Jake glanced slyly at a pissed–off Miriam before answering. “Well, we’ve been out a few times – she’s a great girl. A little older than me, but with age comes experience, am I right, Tucker?” Miriam was bright red and looked like steam might come out of her ears. “Owns her own business, and she’s got that sexy redhead, Jessica Rabbit thing going on...” He grinned at Miriam’s angry expression. If she was going to throw Tucker in his face to make him jealous, he could certainly play ball – pun intended. “I’m actually headed over to Sweetwater to meet her now, so—”
“Hey, we were thinking of eating there, too!” Tucker beamed. “I wanted to try out that Mack’s place, but Miriam wanted something different – maybe we’ll see you there.”
“I’ve got a better idea – why don’t we just double?” Jake suggested, and Miriam appeared ready to explode. “I’d love for you guys to meet Holly – she’s a really special girl. Quite a catch, I’d say.”
“That sounds great!” Tucker agreed, hauling himself up from the couch and pulling a livid Miriam with him. She quickly schooled her features into a less menacing expression as Tucker smiled down at her, patting her shoulder. “I’ll drive,” he offered, leading them out of the house. Behind Tucker’s back, Miriam glowered menacingly at Jake, who smirked as he followed them to Tucker’s Jeep.
***
Holly was waiting outside the tavern when they pulled up, and she was surprised to see Jake with his two companions in tow. “We’re doubling,” he told her abruptly, introducing her to Miriam and Tucker.
“Oh, okay,” Holly shrugged, before getting a closer look at Tucker. “Hey, you look familiar – didn’t you used to play for the Cowboys?”
“Yup, I was a linebacker for a couple of years,” Tucker confirmed. “Currently teaching pre-calculus and coaching varsity football.”
“Wow!” Holly was impressed. They all sat down at a table in the middle of the busy restaurant. Holly tried to make conversation with Miriam, who gave short, stilted responses as she continued to send Jake a death glare whenever she thought the others weren’t looking. The angrier she got – watching Jake flirt shamelessly with Holly, put his arm around her, even kiss her – the more beautiful he thought Miriam looked. There was a part of him that felt guilty for making her jealous at Holly’s expense, but he pushed the feeling away, relishing Miriam’s reaction.
“Man, the service here sucks tonight,” Tucker complained. “I’m going to the bar to get a beer. Anyone else want anything?”
“I’ll take a rum and coke,” Miriam replied with a fake sweetness that did not reach her eyes.
“I’ll go with you, Tucker!” Holly jumped up. “I’m a huge Cowboys fan – I’d love to hear some of your old war stories.” She glanced at Jake. “Shiner okay for you, babe?”
“Yeah, sure, babe,” Jake nodded, and Holly followed Tucker to the bar. Miriam waited until they were out of earshot before angrily turning on Jake.
“What is wrong with you?” she hissed. “A double-date? With you and your tramp? I can’t believe you!”
Jake leaned forward in his chair, smirking at her. “You’re just jealous that I’m out with a hot redhead instead of at home pining away for you.” His smirk widened. “A hot redhead masseuse.”
“I’m not jealous!” Miriam’s eyes flashed. “Did you not see the gorgeous retired professional athlete that I’m dating? Why would I be jealous of that – that—”
“Beautiful, successful businesswoman who really knows how to use her hands on a man?” Jake winked salaciously.
“You are such a jerk!” she exclaimed with palpable rage. “First you want nothing to do with me – then you throw slutty Jessica Rabbit over there in my face!”
“Hey, you threw Johnny Linebacker in my face!” He glared at her. “And it wasn’t about not wanting you – damn it, you came onto me, drunk, and put me in a bad position, on the spot! What did you expect me to do in that situation, Miriam? How was I supposed to know if you might regret it in the morning? I was just trying to be a good guy and not take advantage of my very drunk friend!”
“Oh, please!” she snorted. “You’re just afraid of doing anything that might make you happy! You love to make excuses so you can continue to wallow in self-pity because that’s the only thing you know how to do!”
“Hey, I’m plenty fucking happy,” he growled, leaning across the table. “I don’t need you to define my happiness for me!”
“Yeah, you’re real happy!” Miriam got into his personal space, her face red and angry. “You’re so happy having no direction in life and sleeping with any bimbo who’ll take you out for a beer!”
Their faces were inches apart and they were breathing hard, so they didn’t notice that Tucker and Holly had returned from the bar, empty-handed. They both looked angry – they’d obviously overheard at least some of the exchange. Tucker had a pissed-off expression on his face, and Holly looked downright furious.
“There was a long line at the bar – I don’t think this is a good place for tonight, after all,” Tucker informed them, his Southern drawl unusually clipped. “I think I’ll head over to Houlihan’s instead. Holly, would you care to join me?”
Holly glared at both Jake and Miriam. “You know what? I really would.”
“Tucker, please,” Miriam pleaded. “This is all just a misunderstanding.”
“The misunderstanding was that you and I had anything going on at all,” Tucker spat. “I mean, I’ve seen how hostile you two are towards each other, and I wondered about it – but I just kept telling myself you didn’t get along with each other and that you weren’t the type of girl to go after one guy to make another guy jealous. Turns out I was wrong – you’re exactly that kind of girl.”
Holly huffed. “I have nothing to say to either of you – except that I am not a bimbo, slut, or masseuse. I’m a massage therapist, damn it! And for the record, he and I never slept together – and I’m glad, because I don’t sleep with assholes.”
“Holly, I’m sorry—” Jake started, but she cut him off.
“Leave it, Jake.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear it. You led me on because the girl you wanted wasn’t available – that makes you a real dick, you know that?”
Jake glared at Miriam. “This is your fault.”
“My fault?” She jumped up and poked him in the chest. “You’re such a—”
“Oh, for the love of god!” Tucker cut in angrily. “Go home and get a room, for god’s sake! You two deserve each other – and you can see yourselves home. Come on, Holly; I’ll buy you a drink.” Tucker led Holly to the exit, leaving Jake and Miriam alone in silence as the rest of the restaurant stared at them.
Chapter Seventeen
“I need to talk to you,” Miriam announced the day before graduation, sitting down across from Jake at Mack’s as he prepared to dig into his lunch. It was after three and the place was pretty empty.
“Um, sure,” Jake replied awkwardly. They hadn’t spoken since the disastrous double date two weeks before – even walking home that night; they’d both been too embarrassed to say anything else to each other. He was surprised to see her. “Do you – um – do you want something to eat?”
She shook her head. “I just...I just need to talk to my best friend about an important, potentially life-changing decision. Do you think you could help me out with that?” she asked earnestly.
“Yeah, of course,” he answered, concerned. “What’s going on?”
Miriam took a deep breath. “Last Friday was my last day of student teaching, and you know I’ve had lots of interviews at different schools – all over D/FW. And as of today, I have two offers.”
“That’s great!” Jake exclaimed, sincerely happy for her. “Miriam, that’s awesome. What are they?”
“One of them is here – the head choir director, Mr. Stephens, is retiring, and the principal said he’s really impressed with my dedication and enthusiasm…the assistant director, Mrs. Allen, has been there f
or over a decade, so her experience would help me a lot. I think I’d really love it there.”
“So take it,” he told her. It seemed like an easy decision to make – she’d be here, with him…and their friends. Not just him. Not like that. But, maybe, in time…
She shook her head. “It’s not that simple. The other job is in Plano – it’s an assistant director position at a middle school, which isn’t ideal, but it actually pays better than this one. I could move back in with my parents for awhile and save some money – it’s a more prestigious district, too. My parents are already pushing for me to take it, but...I don’t know.” She sighed. “I’m torn.”
“I think you should do whatever makes you the happiest,” Jake said honestly. “Your happiness is important to me, you know. I mean, truthfully, I would love for you to stay here, but if you think you’d be happier in Plano...”
“You know what would make me happy?” she asked, watching him closely. “Seeing you happy. My dad told me this morning that my uncle offered you a publishing internship in Addison and that you’re thinking of taking it.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he nodded. “I mean, we’re graduating tomorrow. I didn’t spend seven years working my way through college to manage this place for the rest of my life, right?”
“Well, did you do it so you could go into publishing?” Miriam asked exasperatedly. “You don’t care about publishing, and you’re not a suit-and-tie, sit-in-the-office-all-day-on-the-phone-with-clients type, either. You’d hate it.”
“You don’t know that,” Jake argued, although he secretly agreed with her. It was one of the reasons he hadn’t given her uncle an answer yet.
“Jake, I know you,” she pushed him. “You’re a writer, not a publisher. You should be writing more songs – I’ve found some of your old stuff, and it was amazing. You could make a name for yourself as a professional.”
“I’ve told you, I don’t want to go back onstage – that party was a one-time thing,” he protested.
“So don’t!” she exclaimed. “Be a songwriter - write music for other artists. You’d be so great at it!”
“Oh, really? And what about you?” he shot back. “You’re the most talented singer I know. You could perform anywhere you wanted. You could get a recording contract so easily if you just tried, but you’re not brave enough to go for it, so you take the job with the guaranteed salary and benefits and spend the rest of your life regretting it. I don’t have your talent and I don’t like to perform – so what’s your excuse for taking the coward’s way out?”
“I’m not!” She glared at him. “I love working with kids, with teenagers, and helping them reach their full potential. I love it as much as I love to perform, if not more so. And I’ll be happy as a choir director because I’ll still get to do what I love every day. But you – you’d be miserable working for my uncle. Your life would be all about book sales and last-minute edits – that’s just not you.”
“Look,” Jake sighed, “if I could just keep working here and write music on the side, I would–”
“You can—” Miriam cut him off.
“–but I want to make something of myself,” he finished. “I need to do something I can be proud of. I can’t be a bar manager forever.”
“Can’t you find a way to do that without changing everything about yourself in the process?” she pleaded. “Because I really and truly believe that’s what’s going to happen to you if you take that internship and go down this path. Maybe not right away, but over time.”
“I don’t know, Miriam.” He sighed again. “Maybe something else will come to me before the weekend is over. We’ll see.”
***
Graduation was an exuberant affair. With all four roommates (and Libby) graduating from different colleges within the university, there were four different ceremonies to attend. Saturday night, when all was said and done, several tables were pushed together at Mack’s for a celebratory dinner. In attendance were Fink’s parents and Shoshanna, whose own graduation ceremony would take place the following afternoon in Austin – Fink would be driving down with them in the morning – and Miriam’s parents, Granny Wells and Terrence, Jake’s mom and Carl, and Leah and Marley. They’d managed to get away with bringing Marley into the bar since it was still early, and besides, Charlie was eating with them. Libby’s parents were, as usual, out of the country, but she was planning to spend the next week abroad with them.
“I just want to say,” Charlie stood up slowly, holding up his glass with one hand and pausing to cough violently, “that I’ve known these kids for a lot of years, and I couldn’t be more proud of them – especially you, Jake.” He coughed again, and Jake reached out to steady him.
“Easy there, Charlie,” he warned, concerned about the old man. He didn’t look or sound well at all – and hadn’t for quite some time, but if Jake tried to bring it up, Charlie would always change the subject.
Charlie waved him off. “Jake, I’ve seen you go from a just a kid to a full-grown man, and I know you’re going to do great things with your life. You’re like the son I never had, and I believe you can do anything you put your mind to.”
“Thanks, man,” Jake grinned, as they all clinked glasses. He bent closer to Charlie. “Listen, are you feeling alright? You don’t look so good.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Charlie coughed again. “This is a special night. But listen, I do have something for you–” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I don’t want you to open this until tomorrow, alright?” He handed the envelope to Jake, who took it, confused. “I mean it, Jake. Wait until tomorrow, when everything’s calmed down a little bit.”
“Yeah, okay,” Jake replied, confused, tucking the envelope into his blazer. “Sure, Charlie.”
***
Sunday afternoon, Jake pounded on the door to Charlie’s small apartment on Hickory Street. “Charlie, open this damned door right now!” he yelled. “You need to explain this shit to me!”
Janine, Carl, Leah, and Marley had left for Austin twenty minutes prior, and he’d finally remembered to open the envelope Charlie had given him the night before, only to be completely shocked by the contents – paperwork, signed by Charlie himself, transferring full ownership of Mack’s to Jake.
“I mean it, Charlie!” Jake shouted. “You can’t just give this to me without any explanation!” Why in the world had Charlie signed the bar over to him? They’d never discussed anything like this before, and Jake felt lost.
“Are you Jake Perry?” A bald, middle-aged man in a wrinkled navy blue suit was getting out of an old Buick and hurrying over to him.
“Yes,” he replied warily. “Who are you?”
“I’m Jerry Walden – I’m an old friend of Charlie’s, and his lawyer,” the man replied, pausing to catch his breath. “He left me a voicemail early this morning and I only just heard it – I was hoping it was a false alarm, but he sounded—” Jerry stopped, his face full of worry.
“What is going on?” Jake demanded, holding up the paperwork in his hand. Jerry sighed and pulled out his keys, letting them into the apartment.
“I’ll explain – but first, we need to check on Charlie,” Jerry told him as they walked into the apartment. “Charlie, can you hear me?” he called. There was no answer, and Jake suddenly felt cold dread creeping up his spine.
“Wait here,” Jerry instructed, leaving Jake in the kitchen as he crossed to Charlie’s open bedroom door. “Jake! Call 911!” he heard Jerry shout a few seconds later, and everything became a blur.
***
The funeral took place on the following Tuesday morning. Many small business owners from all over town, their employees, and all of Jake’s coworkers at Mack’s gathered at the cemetery with Jake and his roommates. He’d had no idea that Charlie was dying of lung cancer, or that he’d received the diagnosis over a year ago and had quietly made all of his own funeral arrangements himself – all Jerry had to do was make a phone call, and everything fell
into place.
According to the voicemail Charlie had left for Jerry on the morning of his death, he’d had a premonition that his time was up and he needed Jerry to explain everything to Jake. He didn’t have any living relatives – he’d never married or had children – but even if he had, there was no one he trusted more than Jake to take care of Mack’s, his legacy. All that was left for Jake to do was to sign the paperwork, and the bar he loved would belong to him. He signed the paperwork right after the funeral ended, at Jerry’s behest, and then hid himself away in his bedroom.
He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until Miriam woke him up by climbing into his bed, still clad in her black knee-length cotton dress. She pulled off her familiar gray cardigan and kicked off her conservative black pumps, snuggling in close to Jake, who wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close beside him. This is how it had been for the past two nights – her quietly letting herself into his room and holding him for a few hours until he fell asleep, then just as silently going back to her own bed, not wanting to impose any further. Truthfully, he wouldn’t have minded waking up next to her – it might make his days a little bit more pleasant, anyway – but he didn’t want to push her, not when she was finally being nice to him again.
Love Thy Roommate Page 19
