by Shay Savage
“And what about this guy,” I ask, “the one you came with tonight?”
“More of the same,” Cherry says with a shrug. “They come off really nice online, but as soon as you meet them in person…”
“They’re douchebags.”
“Motherfucking douchebags.” Cherry tosses her hair and grins.
I laugh loudly. The air is suddenly filled with a positively delicious scent. As Cherry reiterates her lack of concern over cursing, I try to figure out the source of the fragrance. I lean forward a fraction more. The delicious scent is coming from her hair, and it’s more intoxicating than the whiskey on the table.
“You know, I should have just left when he started sniffing at me.”
“Sniffing?” I tense.
“Yeah. Like he was smelling my hair. Creepy, huh?”
“Yeah.” I sit back and clear my throat. “So creepy.”
I force myself to turn away from her, but it doesn’t last. Within seconds, I feel the urge to stare into her eyes again but focus on my glass instead. I drain the last few drops and then hold it up.
“I need another one of these,” I say, sliding my empty glass away from me. “You need a refill, too.”
“I said just one drink,” Cherry reminds me.
“You did, but I think conditions have changed.”
“Conditions? Do tell.”
“Before, you were having one more drink because your night was not going well, and a drink can help you relax. Now you are having fun, and you need one more to celebrate.”
“Oh, I do, huh?”
“I think so.”
“Hmm.” She taps her finger on her chin a couple of times, eyes narrowed at me. “All right, but just one more, and there is a condition.”
“Condition?” I smirk. “Do tell.”
“You have to tell me about a bad date you’ve had.”
Cherry stares at me, eyebrows raised as she waits for my answer. I’d tell her anything she wanted to hear just to keep her in my presence a little while longer, but I don’t want to just make shit up either.
“What if I’ve never had any bad dates?”
“Everyone has had bad dates.”
“I haven’t dated much.”
“You were covered in girls when I got here.”
“Were you checking me out, Cherry? And while you were with another man.” I click my tongue on the roof of my mouth. “I’m shocked and appalled. Now you owe me a drink.”
She laughs, and I join in. Jude brings fresh drinks, and we keep talking. Another round, more talking, more laughter, and for the first time since Micha died, I forget who I am and the world I live in. All thoughts of duty and family business deals leave my head as I focus entirely on her.
My face is starting to hurt from smiling so much, but I can’t help it. Every time I look at her, I just want to smile more. I force myself to look away for a moment to try to gain some composure, which is a mistake. As soon as I do, I see my father lurking at the far end of the bar, and the spell is broken.
I have no idea what he’s still doing here. Before tonight, he had never set foot in the club, as far as I know. He put up with it because it was perfect for money laundering, but it has never been a place he’d be seen in before now.
“Could you give me just a minute?” I say to Cherry. “I’ll be right back.”
“Of course. I need to run to the ladies’ room anyway.”
“It’s right over there on the left,” I say, pointing.
“Thank you!”
Cherry collects her purse and heads to the restrooms as I walk slowly to the end of the bar, stopping in front of my father and glaring.
“What are you doing here, Pops?” I try to keep my voice down so others can’t hear but loud enough so he can.
“Not drinking, that’s for sure.” His voice carries over the music, ringing clearly in my head. Even when it comes to speaking in crowds, he has the advantage.
“This isn’t your scene.”
“Checking up on you is my scene.”
“I’m fine.” I glare at him. “I have everything handled here without your help, just like I always have. This is the one place I already know what I’m doing, right?”
“Apparently not.” He snorts.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That girl.” Dad tilts his head and points with his chin to where I had been sitting with Cherry. “You’re getting involved.”
“Involved? What the fuck, Dad? Weren’t you just telling me to come over and talk to her? Last month you were going on about how I’m going to have to get hitched and continue the family line!”
“You’re over there flirting like you have something to prove to that girl. You don’t. You’re forgetting the first rule of business—remove the competition.”
“Competition?”
“She came here with another man.”
“Yeah, and I threw him out.”
“What good does that do?”
“He’s not here anymore.”
“He can come back. He can approach her somewhere else. You’ve done nothing.”
“What exactly are you suggesting? You think I need to take him out permanently?”
“Keep your fucking voice down,” he says with a snarl. “You know exactly what I mean. Now send Threes after him before he gets too far.”
“You really think I have the time to track down some shithead just to get him out of the way?”
“I think you need to take the time. This girl is important.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“You have other priorities now. You’re going to get distracted, and then you’re going to fuck up, just like the last time. And stop swearing at me, or I’ll take you over my knee right here and now.”
I tense and clench my jaw. He can’t be serious, but he’s also done worse.
“I’m a little old for that,” I mutter.
“Maybe I’ll bust a beer bottle over your head, then.”
“I’m done.” I turn to walk away, but his clear voice follows me.
“She’s the one, Nate. You know she is.”
I get back to my seat just a few moments before Cherry returns from the bathroom.
“Everything all right?” Cherry asks when she sits down.
“It’s fine.” I smile, already relaxing as the proximity between my father and me decreases. “Just a little family nonsense.”
“Your family is here?” Her eyes narrow in suspicion, and I realize she’s misunderstood.
“No, no. Nothing like that.” I lean a little closer and hold up my left hand. “No ring. I’m not married. My family just runs this place.”
“You…your family owns the club?”
“Well, yes.” I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at her. “You didn’t know?”
“How could I?”
Okay, this is odd. I don’t expect to know everyone in town, but I do expect them to know who I am. Is it possible she just doesn’t recognize me? The press does blur the photos.
“I thought most everyone in town knew me.”
She pauses for a long moment, looking at me carefully. Her throat bobs as she swallows, and her gaze drops to her drink.
“Well, I’m not from around here,” Cherry says. She looks at me sideways, somewhat indignant.
“Really?” I choose to ignore her expression. I’m caught a little off guard, but now I am even more intrigued. “Where are you from?”
“Maryland.”
“That’s vague.”
“It’s not that big of a state.”
“I suppose not.” I grin. I still can’t believe I’ve been sitting with her all this time, assuming she knew exactly whom she was talking to, and I feel the need to reset. She has no idea who I am or what I do. “So what brings you to the big city of Cascade Falls?”
“It’s not that big of a city.”
“Fair enough.” I laugh. “Still, you must have had a reason to pick this area.
Did you come here for work?”
“Well, I am looking for work,” she replies, “but I haven’t found any just yet. I have some applications in.”
“Really? Where?” My fingers start to tingle, hoping she’ll mention a business I run or at least have some control over.
“A couple of places.”
I’m sure she’s being intentionally vague.
“Well, what kind of experience do you have? I’m sure there’s something around here that would suit you.”
“I was a waitress at a diner in my hometown,” Cherry says, “and I worked for a while at the local library. Small town and not a lot of options for someone with no experience, so handing people sandwiches and shelving books based on the Dewey decimal system is about all the work experience I have. I thought about college, but…well, that’s expensive, so work first.”
“What do you want to study?”
“Botany.”
“Really?”
“Why?” She glares. “You have something against plants?”
“Of course not. I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”
“Why is that so surprising? If you say something about women in science, I’m going to smack you.”
“Are you now?” I raise an eyebrow.
“A fair warning seems polite.”
“I suppose it is.” I snicker. “No, I wasn’t going to say anything like that. It’s just not the sort of field I expect to hear out of people. It’s a great option with a lot of potential. How did you get into it?”
“I don’t know,” Cherry says with a shrug of her shoulder. “How does anyone get into anything? I like plants even if they don’t like me.”
“I wasn’t aware that plants have feelings.”
“I’m sure all the ones I’ve killed off do.” Cherry laughs. “I have a bit of a black thumb when it comes to houseplants. Better with those growing outside of their own accord.”
“Mental note not to send you flowers.”
“Are you planning to send me flowers?”
“Not anymore. I don’t want to be indicted on charges of accessory to murder.”
Cherry shakes with laughter. Again, my face hurts.
“What do your parents do?” I ask.
“Um, my parents are gone,” Cherry says hesitantly.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” Way to go, Nate.
“It’s all right. I never knew them. I was raised by my Aunt Ginny. She was the only parent I ever knew. She ran an antique store right across the street from our house, but she passed away a few months ago. It’s just me now.”
“That’s hard.” I want to reach over and take her hand, but I don’t. “My mother died shortly after I was born. Even when you never know them, you feel the loss.”
“Yeah, you do.” Cherry looks at me for a long moment, her gaze intense. “Aunt Ginny was great, and I’m glad she raised me, but…well, I guess I’m feeling the loss of my parents even more now that she’s gone.”
“I can understand that.” I debate saying something about Micha but ultimately decide to change the somber subject to something a little lighter. “How did you end up in Cascade Falls? Did you leave your hometown just to look for work?”
“Partially,” she says but doesn’t elaborate much. “Trying to find myself, I suppose.”
She’s holding something back. I’m sure of it. As opposed to asking, I just look at her pointedly until she continues on her own.
“My aunt raised me, but I never knew where I came from exactly. After she died, I found out I was born here, in Cascade Falls. I came here looking for my birth parents.”
Chapter 7—Questions
I can’t believe I said that. Only I could go from solely confiding in my plant to telling some random guy in a bar the most personal part of my life.
Some guy. Some completely, ridiculously gorgeous guy. Every time our eyes meet, I can feel it down to my toes. I can barely look away from him, but I didn’t plan on telling him anything about this.
The search for my birth parents was something I’d kept to myself. I didn’t want Aunt Ginny’s friends finding out and accusing me of disrespecting her memory, so I told no one I was leaving Accident and moving here to look into my past. They wouldn’t understand.
“I thought you said your parents were dead,” Nate says slowly.
The tone of the conversation has changed from lighthearted and fun to something much more solemn, and I’m not sure I want to head in this direction, but I can’t seem to help myself. Maybe it’s the martinis talking as much as it is looking into those eyes and wanting to bare my soul.
“An automatic response,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant. “It’s just what I always thought, and I guess I don’t really know for sure, do I?”
“Do you have names?” he asks.
“No.” I glance up at him, and I swear I can see relief in his eyes though I have no idea why. “It’s kind of a long story, I suppose.”
I grab my drink, staring into the glass and feeling pensive. I realize I’m chewing on my lip and make myself stop.
“I’m not trying to pry,” Nate says. He chuckles softly. “Well, yes, I am. I am prying. I want to know more about you.”
I stop myself from asking why. When he first walked over and convinced me to stay, I assumed it was just being nice to make up for Aaron the douchebag, but that level of nice had been reached hours ago. I have no idea what’s happening now; I only know that I don’t want it to end, so I keep it going.
“I told you I was raised by my aunt, right?”
“Yes.” He finishes his bourbon and places the empty glass on the bar. Jude walks over without a word and refills it, and I realize he’s been doing the same to my drinks.
“I was always told that she took me in after my parents died. She was my mom’s sister.”
“Okay.”
“Well, it’s a lie.”
“What’s a lie?” Nate asks.
“I’m not sure she was related to me at all. I was told that she was appointed as my guardian after my parents died in a car crash. I always thought she was my mom’s sister, but she wasn’t. After she died, I found the adoption papers in her office. All the names are blacked out except hers, but there was a part about relationship to the mother, and it just said ‘none.’”
“Wow. That’s a pretty major blow.”
“It was. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve completely processed it all. I’m not sure I can until I know the truth—all of it. I want to know who my real parents are. I think Aunt Ginny planned on telling me when I got older, but she never had the chance.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” he asks, tilting his head a little as he stares into my eyes.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, it seems that some people go looking for their birth parents and end up rather disappointed.” His eyes flicker a bit as if he wants to say something but decides against it. “You never know what you are going to find.”
“I’d rather know. Aside from the fact that not knowing really gnaws at me, there’s knowing your medical history. I might have some treatable condition I don’t even know about, and it will kill me if I don’t find out in time.”
“That seems unlikely.”
“But you never know.”
“People give up their kid for a reason,” Nate says. “That reason is typically something like they’re a junkie or homeless or maybe worse.”
“Maybe not. It could just be people who were too young and not ready for a child.”
“If that’s the case, they'd become new parents without the support of a family to help them. Still not a great scene to put yourself into.”
I press my lips together tightly for a moment, scrunching up my face. I don’t know how to explain this feeling in my stomach—the one that drives me on to find out who my real parents are—and I’m afraid anything I say will be inadequate.
“I need to know, Nate. It will haunt me forever if I don’t at least try. If I ca
n’t find anything, then I guess I’ll figure out how to deal with it, but I can’t just give up when I’ve barely started.”
“All right,” he says. “What do you know so far?”
“Well, when my aunt died, I found the adoption papers at the bottom of a dresser drawer—names blacked out, like I said. The only thing I really had to go on was the address—Cascade Falls, Ohio.”
“You moved here looking for documents?” He looks surprised.
“Initially, I tried to do my own research from home,” I tell him, “but the adoption was sealed, so I didn’t get anywhere at all. I thought maybe one of Aunt Ginny’s friends knew something about my birth parents. Everyone knew she wasn’t my real mother, but the story was the same one my aunt had always told me—I was her sister’s daughter, and my parents had died in a car accident. I asked everyone in town who had ever come into contact with my aunt. The story was always the same—she’d lived there all her life, no one had ever actually met this supposed sister, and I came to live with her as a baby. I didn’t want to push too hard because I didn’t want anyone thinking I was disrespecting her memory.”
“So if she’s not your aunt, what is your relationship to her?”
“I have no idea. Maybe she was an older cousin to my mother, or maybe she was an older child of the same mother. I just…I don’t know. No one seems to know. When Aunt Ginny passed, that was the end of any family relationship I had.”
Tears form in the corners of my eyes, and I don’t want to cry in front of him, definitely not sitting at a bar.
“Family is important,” he says with a slow nod. “I guess I can understand why you feel that way. I’m not sure what I would do without my family.”
“Do you have a big family?” I ask, and he laughs.
“Yes, I do. Everyone lives in the same house, too. Aunts, uncles, cousins, my sister and her…and just everyone, really. The Orsos have never been a reserved bunch, and it can get rather loud.”
Orsos? Did I hear him right?
I want to smack myself on the forehead. I can’t believe I have been sitting here most of the night with a member of the Orso family and didn’t even realize it. He said it was his family’s club, and I hadn’t put two and two together. I’m a total idiot.
“Something wrong?” Nate asks.
