Page 4 of Reaching Hearts
I watched the call go to voicemail, aching for him. He doesn’t know I was held up at gunpoint. He doesn’t know Le Barré is closed for business until who knows when. He doesn’t know I’m scared and hurting. And I can’t tell him. Because I brought this on myself. What could I say, I was here with the man I left you for… only you don’t know I was in love with someone else the whole time I loved you, too?
“Was that your boyfriend?” Taryn asks, the broom in her hand now.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I mumble, staring at the dark screen.
“Oh...right.” Taryn says.
Laura’s not one to hold things in. She motions to Taryn to join her and they both come to sit to the left and right of me. Manny wipes his forehead with a napkin. I glance around to all of them, then look around the bar. It’s clean.
“Wow – look at this place, you guys. Thank you! Oh my God! It looks amazing.”
There’s no more glass, no more blood, and the window has been shut off from the public. They taped large sliced-open, black garbage bags together, forming a boundary. People could break through, but they’d be less inclined to.
Manny points to it. “We kept the police tape on the outside. I figured that would help keep out looters or squatters.”
“It looks incredible you guys. Thank you so much.”
Taryn shrugs and puts on Swedish House Mafia’s Don’t You Worry Child. “I guess we’ll be using the real door now.”
“That’s the one downside,” Laura says, smiling ruefully.
Manny pours us another round, the mood much lighter now, one hurdle overcome. The first step on the path to recovery.
Taryn hesitates, wanting to say something. “So…you rattled off a few gory details on the phone.”
“I’m sure I made a lot of sense, huh?”
Laura snorts. “Hardly. So fill us in, please. Who’s this guy Brendan? Did you just meet him?”
“Are you a slut, is what she’s getting at.” They’re teasing me and Taryn’s face is hilarious.
“I’m a complete whore. But let me be clear, that if I had just met him, I get to fuck whomever I want to. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s my body.”
“Hallelujah!” Manny says under his breath, cracking the three of us girls up.
Taryn leans in like she’s got a secret. “Oh good, because I hooked up with some guy at a party last weekend.”
“You did?” Laura slouches, comically overdoing it. “I’m jealous. I’ve been married forever.”
“Happily married forever,” I correct her.
“Don’t rub it in,” she mutters. “So Taryn. How did you manage to do that at a party?”
Taryn pretends to wipe beer off her mouth, making us wait for the answer. “Bathroom. I dragged him in there.” We all start laughing. She bows. “Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.”
“What happened? Are you dating him now?”
“Hell no!” She shakes her head like the idea is distasteful. “He wasn’t too bright. I need a guy who’s a bit quicker on the uptake. Intelligence is probably more appealing to me than looks even, so the guy I end up with is going to be smart! But I couldn’t help myself. This guy’s body was soooooo hot.” She melts. “A total man. Broad shoulders, little hips. Tight ass. Cowboy boots.”
Laura and I make a noise that sends Manny to the far side of the bar.
Taryn laughs. “Manny! We’re sorry. Come back.”
Laura cuts her glance sideways to me. “So… what about this guy you were here with?”
“His name is Brendan Clark and I’ve been in love with him since college. There. I said it.” I haven’t talked about Brendan with anyone. Not one single person since Corinne. I exhale, swiping one hand across my cheek. “Can I have a napkin, Manny?”
“Sure.” He rushes to the stack and hands one to me.