Wine and Spirits

by J. J. Fogg

  Eye contact was never a thing between them either. He typically wouldn't even look up at her when she spoke. He now realized how rude that was. He wondered if she'd tried to make eye contact with him tonight because he wouldn't have known it if she had.

  He had a look of bewilderment on his face, as if maybe he'd walked into the wrong bar. Everything felt different, unfamiliar, without Lily's usual attempts at conversation.

  Eddie watched from the bar, barely containing his laughter. He thought it was comical, absurd really, that Nick looked so confused, so surprised. Of all the things to find strange in this place, this guy only notices that she didn't say 'Hi'? I'd say it's working, Lily. Way to go! He smiled, then grabbed a clean glass and started rewashing it, just so it looked like he was busy. Doc was indeed rubbing off on him.

  Nick started to turn around, to face Lily, but stopped. A minute later, he did it again. Finally, without turning at all, he tried talking to her.

  “Um…Lily?”

  She heard him clearly, but didn't answer—pretending to be listening to music on her phone when, in reality, they weren't even plugged in. She smiled.

  Nick wasn't even monitoring the door, like he normally did. Instead, he was still looking around the bar, as if trying to get his bearings. He noticed Eddie behind the bar and even that caused him to feel uncomfortable because, instead of the glare he was used to seeing from the bartender, he thought he caught Eddie smiling.

  “What's going on? Um…Lily?…” He tried again.

  Still no response.

  “What's happening?”

  She almost giggled out loud.

  Finally, he rotated around in his seat—still not actually facing her—just enough to be able to see her with his peripheral vision. He noticed her headphones and the pile of paperwork.

  “Hey, Lily? Can you hear me?”

  She grabbed an envelope and ripped it open, pulling out the letter from inside it, still pretending to be in her own world. She started wondering how long to keep the ruse going. She'd already felt like it was a success, but she wanted more. Perhaps she wanted him to squirm a little, maybe let it sink in that he'd been taking her for granted.

  “Lily?…Lily! Lily! Lily!…Abracadabra!…Boo!”

  Still no reaction.

  “Tickle, tickle, tickle…Coochie coo!”

  Nothing at all, though hearing him speak with a baby-talk voice nearly caused her to snort.

  “Watermelon! Cantaloupe!”

  She felt like a pressure cooker about to explode with laughter. What in the world is he doing?! What's with all the word salad?

  “You really can't hear me?”

  Part of her wanted to say “Nope” out loud, just to bring it all to an end and in a funny way. But she somehow resisted the urge.

  “Well, in that case…” he paused, as if gathering some courage. “I really have wanted to talk to you.”

  You have? she silently replied.

  “Truth is…I've wanted to…to see you, too”

  Lily was ecstatic that she hadn't blown her cover yet. This was going better than she could have ever planned.

  “I just…I feel like I'm cheating, just talking to you or…or…when I look at you.”

  You look at me?

  “You're funny…and kind…and pretty…and…se…” he stopped in mid-word.

  What?! Keep going, you jerk. Don't stop THERE!

  “Pomegranate!” he nearly shouted.

  A woman at another table looked over at him and shot him a scowl.

  “Sorry, ma'am,” he apologized.

  The woman turned back around and resumed mumbling something to herself.

  Lily was almost crying. She felt like a little girl sitting in church, being told to be quiet while trying to hold in the giggles which, of course, only made things worse. But she also felt her internal laughter starting to mix with something else. Acceptance? Happiness? RELIEF?

  “Lily?” his whisper seemed to pierce the room louder than his near-shout did just a moment earlier. “I also think…I think you're sexy.”

  Her jaw dropped, as did the ink pen she had in her hand, banging loudly on her table, then quickly rolling to the edge and onto the floor, where it bounced loudly again.

  Nick whipped around in his seat and faced the door. Shit! Did she hear me that time?!

  She used her feet to drag the pen closer to her, then leaned over to pick it up, successfully maintaining the ruse that her headphones were plugged into her phone. To reinforce the deception, she started humming as if she liked the song that was playing. She heard him exhale a deep breath. Oh, good. I think he bought it.

  She waited several minutes, occasionally humming along to music that wasn't even playing, until she finally finished opening all the envelopes she'd dumped on the table. Then she leaned back in her chair and made a show of taking off her headphones and tossing them on her table.

  “Hey, Lily?” he called to her quietly, almost as if they were sitting in a library.

  “Oh hey, Nick,” she answered quietly, matching his volume and tone and acting as if this was the first thing she'd heard him say to her.

  “Um…I'm sorry…”

  “Sorry? What for?”

  “Well, I know you've been trying to be my friend and…I've not been letting you.”

  “Yeah,” she didn't know what else to say. Besides, she agreed with him.

  “I think…I'd like to talk to you…if your offer still stands, anyway.”

  “Of course, it does, but will we have to do it like this? With our backs to each other? At different tables?”

  He didn't answer.

  She imagined he must be really thinking it over. “I mean, I guess I don't mind pretending we're spies trading secrets in public. It could be fun, I suppose.” She heard him chuckle.

  “I don't want Sarah to see.”

  Ugh! Sarah.

  “But, it seems like…well, could we wait? ‘Til like ten, just in case she decides to show up… Would that be okay?”

  “Sure, Nick. It's a date.” She bit her lip to contain some more laughter.

  “What?”

  “I'm just kidding. See you at ten…you know the place…oh, and Nick?”

  “Yeah?”

  “The red fox trots quietly at midnight.” She heard him chuckle again.

  Chapter 8

  Lily was nearly walking on clouds. She gathered up the piles of envelopes—all just junk mail from the previous week—and carried it with her back to the bar. She made eye contact with Eddie who gave her a “Well?” kind of look. She returned it with a subtle nod of her head. “Meet me in Doc's office in a minute,” she told him as she walked past him and opened the door to the office.

  She had just finished tossing all the junk mail into the trash can when Eddie entered the room behind her.

  “Well? How'd it go? I guess it went okay?” he sounded excited, genuinely interested and hopeful.

  “Aaah!” she nearly screamed. “It actually worked, Eddie! He started talking to me, but he thought I couldn't hear because of the headphones. But I didn't even have them plugged in! He said I was pretty and that he's been wanting to talk to me. He even said he thought I was sexy! And then I took off the headphones and he talked to me for real. He said we could sit together even, but only after ten, just in case, well, you know…Oh my gosh, I can't believe it worked!”

  She jumped up and gave Eddie a hug, which he returned. “I'm glad, sis. I really am.”

  She was beaming. “Thanks, Eddie. Oh my…okay…” She took a breath. “I've got to pull it together. You go back out there. I'll come back out in a few.”

  Eddie headed back to his post, hoping no one noticed them both disappear for a couple of minutes.

  Doc was waiting when Eddie returned to the bar. “What was that all about?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing. Just Lily finally made a breakthrough with Nick. I hope he doesn't break her heart, though. He still seems all kind of messed up and she deserves…”
r />   “What?”

  “What what?”

  “You said 'she deserves' but didn't finish your sentence.”

  “Oh…uh…love I suppose. She deserves it. Don't you think, Doc?”

  “I do, son. I sure do. And what about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Don't you deserve love, too?”

  “Oh, well, I don't know, Doc. I mean, come on, I feel like I'm just now starting to be a real person for the first time in my life. Maybe I should just be content with that for now.”

  “Yeah, maybe…or maybe you shouldn't short-change yourself.”

  “Yeah, okay, Doc. Sure. Whatever you say.”

  “Fine. I'll change the subject. I can tell you're getting uncomfortable. Tell me what you see out here tonight.” He nodded out toward the bar room.

  “Well,” he felt like he was being tested. “I see a larger crowd than normal.”

  “Good. That's always a good thing.”

  “Yeah, like Miss Lindsey over there. Looks like she actually has a date tonight. Good for her.”

  Doc smiled.

  “And Mr. and Mrs. Whitley's daughter, Anna, is here, too. She's back in town to help with some family stuff I think.”

  “Well done, Eddie. You must be talking to folks, more. I take it you've been laying off the booze?”

  “Yeah, I still get the urge to sip…I'm in a bar, after all. But not too often, really, and I can always wait ‘til we're closed. It's actually kinda nice to just sit in here after hours sometimes. You know, there's some good tunes on that jukebox of yours.”

  “Yep, I do know that. I'm proud of you, son. You still have a little ways to go, but you're on your way for sure. I hope you'll consider staying on here. I'd be honored if you did.”

  “Wow, Doc. Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.”

  “Well, I mean it. And I think even Lily's starting to warm up to you.”

  “Yeah, who'd a thunk that would ever happen, right?” he said with a chuckle.

  “Well, speak of the devil,” Doc boomed as Lily approached them.

  “Uh-oh. I'm afraid to even ask,” Lily grumbled suspiciously.

  “Eddie just told me you had a sort of break-through with our friend, Nick.”

  “Yeah, I think I have. But we'll see. I'm a little afraid he's gonna get scared and backtrack on me. I guess I'll find out later tonight.”

  “Well, looks like Anna’s leaving. I'm going to go visit the Whitley's and see how they're getting along. I've got something I want to run past them.” Doc walked over and in short order was invited to pull up a chair to join them.

  Eddie scanned the crowd, trying to recite the names of each person he saw from memory. When he got stuck, he asked Lily for help. His skills as a bartender had always been decent, but the improvement in his personal perception and social skills was nothing short of dramatic.

  Lily couldn't help but be impressed and told him as much. “You're like a different person, Eddie, except I know it's still you, at the same time.”

  “Well, Doc's pretty amazing.”

  “Of course, he is. But you can take some of the credit, too, you know. You're allowed.”

  “Actually, I probably shouldn't. That's what kept getting me in trouble, it turns out. Doc kept saying I was getting in my own way and I've been thinking about that a lot. And, of course, he's right. So, I've been trying to stop thinking about me so much. Honestly, it's been really hard to do. I still think about myself a lot—what do people think, do they like me, do I fit in? But if I can stop it right away, I don't end up doing all those stupid things I normally do. Anyway, it's been pretty crazy, but my life feels so different now…thanks to Doc.”

  “Yeah, he's a special man, for sure.”

  They chatted some more, taking turns talking about Doc or some of the customers' stories, though as the time drew closer and closer to ten, Lily started acting more nervous.

  “You're going to do fine, Lily,” Eddie told her, completely out of the blue.

  She looked over to him. “You really are changing, aren't you? You would've never done that six months ago, And thank you.” She then looked over to Nick. Was he just looking at the clock, too? She couldn't stand the wait any longer and decided to go for it.

  Chapter 9

  Lily had made it about halfway across the room before Nick noticed her approaching. He caught her eye and, once he realized she was coming to visit him, he smiled.

  “Do you mind if I'm a little early? I'm kind of going crazy waiting…but I'll come back later if…”

  “No, no,” he interrupted while standing up from his seat to welcome her. “It's totally fine. I was getting a little restless, too, actually.”

  “You were?”

  “Yeah.” He came around to pull out a chair for her and scooted it in behind her as she sat.

  He might not want to think it, but he's acting like this is a date. Okay by me! She looked back to the bar where both Eddie and Doc were now watching and giving her the thumbs up. She blushed again.

  “So…” he started. “what do we do now?” His nervousness was apparent but so was his enthusiasm. He seemed to really want her to be there.

  She laughed. “Well, I don't know. Is pulling out the chair your only move?”

  He laughed in return. “Actually, you're lucky. I literally just thought of that one. Before then, I had nothing.”

  “Well, it was still a good start, so thank you.” She reached out her hand. “I'm Lily. Lily O'Connor. Pleasure to meet you.”

  “Very nice to meet you, Miss O'Connor…Nick Jennings.” He took her hand in his and immediately noticed its softness and warmth. He didn't want to let go, but it would be awkward if he didn't. Reluctantly, he released his grasp and sat back down in his seat.

  “So, what brings you to a place like this?”

  “Ha! Nice try, Lily. But sorry, that's a story I'm not ready to tell…not yet, anyway.”

  “Okay, can't blame me for trying.”

  “No, I suppose not. It's a fair question, by the way. I'm just not ready. I hope you understand.”

  “Yeah, I get it. Things like that take time.”

  “What about you? How'd you end up here?”

  “Oh, well that's a funny story most people don't know,” she joked. “Believe it or not, I actually work here.”

  “You don't say. Really?”

  “It's true.” She grinned.

  “And all this time, I just thought you were, I don't know, a volunteer or something.” He liked her sense of humor. He liked her smile, too, which he'd never really seen much of—his own fault since he always looked away whenever he thought she was going to look towards him. And he liked her face, too—especially, up close.

  She was pretty. Her hair matched her brown eyes, which themselves were vibrant and deep. Her lips—up close—looked luscious and succulent. He was about to study her cheeks next, when…

  “Hey, did I lose you?” Her voice broke through his reverie.

  “Huh? Oh, sorry…um…I think I was asking how you ended up here. Everyone in a bar has a story, right?”

  “Well, yeah, that's certainly true. Where do you want me to start exactly?”

  “I don't know. Tell me about your family?”

  “Family, hmm, that's a loaded word. Okay, my father left when I was young. Mom died when I was twelve. Lived with an aunt for a while then ran away. Spent some time just kind of wandering until I was unofficially adopted by a really nice couple. They wanted to adopt me for real, but I told them 'no.' I guess I figured if they didn't adopt me, I wouldn't run the risk of losing another set of parents. Sounds silly, I know.”

  “No. Not silly at all. So where are they now? Do they live around here?”

  “Hmm, yeah. Here's some irony for ya—they died on me anyway. She went first, almost three years ago and he just passed away this past May. Cancer.”

  “Oh, I'm so sorry.”

  “Nah…it's okay…I mean it's not, but…it is what it i
s, right?” She tried to put on a brave face. “I miss them a lot, actually. I feel like I was orphaned twice.” She wasn't sure how strong her defenses were with the subject of her adopted parents, since she'd always avoided talking about them. She now realized those defenses were weak, as she started tearing up. “Okay…can we talk about something else?”

  “Sure, of course…Um, how about your last name…Irish?”

  “Oh god, you're killing me.” She half-laughed, rolling her eyes.

  “Oh, sorry. I thought that might be safe…um…let me think of something else…”

  “No, it's okay. Really.” She collected herself before proceeding. “So, I didn't want them to adopt me, right? But they were also the only real 'parents' I ever knew. After they died, I legally changed my last name…to honor them.”

  “That's really sweet, Lily.”

  “I wish I'd done it while they were still alive, though. It probably would've meant more, especially to her. But I know they still appreciated it…yeah…” She felt herself starting to shrink into her safe place where she hid her feelings to protect herself. She didn't want to go there, so she quickly changed the subject. “Okay, my turn. Do you have any pets?”

  “Nope.”

  “Not even a fish?”

  “Nope. Why? Does that surprise you? And do I look like a fish person or something? Do you have a fish?”

  “Heck, no, I'd kill a fish.”

  “How about a cat?”

  “Oh, Nick. I just got here. Are you really trying to run me off already?” she joked. “A dog, sure, that'd be nice. I always wanted a golden retriever when I was a kid. But as you can see, this isn't the kind of place for a dog.”

  “Well, no, I suppose not, but you don't live here. You could still have a dog at home.”

  “Actually, I do live here.” She pointed to the ceiling. “Loft apartment upstairs.”

  “No kidding? Well, that's convenient, I guess. Short commute.” he joked.

  She laughed. “Yeah, the only time there's a problem is when someone blocks up my back entrance.” She turned and pointed to the door that led to her place. “But that only happens when someone has a big package for me. Usually, the UPS man. Eddie keeps the small stuff behind the bar for me. He says he has a bad back and can't lift anything heavy, but I think he's just…” She turned back around and the smirk on his face made her stop mid-sentence. “What?…What's so funny?”