Chapter Twenty #2
Her eyes made a quick scan of the place, noticing the only patrons were playing pool in the back.
She ignored them, turning toward the edge of the bar.
She touched the back of the first barstool she encountered before her brain cruelly reminded her that this was where Mo sat the first night they met.
Her chest ached at the memory, but she slid into the seat anyway.
“Wow, you look like shit,” Virginia’s familiar voice tutted. Aspen placed her hands on the bar before meeting her boss’s gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just tired. The trip was a success.” Aspen tried to play it off, giving Virginia a thumbs-up. “Can I have a whiskey neat?”
“Oh Lord, honey, not the whiskey,” Virginia scolded but reached for the glass and a bottle anyway. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Aspen whined, even as she tried to make her voice sound unaffected. Virginia poured a double, causing her to wince at how well the woman knew her. “Thanks.”
When Aspen reached for the glass, Virginia’s hand moved to cover the top, stopping her from taking it. “If you promise to talk, you can have the drink.”
“Not fair.” Aspen groaned in frustration.
“And you think you dragging your sorry ass in here all mopey and depressed a good week before your trip was supposed to be up is fair?”
“We finished. The phone was hung, the dead wife was talked to, the butch has gone back to the Bay.” Aspen tugged on the glass. “Finito.”
“You’ve spent too much time with me.” Virginia sighed, releasing the glass. “God, what have I done?”
Aspen, shocked Virginia had given in so easily, removed her hand from the whiskey and just stared. Virginia turned away, moving down the bar to yell into the kitchen, “Two classics, pronto! Bring ’em out yourself, we are at the end of the bar.”
Aspen wrinkled her brow as Virginia made her way back, grabbing another glass and filling it with tequila. “Uh…”
“What? You think you gonna drink alone?”
Aspen shrugged, watching as Virginia made her way from behind the bar to slide in next to her. She then clinked their glasses together before downing the gold liquid in one go.
“Oof,” Virginia scoffed, glancing knowingly at the glass. “Still burns.”
Aspen looked to her own glass, her fingers barely playing with the edge. “Sorry.”
“Now what’re you apologizing for?”
“Everything,” Aspen breathed out.
“What happened?” Virginia asked calmly, slowly lifting herself up to grab both bottles before pouring herself another tequila.
“I don’t know.” Aspen took a sip, letting the whiskey numb her tongue before swallowing.
“Well, the last bit you called me about…” Virginia clicked her tongue against her teeth, downing another shot like it was water. “You asked me for help. Saying you couldn’t just sleep with her?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
Aspen downed her glass in response, her face contorting as the liquid passed down her throat and into her stomach.
“Okay, so you slept with her. Was it terrible? Did she do something—”
“No.” Aspen turned suddenly, putting up her hand to stop Virginia from finishing her sentence. “Everyone keeps saying stuff like Mo ruined it. And, like, no! Besides being rightfully grumpy for some of it, she didn’t do anything wrong. She is the opposite of wrong.”
“Alrighty then,” Virginia mused, pouring more whiskey into Aspen’s glass. “What did you do wrong?”
Aspen blew a raspberry at that question, mulling over whether to lie. But she knew Virginia wouldn’t let that fly, so instead she pulled a deep breath into her lungs before answering. “I started to feel something for her and I—I can’t do that.”
“Why the hell not?” Virginia asked just as the kitchen door swung open, Salvador trotting their way with two heaping plates of burgers and fries. “Over here, you lug!”
Aspen dropped her head, bringing her glass up to sip as Salvador placed the plates and a container of ketchup in front of them.
“It’s a new thing of ketchup, Aspen,” Salvador explained. “I know how you are.”
“Thanks, now go check on Charlie and his crew,” Virginia snapped, reaching for the ketchup.
Aspen watched as she squirted a large clump onto her plate before drizzling some over her own fries, snapping closed the lid with as much emphasis. Virginia grabbed a drenched fry and popped it into her mouth, chewing in her usual dour way.
“Eat.”
Aspen nodded, grabbing the burger to take a small bite of the edge, her stomach growling at how good it tasted. She followed it up with a larger bite, listening to Virginia’s own grunts of approval.
“Nothing like a classic.” Virginia beamed. “Now, why can’t you love her again?”
“I’m not in love,” Aspen protested weakly, her face still in her cheeseburger.
“Bullshit.”
“It was just a little fling,” Aspen explained, putting her food down before turning toward Virginia.
“We both know I shouldn’t have been there.
I inserted myself into some random woman’s problems and I really should have minded my own business.
Am I feeling down? Sure. But it’s only because I embarrassed myself for a fling. ”
“Are you dumb? Because that didn’t seem like no fling I’ve ever seen you have.”
“Exactly. I took it too far. I did too much.” Aspen grabbed a fry, dragging it heavily through the ketchup. “Mo lives in the Bay, I live in Orick. She’s stoic, I’m happy-go-lucky. She has a dead wife, I have a dead life. It would never work.”
“Aspen, honey, there are cell phones,” Virginia said, sounding exasperated. “Besides, you aren’t some princess bound to Orick by a witch. You can leave, you know.”
“No, no. I’m meant to be here. I’m the happiest here.”
Virginia tilted her head in doubt.
“I am happy here.”
“Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?”
Aspen pushed her plate away, turning fully toward Virginia. “I’m ready.”
“Huh?”
“The bar. I want to take over so you and Sal can retire. Finally enjoy your lives.” Aspen looked between Virginia’s eyes, pleading. “You’ve done so much for me, for my entire life, it’s the least that I can do for you both. You deserve happiness.”
“Honey, I—” Virginia blinked, her mouth slightly slack with confusion.
“Just say yes.”
“But Mo—”
“She doesn’t matter. I know what my life is about, and it’s this bar. This place. The redwoods are my home, not the Bay.” Aspen’s chest burned.
Virginia studied her face. Aspen did her best to look convincing, even as her heart begged for a voice. Even as her brain told her to stop.
“You’ve never wanted the bar,” Virginia finally quipped, her eyes still glaring hard into her own. “I’ve got to think about it.”
“My birthday is next Wednesday.” Aspen held her palms out in an attempt to convince Virginia, doing her best to keep her emotions under control.
“You need to think about it,” Virginia said.
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, your eyes say something totally different.”
Aspen blinked at that, turning back to her food. She picked at her fries, shrugging. “I’m not cut out for love, Virginia.”
“Keep lying to yourself, Aspen.” Virginia laid a hand over Aspen’s wrist, softly moving her thumb over the back of her hand. “Once you’re done doing all that fibbin’, call her. Make it right.”
Aspen laughed her words off, even as they tugged tears into her eyes. “I think I’m done talking now.”
“Alrighty then.” Virginia squeezed her wrist before letting go. “I’ll let you know about the bar.”
“Thanks.”
With that, Aspen listened to Virginia work her way off her stool. Not soon after, the sound of the kitchen doors swinging open and shut reached her ears. The sound echoed in her chest, reminding her she was alone again. Alone was definitely Aspen’s lot in life.