by L. C. Morgan
“By the way,” Alyssa said when she walked into the kitchen, “I forgive you for not calling me yesterday like you said you were going to.”
“I said no such thing.”
“Okay well, I forgive you for not calling me yesterday like I assumed you were going to. Amber said you two got in pretty late.”
Stuffing the Doritos in the cupboard, I nodded.
“She also mentioned a bar. The one Coll invited you to.”
“Yeah.”
“So are we going?”
Amber shouted from the other room. “Yes!” She came into the kitchen holding out her pink sweater. “We absolutely are.”
By the time we got back from finding Amber something to replace her prized sweater, the time to leave for the bar had rolled around and I was a nervous wreck. My stomach was in knots. Though that could have been low blood sugar from not eating for the rest of the day. I grabbed the Doritos out of the cupboard to munch on, but Amber took them away.
“We’ll get something more filling at the bar. You need more than crumbs coating your stomach.”
The cab Amber had called to pick us up turned out to be a minivan. Complete with a car seat and toys covering the floorboard and driven by one of my students’ fathers.
“Don’t mind the mess, Miss Hailey, Miss Alyssa.” Timmy’s dad nodded to us both in greeting. “Cab’s still in the shop and will be for at least another week.”
The ride to the bar consisted of low-playing children’s sing-alongs and profuse apologies about the mess. We were on to divorce proceedings and money problems by the time we pulled up along the pier. When we got out, I tipped him well—it was the least I could do—then reminded him about the parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday before trying to slide the side door shut.
“Just give it a little nudge and it’ll latch on its own.”
The three of us stood outside the van, watching as the door slowly slid shut before Alyssa and Amber took off. I waved then ran after them, all of us heading for the rundown shack at the end of the pier. If it weren’t for the colorful Christmas lights and chili pepper strands, we probably wouldn’t even have known it was there.
The music from the jukebox made the wood boards shake under our feet. I could feel it in my chest once we stepped inside.
“I thought you couldn’t smoke in public places. Isn’t it against the law or something?” Amber yelled over the noise of the crowd, fanning smoke out of her face.
Alyssa leaned closer to shout in her ear. “It’s privately owned. So, anything goes.”
Amber and I followed Alyssa up to the bar to order our drinks and some cheese sticks for yours truly. I kept my eyes straight ahead but my mind on something else entirely. I wondered if he was here. Who he was with. If he would be going home with them tonight. Why he even asked us to come if he would be going home with someone else. I really needed to rein in the crazy.
Once our order was up, Alyssa found an open table close to a small stage in the corner and we all took a seat.
“Looks like they play live music here.” Amber looked over her shoulder at the stage. “You think they will tonight?” she asked then took a sip of her drink.
Alyssa shrugged. “I hope so.”
“Me too.”
As Alyssa and Amber both swayed to the music and daintily sipped at their drinks, I dug into the cheese sticks, nearly choking to death when Alyssa slammed her glass down on the table. “What the hell? What is she doing here? Did you invite her?”
Amber stretched her neck to see over Alyssa’s head. “Ooh, do we not like somebody? Who? Who is it? Point her out to me.”
Alyssa pointed at Sonia who was standing just inside the door. I waved her over to our table while Alyssa wasn’t looking. She waved back then pointed to the bar. I waved in understanding just before Alyssa turned to face the table again.
“Is she coming over here? She better not be coming over here. Were those hand signals for us?”
To keep from having to own up to initiating the hand signals, I shoved another cheese stick in my mouth and gave Amber a look before Sonia started heading our way.
Alyssa pouted while I introduced the other two. I kicked her foot in warning to be nice when she tried to tell Sonia there was only enough room for three. When Sonia’s fiancé Jason brought a chair over for her to sit on, we all finally got to meet him.
“You can sit with us too, you know. There’s plenty of room.” I eyed Alyssa and dared her to argue.
“Oh, that’s okay. I gotta go set up the stage. Me and some of the guys are playing a few sets tonight.”
Amber grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, good. We were just saying how we hoped there was going to be some live music. What do you guys play?”
“A little of this, a little of that,” he said distractedly, waving at someone somewhere across the room. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck when I felt that someone walk up behind me.
“Hey, man. Good to see you on solid ground.” Jason held out a hand and I felt an immense heat on my back when Coll reached over me to shake it. “Ladies, I leave you in good hands.” Jason took off for the stage and Coll pulled up a chair beside me. I smiled up at him as he sat down.
“Hey, this okay? Me sitting here with you?” he asked, his breath hitting my cheek, he was so close.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Yeah. It’s fine.”
Noticing my discomfort, Amber engaged Coll in some casual conversation about fish and what all being a fisherman entailed. He humored every silly question she threw at him. When did you start fishing? Eighteen. Do you ever fish for fun? Sometimes. Which fish do you catch the most? Sockeye salmon. What’s the name of your boat? Uncharted Chum.
“Really? The name of your boat is Uncharted Chum? Really?” Alyssa asked.
Leaning back, he draped his arm across the back of my chair. I felt the vibration from his voice rush over my back and down my spine. “Really, really.”
While other conversations floated around and among us, Coll leaned closer to speak into my ear. “You need another drink?”
Feeling the combined heat from his breath and his fingers touching the ends of my hair, I needed another badly.
Boy, did I.
“Yeah. That’d be great. Thanks.”
Coll went to stand and the mic clicked on. Jason’s voice filled the small room. “Our bassist is an ass and broke his arm, so we can’t play.” Everyone in the crowd moaned. “Unless Coll wants to come up here and take his place.” The crowd encouraged him with shoulder-pats and nudges while the band cawed his name. “Coll, Coll! Coll, Coll!”
I felt the slightest tug on my hair and looked up.
“Raincheck on that drink, yeah?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Yeah.”
Cheering erupted with the heat from my neck as he headed for the stage. I bartered with my heart, promising to stop eating the cheese sticks and treat it better if it would just settle down already. But he pulled that bass strap over his head and started playing and it sped and sped. It beat faster and faster as his fingers plucked and his forearms flexed. Right up until the moment he stopped and I thought it might have exploded already.
I got myself that other drink before they started the next song. And the next. And the next. When I got up for a fourth, Amber grabbed my arm.
“Hailey, babe. Why don’t you give that last one some time to soak in?”
With a nod that nearly sent me falling off the chair, I agreed. The fates had other plans when a refreshed glass was set down in front of me. I looked up to find familiar blue eyes hovering above.
“Oh, hey. It’s you.”
“Yep. I’m me.” Sitting down in Coll’s chair, he nudged the drink in my direction. “And that’s for you.”
“She’s actually had enough, thank you,” Amber informed him and slid the glass back across the table.
“One too many to decide for herself, eh?”
“Yes. And you are?”
“Russell Rinaldi,” he said in h
is Canadian accent, sounding all the part one imagined a man of the sea would. “The harbor master, ma’am. At your service.” He tapped his forehead for a two-finger salute.
“Hailey, is there something you forgot to tell me?” Amber asked.
I guessed there was.
“Uh, I met Russell on one of my walks around the docks a few weeks ago.”
“And …”
Smiling at her, I shrugged. “And he asked me out.”
“Oh, he did, did he?”
“I did. But sadly, the lady said no. Both times I asked, I’m embarrassed to say.”
“Both times, huh?”
I sat in silence while they talked about me like I wasn’t there. I was so wrapped up in what was being said, I didn’t notice the band had stopped and the jukebox had kicked on. I strained my neck when Russell stood and held out his hand.
“Collin.”
The men shook.
“Russ.”
“Long time, no see. How you been?”
“Fine. You?”
“Good. I’m good. Dad’s surgery went fine. He had to stay in the hospital a couple days. But he’s home now. You should try to swing by.”
The exchange between the two was far beyond awkward. I wondered why Russell would go all the way to invite Coll over to see his dad. Were they old friends or something? Old friends who maybe had grown apart?
Coll shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded at the ground. “I’ll think about it.” Bending down, he spoke into my ear. “Hey, you wanna get out of here? Go for a walk?”
I nodded and stood, letting Amber know I’d be just outside. I waved to Russell before letting Coll lead me out, his hand at the small of my back.
The late fall wind bit but I didn’t mind. It helped me clear my head once Coll’s hands found their way back into his pockets.
“I’d offer you my coat but I didn’t wear one.”
I smiled up at him.
“You too cold? You wanna go back inside?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m good.” I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering.
We walked the length of the pier in silence. Music escaped into the night, echoing across the bay when people came and went, opening and closing the door to the bar. I felt his hand at my back again and turned where he led me. By the time we reached the docks I was numb to the cold and my inhibitions.
“So how was the burger? Frozen?”
“Nearly. But I still ate it. Woke up starving.” He lightly tugged the back of my sweater, and I stopped. “I guess nearly twenty-four hours of straight sleep will do that to you.” He rested his elbows on the railing and I leaned back against it. “I didn’t even hear you knock.” Rubbing his hands together, he looked over at me. “I’m assuming you knocked.”
“I knocked.” Numerous times, actually. I thanked God he didn’t know for sure if I’d made more than one trip to his house or not.
Nodding, he looked back out over the bay, and I took the opportunity to really look at him. While he wasn’t necessarily weathered by the sun, I could tell he worked in it. His hands were darker than his forearms. His forearms darker than his upper arms, I assumed from how he sometimes pushed up the sleeves of his sweatshirts. The crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes accelerated his age, only giving him some very admirable distinction. There was a scar I hadn’t noticed along his left cheek. It was so light and so small it could have been a deep nick from a shaving mishap. But for some reason I doubted it.
“How did you get that scar?” Reaching out, I thumbed the raised skin.
“Ah. You noticed that, huh?” He straightened with my touch and turned to lean back against the railing as well. “It’s a painful story. Probably as painful as the experience.”
My brows rose in interest and I turned to face him. “Tell me.”
“You sure you want to know?”
“Uh huh. Yeah. Tell me.” I had always had a somewhat worrisome interest in morbidity. The gorier, the better. The way he talked about the day and the events leading up to the injury was vividly descriptive, which only excited me more. He talked a lot with his hands, trying to explain things I maybe hadn’t seen and definitely had never heard of. When he got really animated, I knew the good stuff was coming.
“So, Sal goes to cast the line, and the hook catches me right there in the cheek.” Smiling, he rubbed the spot with his shoulder. “Went straight through. I could taste the metal.” I cringed at that. “I can still feel it sometimes when I think about it.”
“So, wait. Is that how you actually catch the fish? I thought you used the net thingy.”
He smiled at my description. “The trawl. Yeah, that’s how we catch the fish. But you can bring your own equipment and fish on your break if you want to.”
“I would think you’d want to take a break on your break. But maybe that’s just me.”
He shrugged. “Most probably would, but they also have families to feed. What you catch you can keep. It puts free food on the table.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way.
“Do you fish on your break?”
“Used to.”
“Why’d you quit?”
“There was really no point. All my brothers fish for a living. The youngest is still at home. I’m sure as hell not gonna eat fish every day. There’s nobody else to fish for.”
“So what is it you do on your breaks? Sketch seagulls and sunsets?”
“Sometimes.”
“Really?”
“No. Not really.”
I hit him with the back of my hand.
“So how many brothers do you have exactly?”
“Four.”
“Four?” I asked, surprised.
He nodded.
“Jeez. All my parents could handle was me. Are they older than you? All but the one?”
“All older. All but the one.”
“Well, how old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“How old are they?”
He thought for a minute. “Thirty-six, thirty-four, thirty-one, and eighteen.”
“Eighteen? Wow, that’s a big jump.”
“Yeah well, he’s actually my half-brother. Mom remarried and had him kinda late.”
Sighing, I turned to look out over the bay. “Four brothers. Wow.”
“Well, technically five.”
I turned to face him again. “What do you mean technically?” I asked.
He jerked his head toward the bar. “Me and Russ are stepbrothers.”
My mouth dropped open. I wanted to say something. Anything. Like, thank God I’d turned him down then, for example. But we were interrupted.
“Hailey! Where you been?” Alyssa walked up with her arm hooked around Sonia’s neck. “Get in here. We missed you terribly.” They embraced me with a three-way hug. Sonia’s face got shoved into my armpit. I gave Coll a look and he just smiled, making no attempt to save me.
“Sorry, Hailey. I tried to stop them. But those two bitches are fast.” Lifting each leg, Amber pulled off her heels. “And sneaky.”
Alyssa and Sonia giggled as they swayed on their feet. “Are we moving? Feels like we’re moving,” Sonia mumbled into my sweater, and Alyssa leaned over my shoulder to retch onto the railing.
When Amber attempted to pull Alyssa off of me, she got puke on her sleeve. “Okay, that’s it. I’m done, Hailey. We’re all going home right now.”
“No! You can’t make me!” Alyssa pushed Amber out of the way and ran, and Amber took off after her.
“Bitch, get back here! I mean it!”
By the time we got the girls settled and back to the pier, Jason was waiting for Sonia and Timmy’s dad had already pulled up. I felt like I had been blindsided then slapped in the face. I didn’t know what to do or say.
“Well.” I shrugged. “You need a ride? It’s no trouble. Your place is on the way.”
Rubbing his chin, Coll smiled at the ground. “Nah, I drove.” I gave him a questioning look when he loo
ked up at me. “I haven’t been drinkin’. Promise. Just stickin’ around in case the guys want me to play another set.” Glancing back toward the bar, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “You could stay too if you want. I could give you a ride later. It’d be no trouble, ya know. Since it’s on the way.”
More than anything, I wanted to stay and watch him play. I really did. I wanted to abandon my girls for a boy. But what I wanted had nothing to do with how I acted or who I wanted to be. Which was, first and foremost, a good friend.
“I don’t know. I should really get these two home and put to bed.” Before they killed themselves, or better yet, one another. “Alyssa’s going to wake up feeling terrible later, and I really don’t want to miss that.”
As I started walking backward toward Timmy’s dad’s van, Jason stuck his head out of the bar and yelled for Coll to hurry the hell up.
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Yeah. Tomorrow. And you’ll have more of those cookies.”
“Yeah. Tomorrow. Cookies. Sure.”
“Okay then. Tomorrow it is.”
I returned his open-hand wave then climbed in the van between crazies one and two. I mediated and kept the peace the whole drive with a smile. By the time we got home, they were each snoring in my lap and I ended up profusely apologizing to Timmy’s dad for having to lug both into the house, one after the other over his shoulder.
Perfect symmetry.
Funny how things worked themselves out that way.
It was well past midnight when Coll’s truck chugged down the drive. I lay lazily on the couch and watched the headlights splash across the ceiling then trickle down the opposite wall to ripple across me.
My heart jumped when a second door slammed. But I didn’t get up to look and see who was with him like I wanted to. Turning on my side, I closed my eyes instead.
Chapter Seven
It was the slamming of his truck door that woke me the next morning. While I had the restraint to resist the night before, my curiosity got the best of me this time and I got up to look out the window. By the time I made it off the couch, he was already pulling out of the driveway and all I got was a side-shot of his tailgate.