I’m good.” She mumbled. “Do you have toothpaste?”

“Of course I do.” I made a mental note to rub it in Joe’s face that my need to carry extra supplies in my purse came in handy. He constantly joked that my purse contained The Arc of the Covenant and possibly the missing body of Jimmy Hoffa. Every time he had to get something out of my purse he acted as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Then he’d yank his hand out and act as if something bit him. I imagined what he might have said when Stacy whipped out the shoes from her purse, and smiled.

“Here.” I gave her my travel toothpaste. “Oh...and here’s a hair tie so I don’t have to hold your hair back.”

“Wow. You’re prepared. Were you a Girl Scout?” She snatched them out of my hands.

“No. But my brothers got kicked out of Boy Scout Camp once for bringing girly mags.”

“Shocking.” She said drolly, and stumbled off in the direction of the ladies room.

I looked around the crowded dance floor and didn’t spot anyone I knew. I stuffed Paul’s money in my pocket and chugged the rest of my water. After a couple of minutes trying to move a few inches closer to the dance floor and having my feet tromped on by high heels and cowboy boots, I decided to abandon the idea and just get some air instead.

I wandered out front and realized I’d just placed myself smack dab in the smoking section. I had trouble being around the smoke, partially because it gave me a headache and mostly because the scent reminded me of my ex-husband. Heading far enough away from the building that I didn’t have to inhale all the secondhand smoke, I continued on down to the darker, quieter end of the block. Our bus was parked down and across the street and the driver gave me a wave. I waved back and picked a clean bit of wall to lean back against next to the back window of the bar. There was a delicious chill in the air that helped wash away some of the excess heat from being inside with all those sweaty dancers.

The noise was much more tolerable outside but I could still make out Cher warbling about time. Movement in my peripheral vision caught my eyes, and I turned to look to my right. Across the street from where the bus was parked, I saw smoke rising in a delicate string of wisps. It was highlighted by the glow of a security light near an otherwise dark, boarded up building. I wondered if someone had dropped a cigarette on their way up the block. From the looks of the place, such a thing would likely burn the place down. The patch of shadow it rose from was at first impenetrable, and then the lights of a turning vehicle illuminated it and I saw a dark figure standing motionless. The figure was wearing a gray hoodie, and his or her hand was cupped around a cigarette, almost as if trying to hide the glowing cherry on the end. The figure lurched away as the light revealed it. The furtive manner in that move immediately made me suspicious.

I trained my eyes on the spot and was rewarded by another glimpse of the figure as another set of headlights splashed the shadows. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I was certain by the stance and the angle of the hood that this stranger was looking right back at me. I squinted hard, but I still could not see the person’s face. I took an instinctive step closer as I tried to get a better look, but the figure stepped back and disappeared again into the shadows. I took a few steps down the sidewalk toward the black abyss. A big truck turned behind me and transformed the street from night to day with its oversized lights.

That side of the street was empty. The place where the figure had been was vacant and for a moment I started to wonder if someone had slipped something in my drink. Or maybe, I was just starting to finally lose my shit for real. Then, I noticed the remnants of smoke rising up into the air by the security light and felt cold fingers run down my spine.

Turning, I went back inside to find my friends. Suddenly, the overheated bar didn’t seem so bad after all.

“Where the hell have you been?” Dan cried, throwing his arms around me 45 minutes later. I was surprised to see Jay standing with him, and wondered if someone had slipped something into all of our drinks.

“I could ask the same of you.” I replied, handing Robin her coffee, which the bartender was nice enough to give me in a to-go cup. I’d told him that she was the designated driver, so he was extra accommodating.

“How about that drink?” Paul asked, sauntering up to me. My cousin had her claws into him, but he didn’t seemed at all bothered about it.

I handed him his cash back. “I was waiting on you.”

“We could just do another body shot on your party bus.” Loose-tie (whose name was evidently Stan) chimed in.

“Nope. Crossed that one off my list.” I stretched out the material of my shirt and looked down at the black and white anchor that was still dragging me down.

“Well, what else
is
on your list?” He asked, stepping far too close while he inspected my chest. I pulled out the fabric even farther so I didn’t feel quite as violated.

“Hmmmm...bend me over and spank me?” Paul read aloud, and his grey-blue eyes twinkled rakishly. I could tell by the way he swept his hand through his curly mop he was used to girls falling on their back when he turned his attention on them. I simply blinked at him and felt my lips press into a thin contemptuous line.

“Ahhhh, yeah!” Lisa called, punctuating the point.

“Shit.” I mumbled, and turned and headed toward the bus. I was not nearly drunk enough for any of this.

“Here.” Robin chased after my long strides and thrust something into my hand. I glanced down and laughed. It was a ribbed condom.

“Robin, I’m not going to
do
him. It’s bad enough he gets to touch my ass, even for a millisecond. I can’t believe y’all. I want you to delete all of the pictures from everyone’s phones.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The condom is for number four. I paid some guy to get it from the restroom for me. I’ll tell all of them I saw you buy it in the men’s room at Barbarella.”

I gave her a side hug. “You’re my favorite.”

“I know.” She said without missing a beat.

“Where to next?” The driver asked me.

“The Dizzy Rooster.” Stacy yelled, and I turned in time to see Kelly roll her eyes and whisper something to Tamryn.

“What the hell.” Tamryn shrugged. “But after that, let’s go have a quiet cocktail somewhere low key so we can press Molly for wedding details.”

“Now that sounds like something I can get on board with.” I agreed.

“Pace yourselves, ladies,” Jay lectured. “This is a ‘whoring marathon’, not a slutty sprint.”