A fist catches the girl square in the jaw, knocking her flat-out unconscious.
The girl lands hard on her face as Kate shakes her hand in pain.
Astonished, the ringleader lifts a backhand and Kate flinches—the tip of Sadie’s foot hits his face between his nose and upper lip. He’s unprepared for a blow to the face and it knocks him back so hard that he crashes through the door to the woman’s bathroom, shattering it lengthwise in half. A girl with her head in a wastebasket and her ass on the toilet seat maneuvers her face just enough to see what’s happening.
Mayhem ensues.
Sadie is hit in the face by a wild swing from someone – she rebounds, sneering.
A chair is swung hard and hits one of the men in his shoulder, shattering. The man groans but doesn’t fall down until Kate, noticing he’s distracted, kicks him directly in the balls. Of the two remaining females – one hides behind her boyfriend while the other jets full speed for the exit only to trip and fall face first; after skidding across the floor an extra two feet, she looks back to find Bethany Walker-Stevens’ foot sticking outright. One of the men bear-hugs Kate. She kicks against every surface and gnashes her teeth. The man keeps her tight against his body, squeezing enough to knock the wind out of her—but he wanders too close to the bar and is hit in the back of the head by a bottle of Dewars, and he falls to the ground unconscious.
Sadie leisurely ambles in a circle around the last man standing – his girlfriend cowering behind him, sobbing and hiccupping. He covers his chin with fat, balled fists, moving in rigid jerks to prevent Sadie from getting behind him – his girlfriend gasps each time he jerks, afraid she’ll be left defenseless.
Kate approaches without them noticing:
“Get the fuck outta here.”
The girl practically climbs up her boyfriend and they nearly topple over like a capsized ship. When the man regains balance, he finds Sadie pointing at the exit. Kate moves aside. The man heaves his hysterical girlfriend over his shoulder and leaves.
Pam Noel finishes her call to the police and hangs up.
Several out-of-towners groan from the floor; those that can get up, leave.
Corky mumbles incoherently from the floor, laughing occasionally.
Kate and Sadie return to their seats at the bar.
“So anyway, you want Mr. Ridley, do you…” Sadie says, urging Bethany to continue talking.
Bethany Walker-Stevens laughs, disbelieving.
And from his corner, the old man in the fedora finishes his beer and applauds.
FOLLOWED
When I enter the bar for the meeting with David, three people tell me that Chief C. H. Armstrong is looking for me:
Pam Noel finishes her story of Sadie, Kate, and the out-of-towners with a quick:
“You could do well from some time around Bethany.” Moment’s thought. “Oh, and Chief Armstrong’s looking for you, too. I don’t know why but he’s been askin’ about you since the day you up’n left—where’d you go, exactly?”
“Uh, out of town. On business. Finance business. Investments. And so on.”
“Oh, anything interesting.”
“Far from it.”
And as Chris enters the bar:
“Chief of Police is lookin’ for yah – could be because I used your name to get me outta’a jam at the hospital, when I was tryin’ ta steal medicine outta’a ambulance. Let me off with a warnin’ though some crazy-ass nurse pepper-sprayed me and some dipshit deputy cursed me somethin’ fierce—Hey, you’re a paranoid fuck, maybe you’ll appreciate this – I think this black Lincoln’s been following me.”
“Black Lincoln?” I ask, unfamiliar with the car.
“Not like a black Abe Lincoln – a black Lincoln town car. Kinda longer, bigger car. Could be just someone local but…I dunno, you got me spooked and I’ve been seein’ a black Lincoln driving around a lot lately, and whoever’s in it ain’t come to the school or the bar or nothin’. So I don’t know. Figured I’d tell you since you’d prolly sniff it out.”
Chris had a tendency to be over-paranoid—or, more accurately, paranoid about things that didn’t add up to much: he once told me that the same brand of mayo appeared everywhere, including the massage school, all of our houses, and that it was the only brand in the grocery stores, insinuating a mayo conspiracy.
The car worry, though, seemed legitimate enough.
“Duly noted, Chris – I’ll keep an eye out.”
And when David enters, holding the door open for Lizzy and Kate to walk in behind him, he calls over:
“Chief Anderson—”
“Armstrong,” I correct him, “And I know.”
David shuts off the neon red OPEN light on the front window; him and Chris begin moving tables around, combining four tables into one large one.
“He’s called four times,” David continues while I watch. “Are you going to prison?”
Everyone turns to check my reaction.
“No,” I scoff and they take it as a good sign; truthfully, I don’t know how much the police know, so…
“Pam, when’s—” David turns to the bar but, as if on cue, the large frame of Pam’s husband Ralph pushes in through the door, “Opp, nevermind. Who else are we missing? Just Sadie?…”
No one answers.
They organize chairs around the table and everyone except Pam and I takes a seat.
“What are you waiting for?” David asks me, narrowing his eyes.
“What’s happening?” I ask, growing nervous.
“Call Sadie,” David orders Chris before answering me, “And this? Oh, since everything’s changing, I gathered everyone. It’s a…a family meeting, if you will. Now take a seat.”
STENOGRAPHER
Around four tables combined to form one large square sit Pam Noel, her husband Ralph, Sadie, Lizzy, David, Kate, Chris, and myself:
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
DAVID: Alright, let’s start off with the fact that the martial arts school will be shutting down indefinitely. [refers to notes on his electronic scheduler] I’ve refunded the student’s tuition for this month—
SADIE: What, why?—
PAM: Really?—
DAVID [to eli]: Field this one.
MR. RIDLEY: Uh…I have to make a trip back home, to Philadelphia. It’s—I don’t know when I’m going to come back just yet.
LIZZY: Why?
MR. RIDLEY: Um, some unfinished business. I can’t go much into it but—I’m not leaving forever, I’m coming back. I just…I’m not sure exactly when.
SADIE: What’s gonna happen to the school?
DAVID: Good questions…
SECOND ORDER OF BUSINESS
DAVID [cont’d]: Chris and I were thinking about turning the middle section into something for photography in the meantime. [looks at reactions] As we’re all sort of in this together now – oh, actually, Pam—[pam looks at david clearly] Second order of business is that you’re being promoted to general manager of Pairadice. You’re in charge of bar scheduling, hours, payroll, et cetera. We’ll go over everything over the next few days but, uh, if you’re up to it…
PAM: Absolutely.
THIRD ORDER OF BUSINESS
DAVID: Good. So, everyone’s equal in this decision. Even you, Ralph – you get to be the outside perspective. Let’s do this democratically – we need a new school lesson, something we know and can teach. Chris and I were thinking photography since he has a background. But uh, let’s hear some ideas.
LIZZY: A daycare.
DAVID: That’s a good idea, sweetie. [takes notes on electronic scheduler] I’ll find out what we’d need. What else?
PAM: I like the photography idea.
RALPH: Avionics…
DAVID: Go on, Ralph.
[goes on an hour, ideas and back-and-forth, and ends with several options that need research]
FOURTH ORDER OF BUSINESS
DAVID: Okay, next on the agenda – travel. Lizzy and Chris will be going to Mississippi for the shor
t break before her school starts September 1st. And Kate—
MR. RIDLEY: Lizzy’s going with—
DAVID [rudely continues without acknowledging]: —and I will be going to New York next week, then London, both for book signings. It appears that Kate will be joining me there but, sadly [a fleeting glance toward kate; serious] she will not be returning to the States.
KATE: I’m sor’y. You lot are’a grea’ bunch, rea’y – but I have ta get home.
[sadie groans, already aware]
DAVID: So Wednesday, the day before we leave for New York, we’re throwing a huge party here. The bar will be closed to anyone else during the day. Everyone [speaks as though finishing a list], invite whomever you wish – we are going to have fun all day. [glances at me] Need to get it in while we can, right? Who knows, might be the last time we’re all together like this. [fake, obnoxious chuckle]
THE LATE ENTRANT
DAVID: Next…[at the sound of the door] ma’am, we’re—
[woman enters, surprised by a group of people; blushes profusely]
BETHANY [panicked]: —oh my God, I’m sorry, I didn’t—
PAM: No, this is my friend Bethany Walker-Stevens. I forgot I invited her.
[chris looks up with vague recognition]
BETHANY [cont’d]: —rry, to interrupt, Pam told me—
DAVID: Oh, good. Another outside opinion, more the merrier. Why don’t you have a seat next to…my brother. We’re just about done.
BETHANY: I’ll just—are you sure? I can wait outside.
DAVID: Absolutely not, sit next to my brother. [points]
FINAL ORDER OF BUSINESS
DAVID: And, last order of business, my brother has…[slightly melodramatic] he’s just been so GRATEFUL…so APPRECIATIVE of everyone—and if you didn’t know this about him, he is just so wealthy—my brother’s granted everyone a very generous BONUS this year for being just so…[to me] What were the words you used?
[everyone’s excitement slows while they look at me]
MR. RIDLEY: Uh…what? [pause] What I said, was…that I was very, um grateful, and just so…appreciative—basically just what David said and—
DAVID [rudely interrupts]: Well, on behalf of everyone—including you, Lizzy, and even you, Bethany, you can have a bonus too ‘cause he’s just that wealthy—on behalf of everyone [raises an invisible glass] thanks for the $10,000 bonuses you’ve given us.
[everyone is aware of david’s anger]
DAVID [cont’d]: —It’s just—it’s too generous, I told him, it’s just too much—but he told me, he said, “There’s no way to take it back, it’s too late, already done, everyone’ll be seeing it in their next week’s paycheck.” To my brother – the starter and ender.
[some pretend to raise invisible glasses]
SADIE: What’s going on between you two?
DAVID: What? Nothing.
MR. RIDLEY: I’m just uh, a bit out of it. Celebrate. You guys, you all deserve it. Honestly. He’s right. You’ve stuck with me this long [look to my brother] and you deserve to be rewarded for putting up with me all this time.
[david glares; the crowd gets a bit loud talking to one another about money]
PAM: —oh my God, Mr. Ridley, that’s so wonderful – thank you so much—
RALPH: —I need to come work for you—
[and to the side]
LIZZY: Uncle Sandwich didn’t really promise that, did he, dad?
DAVID [to lizzy]: Hush up, of course he did.
[and to the side]
SADIE: Bit hard to believe.
CHRIS: We earned it.
QUESTIONS
DAVID: Questions?
SADIE: Why is it I can raise one eyebrow [raises her right eyebrow] but not my left? [tries but looks awkward]
[ralph lets out a boisterous laugh that shakes the place]
CHRIS [motioning to sadie’s face]: That’s what I look like when I’m being electrocuted—wait, [turning] that’s where I know you [to bethany walker-stevens, who seems to recognize chris at the same moment] – you’re the nurse that pepper-sprayed me.
BETHANY [under her breath]: Oh God…
CHRIS [cont’d; excited]: Hey, remember me? Man, only a few days ago. ‘Member? I was in the back of that ambulance…come on, you totally gotta remember, it was only a few days ago…
BETHANY: Yes…I remember…
CHRIS: Hey. [loss for words] So…what’ve you been up to?
DAVID: Moving on. Any real questions?
PAM: I got some real questions about this pepper-spray situation—what happened?
DAVID: I [waits to see if the horrified look on bethany’s face changes] think it best to move on – though I too could stand to hear a bit more.
KATE: I got a question – Why are you actin’ so blo’y rude to your bruh’er?
DAVID: Sorry, we…we argued a bit about the bonuses – I’m still a bit sour. Right? [looks at me]
[i nod]
KATE: Bull-shite. What’s really going on?
DAVID: Nothing – [to everyone] Meeting is adjourned. Sadie’s gonna return to class. Chris, you’re training Avery. [to me] You’re training Pam. Ralph, feel free to stay – free drinks on us. From here on out—[looks up, determinedly] New rule, Ralph—and Bethany, free drinks. They don’t have to pay anymore. Lizzy and I are gonna go home for dinner and school work. And…[checks his notes a final time] Disperse.
THE TIME AND THE DAYS
As happens when you want the moment to slow, for time to linger and lazy about and slow as it drains the sand – time moves so damn fast; and not much important happens, nothing earth-shattering or life-changing, but these moments, the days I wait to leave, are the moments I remember most.
There’s day drinking, and I finally get laid on a sunny afternoon.
There’s a soulful confession.
Chief C. H. Armstrong finally tracks me down.
There’s a lot of conversing between my team and I, as I’ve sent them to Philadelphia early – I postpone leaving until Wednesday so I can be there for the farewell party.
Lizzy and I have our farewell.
And there’s a very bothersome phone conversation.
THE EX-GAMES
“What’s Timoom?” Bethany Walker asks me about my brother’s first book, Bombing Timoom.
She had finally received notice that the Stevens-hyphen had been removed.
“One of the characters in the book couldn’t read – it was actually based on a friend of his. I met him a few times. I’m not even sure if he just befriended him to write the character accurately. Marcus…Nesmen? Nesbeth?” I call over to David, “What was the name of that kid, you based Ronkulous on him?”
David’s sitting at a table near the bar, not seven feet from Bethany and I. He doesn’t look at me, continuing to face Kate, and he hollers, “Brandon Marcus.” Then he returns to his conversation.
Chris and Sadie are messing around on the dance floor, their laughs ranging from low giggles to loud cackles and hoots.
There’s a horrendous rainstorm outside, one that’s lasted two days – we’ve done our stretches in our living rooms since the day of the meeting. That all of the elements aligned to bring us together on a rainy afternoon was nothing short of a phenomenon: training Pam Noel had been a waste of time as she was sufficiently knowledgeable on everything except payroll; Chris was to be training Avery, the new bartender, but she had called out at the last second because of flooding in her apartment; David had no morning classes and came in with Kate when Chris beckoned; Sadie brought Chris lunch when he decided to hang around; and Bethany had the day off and had stopped by to give something to Pam Noel.
And no one left after arriving, probably to avoid shit weather and pelting rain.
“Timoom was what the boy saw when he tried to read the words ‘the moon’. It’s uh, it’s rather sad, actually. The district sucked so bad that a kid had made it to junior year of high school and still couldn’t read. Sort of the point of the book. But�
�drink – I mean, that’s the answer. Doesn’t have much to do with me, though.”
Bethany and I play a drinking game that my ex-girlfriend dragged me into the day I met her – you ask a question, any question, and once you get the answer you have to take a shot; it leads to more personal questions and a shortcut in understanding the person you’re dealing with.
Jokingly, I suggested the game to Bethany and, surprisingly, she agreed.
“You’re right, let me ask another one. Why’d you open a bar?”
“This…isn’t fair. You’re asking two questions.”
She sips the straw of her water, chin down with a sly, innocent glance.
“...but okay. Go ahead. What was your question?”
“Yay,” she says, ready, “why did you open a bar? This is the first time I’ve ever seen you drink.”
“What do you mean? See me here often, do you?”
She gives another innocuous glance.
“Maybe a few times.”
“Interesting. I opened the bar because I took the first girl I ever loved, Matilda,” and I look around, admiringly, “to a bar that looks very similar to this one on the day I met her. In fact, that was when she taught me this drinking game.”
“Aw, that’s romantic,” Bethany says with a hint of jealousy. “Where’s the lucky lady—”
“Dead. She died. Very long time ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I did what I had to to get over it.”
And then I call out, “Cheers to getting over it.”
It’s a cheers to everyone in the bar.
Sadie and Chris practically hang on each other, laughing as they awkwardly slow dance to a fast song; they turn and lift their draft beers. David doesn’t even turn to face me, just lifting his rum and coke in the opposite direction; I notice he doesn’t drink after lowering the glass back down. Kate winks at me and does the same. Bethany clinks the shot glass against mine, a bit of purplish-red liquid spilling onto the bar.
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