Chapter 17
~~ Lorelai ~~
It‘s Sunday evening, and I managed to buy a used MT-07 from a guy whose wife was demanding he sell before their baby was born. Their bit of bickering is made cute by the obvious loving looks and soft touches between them. Teddy and Sheila, I remind myself over and over so I don’t lose their names. High school sweethearts who are well into their fifth year of marriage and just having their first baby. He’s a mechanic for a dealership a few towns over, so the bike has been well-kept.
They’re only a few years younger than I am, but it seems like they really have things on track. They bought their first house together last year and just finished arranging the nursery. I love the sweet way he handed her up into the passenger seat of their SUV, reaching in and tucking the seat belt beneath her pregnant belly. That is going to be one well-loved baby.
So far, I’ve ridden through the whole town three times, testing the map I’d created in my head on the bus ride. I keep my speed to a leisure pace since I can’t get a helmet until shops are open tomorrow.
It is considerably warmer than it had been last week, but I still had to stop and buy gloves at a gas station before my fingers froze off. I love the chill of the air slicing through my coat, burning away the lingering darkness from the dreams I’d had throughout the night of shadowy figures cutting James down as he tried to get to me.
I end up at Kelley’s, an Irish pub by the docks, which the couple had recommended for a hot stew and soda bread on cold nights. I choose a parking spot a few rows back under a lamp post and stand for a moment feeling the moisture in the wind coming off the water sprinkling my face like pixie dust.
Normally, I would choose the darkest booth I could get, but I have already decided not to hide. No matter how exposed it made me feel. I think of it as a necessary step toward making a home. Can’t start out by dodging my future neighbors. I wonder for a moment if James has eaten in this same restaurant, if he might show up while I’m here. How would I explain that I’m not stalking him, that I just want a chance to discover the same community he’d had around him.
The restaurant is dim, but in a cheery, lantern-lit sort of way. A few steps inside, I”m greeted by a devilishly handsome man behind the bar who yells over the chatter to seat myself wherever I like. He’s cleaning up a space at the far end of the bar just vacated by a man wearing a newsboy cap whose smile blends into his wrinkles.
Even though there are other seats open, I hang my coat on the back of the stool he left and slip in, rationalizing that choosing the end seat was more like a compromise than continuing my habit of doing my best to disappear.
The bartender slides over drink and food menus and introduces himself with that friendly but strictly professional way men have of putting it out there right away that they aren’t interested in flirting. I like that kind of bartender.
He cards me when I order an Irish Ale, and I sigh and fish out my id. He makes up for it by offering my choice of meats to top my Colcannon. I haven’t sampled any traditional Irish dishes, so I’m excited to try this one. I choose bacon because who wouldn’t?
I sip my drink and my ears automatically tune to pick up the conversations around me. There have been many times I’ve been able to duck out ahead of a situation just by listening to what’s going on around me.
There’s a group of three couples in a corner booth talking about a vacation they’re planning together, a woman admonishing her silver-haired husband about his eating habits, some shy teenagers on what seems to be their first date, and a couple of ladies talking about an event at their children’s school.
One woman a few seats down from me is getting hit on by a man who walked in just after I did. She doesn’t seem to be enjoying his attention, and about the time I’m about to get worried, the bartender tells him to grab a table or leave. The man doesn’t even argue. He just gives a salute, puts some cash on the counter, chugs his pint, and walks out. I feel some tension exit my body at the deference shown.
“Sorry ‘bout that Deena. You know how he gets.” The bartender looks a little embarrassed.
“I know, Riain. His brain never left high school” She sighs. “Thanks for running him off.”
“Of course. Morgan would have my hide if I let him hang around messing with the ladies.”
“She probably would have taken him outside by his ear like my grandmother when we were little.”
“No doubt.” Riain-the-bartender laughs at that, and I can’t help but chuckle at the thought. They both look over at me with smiles.
“Sorry,” I murmur, feeling like I intruded on their conversation. “It was a great mental image, though.”
Deena laughs again. “My grandmother was pretty fierce.” She looks my way, including me.
“I remember Mrs. Pierson,” Riain said. “My friend, Royce, used to mow her grass in the summer when we were kids. He was always extra careful trimming her shrubs, or she’d dock his pay!”
“She would, I’m sure.” Deena grins.
“Gladys was a mean cailleach!”
“Ma!” Riain exclaims, turning to the short woman coming up behind him with a tray.
“Well, she was,” she insists. “Who has the Colcannon?”
I raise my hand at the same time she looks over at me.
“Well, who is this Sidhe now?” She asks.
“I didn’t interrogate her, Ma.” Riain takes the dishes from the tray and sets them in front of me. “And neither will you.”
She scowls at him, but she’s obviously having a fun time. She plays as if to smack him with the tray, but he dodges and grabs her around the waist, kissing the top of her head. She smiles up at him and toddles back around to the kitchen. I could almost feel the love between them.
“She was teasing. She didn’t mean anything by it.” Riain says to me. My face must’ve shown my confusion. “When she called you a sidhe. A fey,” he explains. “A magical creature. Ma doesn’t have much of a filter. Is this your first time in?”
I nod, still taking in the comradery and warmth. Playful hasn’t been a significant part of my life. I’ve watched it between other people, of course, but I”ve never really been in the center of it until I spent time with James. I liked the way it felt. It’s the main reason I decided to come here.
“What’s your name, Little Fey,” he asks, handing Deena her check. “If you don’t mind saying.”
“Lai,” I tell him. “For Lorelai. I just got into town.”
“Well then, Ma had it right, didn’t she?”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Lorelai was a siren in German folklore.”
I laugh aloud at that. “My mother probably knew zero folklore, much less German.”
“It’s a pretty name,” says Deena, handing her credit card to Riain. “I’ve loved it ever since Gilmore Girls.”
Riain smiles while he runs Deena’s payment. “Well, don’t be surprised if Ma calls you a Sidhe again when she learns your name. You’ll be her new favorite and she’ll be asking you for spells.”
“Really great to meet you, Lai,” Deena slides off the bar stool, tugging her purse strap over her shoulder and pulling on her coat. “Welcome to Bearberry. If you get to be Mrs. Kelley’s favorite, you’re a lucky lady indeed.”
“Thank you,” I say, meaning it.
I went back to listening in on everyone’s conversations while I ate. The potatoes were fluffy and the bacon and cabbage added a personality to what might’ve been plain if they weren’t so buttery. The flavor combination was heavenly.
The couples have ordered shots and are almost shouting their “Cheers” and “Slainte”. The older couple have paid, and the gentleman is helping the woman with her coat. The teens are warming to each other, discussing what colleges they had applied to. My ears really perk up when one of the moms mentions a teacher leaving due to his wife’s new job in ”the city”.
I am so intent on eavesdropping, I miss the apron-clad young man approaching my shoulder. He startles me when he asks if he can clear my dishes. I look down to find I’ve finished every bite. He takes my dish with a flourish and gives a dramatic bow. He smiles and winks at me. I can hear the quotations dripping with innuendo when he offers to recommend a “dessert”.
“Ahem.” Riain clears his throat from where he’s standing at the edge of the kitchen. “Kailu, Da needs you in the back.”
Kailu gives me a shameless grin, another bow sending pieces of hair that have loosed from their band skimming across his forehead as if they’d been posed, and spins around to take my dish back to the kitchen.
“He’s new,” Riain explains with a smirk. “And very, very seventeen. Every day is an audition.” He shakes his head in dismay, but his smile holds the amused tolerance I’ve seen people grant toddlers and naughty puppies at the park.
“But Ma does have a slice of apple cake with your name on it if you’re up for it.”
I have to decline. “I’m so full. The Colcannon was delicious!” Normally, that would be as far as I was comfortable taking the interaction. I’m working on inviting more communication, so I add on, “I saw a photo of that cake on the menu, and it looked amazing! I’m feeling a little sad I didn’t save room for it.”
”It is delicious!” Riain claims. You”re going to regret not getting it!””
The moms across the room are putting on their coats now and heading for the door, and I hadn’t caught the name of the school. I don’t think I can catch them since I haven’t even paid yet.
While Riain takes my credit card, his Ma ambles around the corner with a to go bag and places it in front of me. “Here’s a piece of apple cake for you,” she whispers. “Don’t tell my lad over there.”
I give her an answering grin. “I was just saying I wished I had room for some. Thank you so much.”
I hesitate, but then decide to go for it. “Mrs. Kelley, I don’t want to seem like a stalker, but I overhead the ladies by the door talking about an opening at their kid’s school coming up. Do you happen to know which school?”
Mrs. Kelley looks up just as the women disappear out the door. “I’m not sure which school, but I know their babes are still little. It would have to be a pre-school. That should narrow your search. Are you looking for work?”
“I am,” I tell her. “I haven’t really settled in yet, but it seems like a good opportunity.”
“You like babies?” she asks me.
“I do. My field of education is child psychology, but I’d rather provide support before they need a therapist!”
Her face softens and she reaches out to clasp my hands. “I knew you were a good Sidhe when I felt your rhythm,” she whispers even lower. “I can always spot them.”
She is the sweetest! I laugh and shake my head. “I don’t have a magical bone in my body, but I am trying to put some good back into the world in return for the help I’ve received.”
Riain returns with my card and receipt, and scolds his mom for harassing the patrons. She tells him to mind the bar and leave her be, but she gives his arm a gentle squeeze as she turns back.
“Did you tell her I really wanted a piece of the cake?” I ask him even though I can’t imagine when he would’ve.
“No, Little Fey. She says she just knows when someone needs something extra. Since I”ve been back, she’s been right every time.” He shrugs. “What can I say?”
I hold my card back to him. “You can make it a separate charge.”
“Oh, no.” He backs away with his hands up. “I’m not messing with Ma’s gifts. I don’t want to be on her bad side!” He chuckles, but he also seems very serious about not crossing his mom.
“Okay then. As long as you’re sure.”
“Just accept her gift and come back in when you can.” He tells me. “Welcome to town and good luck with finding that position.”
I step out into what the news said was the last cold spell of the year smiling. I love this town already!