Honey for the Bears

by Gabrielle Demonico

  “You know, I’ve seen you around here.”

  She glanced up to see Brock’s lips curled up into a wry smile.

  Half joking she replied, “Well… yeah… I work here after all.”

  Honey was good at humor. She’d used it to her advantage in life. If she couldn’t be the skinniest girl in the room, she could definitely be the funniest.

  Brock chuckled. “That’s funny… You’re funny… No, what I meant was that I’ve seen you around town. Not just here at the hospital.”

  “Ohhh… Well, I… I’ve seen you as well.” She uttered.

  No shit, Honey. He’s on TV pretty much all the time right now. Smoooooth.

  Mercifully, he let that one slip by without comment but did acknowledge it with a slight smile. “Well, I was on my way out. I just finished talking to the family and I wanted to stop by and say ‘thanks’ again.”

  “No problem at all. How are they?”

  “Upset… Understandably so. Luckily, the victim’s wounds turned out to not be life threatening.”

  “Thank goodness for that. I think if one more person was to die, the Mayor probably wouldn’t hesitate to declare open season.”

  “Yeah… I know. That’s what has me concerned.” Brock replied. There was distance to his tone. A worried looked gathered across his brow and he seemed very tense all of a sudden.

  Honey wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “Hmm? Oh, uhm, it’s nothing. Sorry about that. There’s just a lot on my mind right now.”

  “I understand. That’s okay.” She replied.

  “So, if you don’t mind me asking… What time is your shift over?” he said.

  “No, I don’t mind. Actually, it just ended.”

  “I’m… on the way out myself. Can I walk you out to your car?” he asked.

  Honey thought she heard him ask to walk her out. She must be tired. Clarifying, she asked, “I’m sorry, what’s that?”

  “Can I walk you out?” he said again.

  Nope, she hadn’t imagined it. Now she just needed to try and not seem too eager. Uggh, why was there always so much to think about?

  “Oh… I… Sure. That would be great… Thanks.” She said.

  Playing it cool, Honey gathered up her things and came out from behind the desk. The pair exited the building and began to make their way across the mostly empty parking lot. As they walked, they made a bit of small talk until at last they reached her vehicle. Once they arrived, she slipped her hand in her purse and commenced the ritual of the keys…

  Pocket one… nope.

  Pocket two… nah.

  Pocket three… yeahhh… uhh, no.

  “I can never find anything in here when I need it…” she said with a sheepish grin.

  “No problem. Take your time. In fact, while you are looking, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

  As he spoke, she finally located the keys in the bottom of her purse. She snatched them, pulled a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear and replied, “Oh yes? Okay…”

  “First of all, I just wanted to say again how much I appreciated your help earlier…”

  “Oh it was nothing really. It was my pleasure.”

  He smiled. “It’s just been crazy recently. I’m sure you’ve been dealing with your share of that here at the hospital.”

  “Yeah… I mean, a little bit. Certainly nothing like you have though.”

  He exhaled. “Yeah, that’s probably true. Anyway, some of my friends and family are getting together tomorrow night. We all need to relax and blow off a little steam. I know we really don’t know each other all that well but if you’re free, I’d love for you to come by. You can bring some friends with you if you’d like. That is, if it would help you to feel more comfortable…”

  Honey wasn’t quite in shock but it was pretty close. She did her best to conceal it. Quickly she replied, “Well… I… Yeah, sure. I’d like that.”

  Brock smiled. “Great. Give me your number and I’ll text you the address tomorrow. Say eightish?”

  ***

  Honey arrived home from the hospital a little after nine o’clock. Her head was still spinning from her parking lot encounter with Brock. As luck would have it, all the girls were still up – on a school night, no less…

  “Hey…” Honey yelled out as she closed the front door behind her.

  In addition to Teresa, Honey had two other roommates, Evelyn and Kimberly. As she headed across the foyer, she could see the girls sitting in the living room watching television. A smattering of ‘hey Honeys’ filled the air as she walked in to socialize before going to bed.

  Well, that, plus, she had to let them know about the party.

  She really didn’t want to because she knew as soon as she did, they would want every imaginable, friggin’ detail. That would be fine if there were any but as far as Honey was concerned, there weren’t.

  Honey plopped down on the sofa next to Evelyn. “What are you guys watching?”

  “Nothing really, we were just flipping around.” Kimberly replied.

  Honey could feel Teresa’s eyes on her. She could never get anything by her. Silently, Honey counted down. “5…4… 3…”

  “What’s with you?” Teresa asked before she could reach the next digit.

  Honey shook her head. “Nothing, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”

  “Hah!” Teresa scoffed.

  “I am… There’s nothing wrong.” Honey decided to throw in the towel on the idea of telling them about the party after all. She’d figured she’d rather wait until the morning. She just didn’t have the energy for it at the moment.

  “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” She said as she stood.

  “No, no, no… No! Sit your butt down right now…” Teresa said. “Now something happened to you. What is it?”

  “It’s nothing really, he invited me… us… to a party at his house.” She said.

  The girls all looked at each other. As far as they knew, Honey didn’t have a he that would have invited her to a house.

  Teresa leaned forward in her chair and narrowed her eyes. “He… Who?”

  “Yeah… He… Who?” Evelyn and Kimberly said in unison.

  Honey took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Brock Walters…”

  “Brock Walters!” Teresa shouted. “You are a fucking liar, Honey Thompson!”

  “I’m not lying…” Honey began. She then proceeded to recap the evening’s events that culminated with the invitation in the parking lot of the hospital.

  “You see, I told you I wasn’t lying.” Honey said.

  “Wow!” Teresa exclaimed. “Why did you say that was nothing? That’s not nothing, that’s most definitely something!”

  “No, it isn’t… You don’t understand, I…” Honey began.

  Teresa cut her off. “What time is the party?”

  “Eight o’clock, but…” Honey said.

  Teresa interrupted her again. “Perfect. I had a cancellation tomorrow morning at ten. You can come in and get styled. Then we can all go out and have a blast tomorrow night!”

  Kimberly spoke up. “I’d love to go but I have a ton of tests to grade tomorrow night… Ugh, I don’t even want to think about how behind I am on everything right now.”

  “I would go as well but our office has a continuing education class the next morning. It’s all damn day. I can’t…” Evelyn added.

  “Well, you know damn well I am going!” Teresa exclaimed. “I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

  Honey just shook her head. Her fate was sealed.

  ***

  Honey met Teresa Williams six days after she’d arrived in Troubled Fork. On a lark, she figured a change in her look would probably be just what she needed to cheer her up.

  As luck would have it, Teresa had a cancellation that fateful day just as Honey made her first visit to the Pretty Cut & Dry Salon. Two hours later, Honey had a great new look and just
two weeks after that, a new roommate and best friend.

  Unlike Honey, Teresa had no shortage of men in her life. She was a tall, dark haired green-eyed beauty. In the past, Honey would have been a little intimidated and probably even jealous of women like her. But Teresa was different. Honey couldn’t recall ever hitting off with anyone as well as she had with her.

  In between, it had been nothing but good times and great memories with the ball of fire that was Teresa. Plus, free haircuts weren’t a bad deal either. In any case, she was glad Teresa was in her life.

  After getting her hair washed, Honey sat down in Teresa’s styling chair. Teresa flung the cape around Honey’s neck, fastened it tight and said, “So, tonight’s the big night, right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, Brock… asking you out… What do you think I mean?”

  “Well, first of all, he didn’t ask me out. I explained this to you last night. He invited me to a party with a bunch of other people as a way of saying ‘thanks’. You know, because I helped him out at the hospital.”

  “Pssshtt… Please. Guys don’t invite girls they don’t like to parties, Honey.”

  Honey shrugged. “He’s not into me Teresa. Guys like Brock… they aren’t into girls like me. It’s okay, I’m used to it. Now, girls like you… yes. Me? No…”

  Teresa pursed her lips, placed her right hand on her hip and said, “Again with this?”

  “What?”

  She reached up and ran her fingers through Honey’s hair. Looking at her in the mirror she said, “You know damn well what. Why are you always doing this to yourself? Everyone you meet loves you. You are a great friend and a blast to be around. Why can’t you see that?”

  Honey shrugged. “I know, it’s not that…”

  “Bullshit. Don’t lie to me Honey. What is it then?”

  “Nothing. Can we just drop it, please? If I wanted a shrink, I would have gone to see one today instead of getting a haircut.”

  Ignoring her, Teresa replied, “Oh my God, seriously?”

  “What?”

  Teresa cocked her head to one side. “Forget about him would you? He’s probably already cheated on the chick that he cheated on with you.”

  Honey broke her gaze with Teresa in the mirror.

  Teresa continued, “Look, I know it hurt. Five years is a long time to be with someone only to have them turn out to be a liar, a cheater and just a complete douchebag. But, that’s got nothing to do with you, Honey. That’s his problem, not yours.”

  Honey sighed. “I know…”

  A lot of people came to Troubled Fork looking to get away from something or start over. Honey wanted to do both. When she arrived she wasn’t far removed from a busted engagement and a broken heart. The wounds were still fresh… and deep.

  She’d dated her share of men her age and found them to be lacking in one way or another. Then, she met Tucker Middlebury, a man nearly ten years older than her. An accountant for her father’s construction firm, Tucker was everything she’d never had in a relationship.

  He was attentive, caring and mature. He made her feel like the most important woman in the world. That is, right up until the precise instant he proposed to her. Once that had happened, everything changed. He suddenly became distant… long hours at work became more and more frequent. He was using every excuse in the book to not move forward with wedding plans until finally, the inevitable happened.

  He cheated on her with a woman from his gym.

  Honey hated working out. The entire time they were together she only went there with him once and it was an awful experience. Even though he never said so, she always had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t happy with the way she looked.

  So in hindsight, it probably wasn’t a huge shock when he confessed his indiscretion with one of the blonde haired, plastic boobied bimbo trainers at the gym. In the end, she realized that she really wasn’t in love with Tucker, she was in love with the idea of him.

  Even though dating was the furthest thing from her mind when she arrived in Troubled Fork, she vowed to never let her guard down again when, or if, she did start up. Men… they just couldn’t be trusted. If they didn’t cheat on you, they lied to you about something else.

  And besides, there was an unbelievable number of great looking women in Troubled Fork. In fact, Honey couldn’t remember seeing anything else quite like it in her life – the per capita hottie ratio in the tiny town had to be second to none.

  So, there was that.

  Anyway, it was just one more reason why she felt justified in explaining the utter impossibility of her chances with Brock to Teresa. Suffice it say, Honey didn’t feel like the deck was stacked in her favor.

  Finally, Teresa leaned in over Honey’s shoulder and said, “Just have fun tonight. Don’t worry about anything. Can you at least promise me that you’ll do that?”

  “I…” Honey started to reply when her phone suddenly vibrated. She pulled the styling cape to one side and lifted it up to read the text message.

  “What’s up?” Teresa asked.

  “It’s from Brock. It’s the address to the party.”

  “Ohhhh…” Teresa said. Her voice raised several octaves.

  Honey turned the phone sideways to reply back but before she could, he sent a second text which read, “can’t w8 2 c u 2night… brock.”

  Honey quickly stuffed it back in her purse.

  “What else did he say?” Teresa asked.

  “Oh nothing…” Honey lied.

  ***

  Honey and Teresa arrived at the party around eight o’clock and made their way to the front door of Brock’s house. After they rang the bell, the door opened and a petite, beautiful blond appeared before them.

  Good grief… What’s in the water around here?

  “Hey there!” she said with bubbly enthusiasm. “Let me guess… you must be Honey.”

  “Yes, I… Uhhm, how did you know that?”

  “Oh, well, my cousin Brock of course. He told me all about you.”

  From behind, Teresa nudged Honey.

  “Told her all about you huh?” Teresa whispered in Honey’s ear. Honey elbowed her friend with reflexive disdain.

  “Well, don’t just stand out there… Come on in!” the blonde woman said.

  As they entered, she closed the door behind them and said, “Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Kristy by the way.”

  Honey smiled. “Nice to meet you Kristy. This my friend, Teresa.”

  “Nice to meet you Teresa.” Kristy replied.

  As the two of them shook hands, Kristy said, “Can I get you anything? Beer, wine, some of our special country punch, perhaps?”

  Ordinarily, Honey wasn’t much of a drinker but she felt a little on edge. “What’s the country punch?” she asked.

  “Ahhh, yes. Well, it’s just a little something that’s been handed down in our family over the years. It tastes like apple pie in a glass. Would you like to try a little? I promise you’ll love it.”

  “Apple pie in a glass? Uhm, yeah… I think I have to try anything that sounds that good.”

  Kristy smiled. “Okay, one country punch it is. What can I get for you, Teresa?”

  “I’ll just have a soda. Let Honey live a little. I’ll get us home in one piece.” Teresa replied.

  Kristy laughed. “Okay then, soda it is. Make yourselves at home and I’ll be right back.”

  Kristy headed into the kitchen and as she walked away, Teresa and Honey took a seat on a nearby couch. As they sat, Teresa leaned in towards her. “Do you see Brock anywhere?” she asked.

  From her seated position, Honey craned her neck around the room and replied, “No, not yet.”

  As the two women sat awaiting Kristy’s return, a tall, muscular man that bore a strong resemblance to Brock walked in their direction.

  “Oh my…” Teresa gasped.

  Honey glanced at her friend. Now, she’d been out with Teresa plenty of times. She seen her fight off dozens of potentia
l suitors, hell, possibly thousands, and never once had she seen her show a hint of interest in any of them.

  This, was different…

  Teresa seemed hypnotized by him. If there was such a thing as love at first sight, Honey was pretty certain she was witnessing it.