by W. Ferraro
“Having a good time ladies?” said the man on the right. His tall lanky body was dressed casually enough in a t shirt and jeans, and his head was covered with a backward, faded Red Sox hat. He had a freckled complexion, but a kind smile.
His friend slowly made his way around Mae to take the seat between her and Robyn. His dark hair was styled in a spikey, run-your-fingers-thru-your-hair-with-gel way that complimented his dark eyes. His days growth covered his face in a rugged way. He placed his beer bottle on the table and made himself comfortable.
“Doing fine, thanks” Robyn answered sassily. “How about you?”
“With beer in hand and such a fine array of beautiful woman to look at, how could it not be good?” Came from the freckled one.
He introduced himself as Ty Greene and his friend as Billy Hawkins and asked if he could buy them a round of drinks. He was mainly focusing on Robyn but he did speak to the table at large.
As Ty, Robyn and Kathy talked about the Red Sox game playing on the majority of TVs in the pub, Billy said to Mae “you like baseball?”
“Baseball is ok, but I prefer football, the Patriots, naturally.” Mae smiled and noticed Billy smiled as well.
“Yeah, baseball is a little boring in my opinion; football is much more of a sport.” Billy said as they started in on a detailed debate of the official review rule in football and how some specific popular players use dirty tactics to play.
Mae was enjoying the conversation and realized Robyn was looking at her more often than not.
Since the place was packed now, it was a while since they saw the waiter, so Ty and Billy decided to go to the bar to order a round of drinks.
When the left, Kathy voiced that she loved getting hit on. She made sure to fluff her hair and check her lip gloss in her small compact mirror. Robyn agreed but felt the need to all of a sudden become left handed every time she picked up her drink.
“So Mae, you enjoying talking and flirting with Billy?” Robyn asked teasingly.
“I’m not flirting!” Mae said with strong conviction.
Laughing, Kathy said, “if it looks like flirting and sounds like flirting, it’s flirting!”
Robyn and Kathy continued to laugh especially considering their intake of liquor.
Not wanting Robyn and Kathy to get the wrong idea, Mae felt suddenly embarrassed. Robyn noting the despairing looking on Mae’s face said “Mae, don’t worry about it. You’re a hot girl; I can imagine this happens to you everywhere you go. There is nothing on your left ring finger, have fun. Enjoy being spoiled by a man, especially if he is buying the drinks.” Giggling she added, “Besides my brother needs to know he can’t be an ass because there is a line waiting behind him”
Mae smiled at the last bit and Robyn and Kathy both shook their heads agreeing that Mae was entitled to a good time and innocent flirtation was just a girl’s god given right.
Ty and Billy returned then with three hurricane glasses and two bottles of beer.
The table as a group talked about the regions sport teams and each person’s individual likes and dislikes of said teams and sports.
The band had taken the stage at this point and the dance floor was starting to crowd.
A guitar riff of an old time favorite spared a boisterous, lively round of crowd cheers and cat calls. As the band started playing, Mae just couldn’t help but dance in her seat.
Robyn hoped down from the seat and pulled Mae out of hers and worked their way out onto the dance floor. Kathy followed behind them and they danced to the beat. They stayed close in a small circle due to the congestion on the floor. By the time they returned to their table when the song ended, they were all laughing and hot from the exertion of dancing.
Ty and Billy, who now stood as if protecting Mae and Kathy from being knocked into from the growing crowd, verbalized what a good looking show they put on when dancing.
May tipped back her hurricane glass to get the remainder of the cocktail out, feeling a little buzzed. She decided now was a good time to switch to water.
Billy offered to go get her another round when Mae answered, “I’m good on the drink, I’ll just get water; in fact I’ll go up to the bar and order it.” Turning to the table she asked if anyone needed a refill, Robyn followed her and ordered water while Kathy went for a diet coke.
Mae walked to the bar and found Billy following her. Mae was waiting for an area to open up, when Billy, grabbed her by her hand and walked her around to the other side where a vacancy was. Mae hopped up onto the open seat and Billy put one hand on the back of her chair and his other on the bar next to her.
Not knowing what to say to him, Mae just sat there in silence.
“So Mae, what is it going to take to get you to dance with me?” Billy asked, drinking her in with those dark eyes.
“I don’t know.” Was all Mae could think to say.
The bartender came over and took her order, he quickly filled it and Mae was glad that Billy was there to help carry all the glasses through the crowd. They reached the table and found Robyn on the dance floor with Ty. Kathy was trying to talk on her phone and when she saw Mae return, she motioned that she was going outside to talk. Mae sat down at the table and checked her own phone. There were no messages or missed calls. She wondered what Seth was doing. Billy interrupted her thoughts, and asked her if she wanted to go out to the dance floor with him, as the band began playing a slower tune.
Mae agreed and Billy took her hand and pulled her out onto the floor. Mae immediately noticed that her hand in his just didn’t feel right. They were close to where Robyn and Ty were, and Mae noticed that Robyn was being sure to leave plenty of space between her and Ty’s body.
As the band shifted to a slow beat, Billy pulled Mae into an embrace. Mae had to hand it to him, he was a great dancer. She was actually enjoying herself until the song ended, and Billy leaned down for a kiss. She immediately moved her head and used her hands to push at his chest.
Mae looked at him and said, “Sorry Billy, but I thought this was just a dance.”
Billy looked at her and smiled, trying to hide the hurt of her rejection. He walked her back to table and made a hasty retreat.
Kathy piped up the moment he left “I thought you were going to clock him.”
Mae raised her eyebrows and said “No, just didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.” Mae looked around and noticed Robyn was missing, “Where’s Robyn?”
Kathy looked around and said, “I don’t know, she was just out on the dance floor.”
Just as Mae and Kathy were starting to get concerned, when Robyn came waltzing over and sat down.
“Where have you been?” Kathy scolded.
“Oh sorry, after I told Ty where he could shove his roaming hands, I made a quick dash off to the ladies room.”
Kathy made a tsk tsk sound and chastised, “You know the girl code, you don’t make any moves without letting another girl know where you are.”
Robyn looked at her friend and said with an exaggerated sad look “Sorry, Mom.”
Kathy swatted at her and they all laughed.
They enjoyed a few more songs, and then Mae looked at her phone and noticed the time.
“Sorry ladies but I need to get going. I’m driving Conner and Michael to school in the morning then off to the hospital for a double shift.” Mae said as she searched for her car keys.
“Ok, let’s do this again though, next week maybe?” Robyn said as she too stood up and looked through her bag for her keys.
“That sounds great.” Mae answered and they all walked outside together. Mae gave each of the girls a hug and kiss on the cheek goodbye, and walked over to the side of the building to her car.
She was surprised to see a tall figure leaning against her car. She was about to make a run for the building when the figure stepped into the light and Mae noticed it was Wes. Realizing that he startled her, he apologized before leaning down and kissing Mae hello, on her cheek.
“Wes! What are you doing here?�
�� she asked as her heart returned to its normal pulse.
“I had a meeting with the pub owner and I noticed you as you were making your way out of the entrance so I thought I’d wait for you.”
“Oh, that was nice of you. Everything alright as far as your meeting is concerned?” Mae asked wondering if Wes saw her with Billy.
“Oh yes, Cal is interested in expanding due to crowding in the current building, so he invited me to see exactly how crowded it can get when it is a full house.”
“I see,” Mae said looking at her feet.
Just then she noticed the Lexus next to her car running, Wes followed her eyes and said “The SUV is mine.”
“So you’ve been here a while. I parked next to it when I got here.” Mae said as if accusing him of something.
Wes smiled and rolled back on the heels of his feet. He was one hundred percent right about Mae in his initial impression: you couldn’t get anything past her. Rather than make her wonder, he came out and told her the truth. “Yes, I’ve been here a while. I was sitting at the bar, waiting for Cal, for our meeting, when you arrived. I saw you join Kathy and quickly followed by Robyn. And before you ask, I did see your refusal of Mr. Gel’s pick up. I was going to step in but you had it under control.” Mae couldn’t help but laugh at Wes’ description of Billy.
Wes liked the sound of Mae’s laugh, almost as much as he liked her company. He could tell by her facial expression and her blush that she felt embarrassed at being caught. “And you have nothing to feel embarrassed about, if I was a single guy in a bar, I’d hit on you too.” He said honestly.
Laughing again, Mae pointed out “You were a single guy in a bar.”
Wes laughed out loud too and said “You’re right, I am. Well damn, I guess I missed my chance.”
They talked for a couple of more minutes about Wes’ meeting and the weather. Wes’ deep voice was so soft that Mae just enjoyed hearing him speak. Mae told him about Leo’s upcoming interview.
Mae said that she needed to get going. Wes walked over and opened her driver’s door, Mae slid into the seat and Wes closed the door. Mae turned the engine on and rolled the window down.
“Well, thank you Wes for waiting to say hello to me. I’m glad you did.”
“Me too Mae, me too. You drive safely, okay.” Wes said as she pulled out and drove off towards home.
TWELVE
Mae looked at the interior car clock and realized she should already be home and in bed now, especially since she was working a double tomorrow, but she wouldn’t have traded the night for anything.
Mae pulled into the drive and noticed the reflection of her headlights on something moving on the dock. She got out of the car and saw Conner and Michael trying to hide in one of the boats. Mae walked to the dock and said “I see you hiding Conner, you too Michael, come on out!”
Conner and Michael crawled out of their hiding spots and walked slowly towards Mae.
“What are you two doing?” Mae demanded, already knowing the answer.
“We were, uh, we were trying, to uh…” Conner started to say, realizing he wasn’t as good at lying as he thought he was.
Mae noticed that Michael stayed mute.
“You were going to take the boat out, weren’t you?” Mae asked, looking at Conner with a piercing gaze. The disappointment in her voice was as evident as the look on her face.
Conner didn’t even bother to deny it. He had been caught in the act.
“Conner in the house, Michael it’s time for you to go.” Mae said, as Michael willingly took the exit offered to him.
“Mae, please don’t tell my dad. Please!” Conner begged with his hands folded as if in prayer.
“I already promised you once Conner and you broke that trust. I think your dad needs to know.” Mae said feeling both sympathy for Conner not wanting to disappoint Seth and responsible as far as having to tell Seth.
“But, Mae, he’ll ground me forever. The fishing derby is in two weeks. He’ll make me miss it. Please. That’s why we were trying to take the boat so we could practice out on the lake.” Conner begged.
Shutting her eyes and asking for celestial advice, Mae opened and looked at Seth’s eldest son and found herself doing what she knew to be wrong, but wanting to make Conner happy.
“Ok Conner, I’ll make you a deal, I won’t tell your dad, but if he asks me, I will not lie for you. And if you so much as go near that boat, without your Dad near you, I WILL tell him. Do you understand?” Mae said sternly Conner’s face went from sudden death to winning the lottery; he ran over and hugged Mae, tightly. “I promise Mae. Thank you.”
Laughing because for such a young man, he was quite strong, Mae swatted Conner away. She watched as he climbed the stairs and went inside.
About an hour later, Mae was sitting in her screened porch, eating the last of the Oreos, when she heard Seth pull up. Aidan walked up the stairs followed by Seth carrying a zonked Megan. Seth indicated for her to follow him in the house. Mae waited as Seth brought Megan up to bed. She heard him wish Aidan and Conner a good night, and then he walked down the stairs and made his way over to where she stood next to the couch.
“Hello” he said as he leaned down and kissed her.
“Hey, how was the movie?” Mae asked, wondering at the length of the movie considering how late he’d been out.
“Long,” he answered, as if knowing what she was thinking. “Apparently it was a double feature. When the first movie was over, I told the kids that we needed to leave and Megan started to cry. Aidan said that he really wanted to see the next one and then they tag teamed by saying how long it has been since we’ve done anything fun like this, especially on a school night.” Seth huffed out as if their words wounded him.
Smiling at his fatherly kind-heartedness, she leaned up on tip toes and kissed him again, saying against his lips “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Laughing at her synopsis of his children’s power play, Seth snorted “Tell me about it.”
“How was your night out with Robyn?”
“It was wonderful, just what the doctor ordered. In fact, I saw Wes; he was there talking business with Cal.” Mae explained “He had mentioned something about meeting with Cal, but I didn’t know when.” Seth said as he toyed with her hair and savored the feel of her in his arms, “Any chance, I could get some company tonight?” Seth asked as he lightly nipped at her throat.
Smiling and gleeful, Mae softly said, “As long as you promise to let me get some sleep. I have a double shift tomorrow and I somehow got talked into driving Conner and Michael into school tomorrow.”
“There’s a sucker born every minute.” Seth repeated her earlier words to him and quickly kissed her before she could retaliate.
Mae slept better than she had in a long time, whether it was the number of alcoholic beverages, the fun she had with Robyn and Kathy, or the fact that she slept in Seth’s arms, she didn’t know, but she hoped the reason was the latter. But the down side of sleeping so well means that she also overslept. She was just getting out of the shower when Seth poked his head in.
“Nervous the kids will catch us?”
“No I’m not, and can’t a girl get a little privacy?” Mae asked as she hastily dried herself.
“Well considering you’re in MY bathroom, I would say privacy is a moot point” he stepped in and kissed her then walked around her to get in the shower himself.
Mae grabbed one of Seth’s shirts and prayed the kids wouldn’t see her before she made it to her apartment.
Just when she was about to reach the interior door she heard “Good morning, Sweet Mae. How are you this fine sunny morning?”
Mae turned to find Lynne at the kitchen stove cooking French toast, with a smile that read both playful and pleased.
Feeling herself blush, Mae gave a little wave and indicated, one minute before jogging into her apartment and up to dress for the day.
Mae returned five minutes later with her usual high ponytail and bright p
ink scrubs.
“I brewed you a cup of tea and have French toast ready for you.” Lynne said with the same smile on her face as before.
“Thank you Lynne.” Mae said as she took the cup of tea and headed over to the table where, Megan and Aidan were already eating.
As Mae sat down, Megan smiled with a mouthful of food and Aidan was asking Lynne for a second serving.
Conner came down next and looked at Mae with a bright smile. She returned the smile with ease as if mentally communicated that she has kept up to her side of the bargain.
Mae was just finishing her French toast when Seth joined them. He walked over kissed Mae on her upturned mouth, moved to Megan gave her nose a tap and kissed her head and ruffled Aidan’s head.
“Good morning, Finn family.” He said to the room at large.
“Hey Dad, can we go to the videogame store this weekend? The new ‘Skate For Your Life’ game is coming out and I just have to have it. I saved my allowance, so I have enough money.” Aidan said, hoping that last part would help his cause.
Looking at his son with tried patience, Seth said “I really wish you’d cool it with the video games, but if you are adamant about getting it and you have already saved the money, I’m sure we can get there sometime this weekend.”
“Cool” Aidan said and as if on cue picked up his handheld game and walked over to the couch and started playing.
Conner looked at Mae and said “Uh, Mae. I know you said you’d drive me and Michael in this morning, but if you’d rather not, there is still time for me to catch the bus.”
Seth looked up with his eyebrows drawn together and wondered why Conner would think Mae would go back on her word. “Con, if Mae said she’d drive you, why would she change her mind?”
Hoping not to rock the boat and make Seth think anything was wrong, Mae quickly said, “Yeah, Conner, not a problem, I can still drive you and Michael. We should get going though, why don’t you go grab your bag. Aidan want a ride?”