Open Tab

by J. A. Armstrong

  “I seem to recall being asked to try something called a Bimini Bimbo last night.”

  “Fallon, really? You brought one of those sorority girls home to Riley?” Carol teased.

  “That would have taken me more time to finish,” Riley said without missing a beat.

  Fallon’s jaw opened and closed soundlessly.

  “Although, it was sweet.” Riley looked at Fallon. “Something you wanted to tell us, Fallon?”

  Carol’s howl of laughter startled Pete and Dale as they walked in.

  Fallon shook her head. You certainly are full of surprises. “Okay, Ms. Main, seeing as your experience with the bimbo was less than memorable, what can I offer you tonight?”

  “Holy shit, Foster!” Pete said. “You hooked Riley up with a chic?”

  Riley bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  Fallon groaned and looked directly at her. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  Riley held her thumb and forefinger apart slightly in response.

  “Remember what they say, Riley,” Fallon said.

  “What’s that?” Riley asked.

  “Turnabout is fair play,” Fallon replied.

  “Oh? I thought turnabout was foreplay?” Riley fired back.

  Fallon nearly swallowed her tongue. She is on a mission to embarrass me.

  “She’s gotcha’ there,” Carol said. She leaned into Fallon’s ear. “You might just have met your match.”

  Fallon grumbled. “What would you like?” Fallon asked.

  “I thought you knew what everybody wanted before they ordered,” Dale commented.

  Fallon ignored him.

  “Surprise me,” Riley said.

  Fallon was caught off guard by the sudden flutter in her stomach. She’s not flirting, Fallon. Get a grip. It’s Riley, for God’s sake. She nodded.

  “How’s the car?” Pete asked Riley.

  “Better than it was before,” Riley said. “Thanks, Pete.”

  “Ah, no sweat. You know, Marge was all excited about getting to hang out with Owen tonight,” he told Riley.

  “I’m glad she was available,” Riley said.

  Riley had hemmed and hawed over the idea of having someone babysit. It seemed that everyone was eager to offer help in some way. Her first week in the town had been more eventful than she expected. It did turn out to have some benefits. Riley doubted that she would know half the people she did had her car not decided to keel over and die late at night. And, the storm? The massive branch that had poked a hole in the roof of her new abode provided her more time to get acquainted with her new neighbors. Most of all, it afforded her the opportunity to spend time getting to know Fallon. She hadn’t expected to have a circle of friends so soon. At first, she’d been inclined to think the upheavals were a sign of impending doom. There was always a reason for everything that happened. Riley did believe that even if she sometimes found it difficult to accept. And, there was always a silver lining. Even in the middle of the darkest storm a person could always find a silver lining if she bothered to look. Her Nana had always told her that. When she had called Sylvia earlier that week to tell her about her arrival in Whiskey Springs, Robert’s grandmother had given her a reminder.

  “You arrived safely,” Sylvia said.

  “Safely yes, not uneventfully.”

  “Oh dear, dare I ask.”

  “Nothing horrible. My car decided to break down just when I got into town—as it started to snow.”

  “Oh, my.”

  “And, there might be a tree partially through my roof.”

  “Of the car?” Sylvia asked.

  “No, of the house.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes.” Riley laughed lightly. “Thank God for Fallon.”

  “Fallon? Fallon Foster?”

  “Is there another Fallon here I should be on the lookout for?”

  Sylvia chuckled. “Goodness, I hope not. I think one is all any town can take. So, you met Fallon?”

  “Oh, you could say that. I’m staying with her.”

  “Took you in, huh?”

  “Like a stray,” Riley joked.

  “She’ll take good care of you, Riley. Fallon’s a good girl—always was. Give you the shirt off her back, that one. And, then dance around naked just to drive her mother crazy.”

  Riley laughed. “I believe that.”

  “You should; it’s the truth. Really? How are you doing?” Sylvia inquired.

  “I’m okay. Can I be honest?”

  “You can always be honest with me.”

  “I know.” Riley sighed. “Part of me wonders if all this craziness is telling me something.”

  “You mean you wonder if it’s telling you to go back to California,” Sylvia surmised.

  “Is it? God, Gram… Everything is upside down. I don’t even have a place to live.”

  “I thought you were staying with Fallon.”

  “I am, but that’s not what I mean. She doesn’t even know me and…”

  “She doesn’t? You mean she didn’t know you when she asked you to stay.”

  “Right. And, she’s gone out of her way to make Owen and I feel at home.”

  “That’s a bad thing?” Sylvia asked.

  “No, but it’s not her problem. Pete is fixing my car for next to nothing. And, Carol? She and Charlie brought over some of her nephew’s old toys for Owen.”

  “Sounds to me like you found the silver lining.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, Riley, I know how hard everything’s been. You know I do. I know what it feels like to lose your place.”

  “I know you do, Gram.”

  “But there’s always a silver lining, sweetheart. Live as long as I have, and you’ll learn that. It takes some time to see it sometimes. It’s always there. Sounds like you’ve made some friends already.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “You see? Silver linings. Try not to think the worst, Riley. As bad as anything gets, tomorrow comes. Sometimes, you find the purpose in things that happen without looking. Those are the easy times—when the answer seems to magically appear. Sometimes? Sometimes, you look so hard to find an answer that you don’t realize it’s been staring at you the whole time. Don’t give up just yet.”

  “You sound like Fallon.”

  Sylvia laughed. “Well, she’s got some chutzpah. She’s a teddy bear underneath, a lot like her mother. You could do a lot worse for a friend.”

  “So I’m learning.”

  “It’ll work out,” Sylvia said. “You call me anytime. Let me know when Ida’s back in town. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

  “I will, Gram. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Kiss the little boy for me.”

  “I will.”

  “Here you go,” Fallon placed a drink in front of Riley.

  “Do I want to know?”

  Fallon shrugged.

  Riley sipped from the glass cautiously. “A little tart.”

  Fallon grinned. “I thought I’d give you something that takes a little more time.”

  “What does a broad have to do to get a drink in this town?”

  Fallon’s eyes lit up.

  Riley turned to see a tall, gray haired woman removing her coat. Ida. The legend herself had arrived. Riley’s attention turned back to Fallon. Fallon’s eyes sparkled as her mother approached. Riley found herself wondering if someday Owen might look at her the same way.

  Fallon made her way around the bar and embraced her mother. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hi, Mom?” Ida pulled back and grinned. She looked at Riley. “You must be Riley.”

  Riley smiled and extended her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Foster. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “Ida, and don’t believe one word of what my daughter or Sylvia’s said.”

  “No don’t,” Fallon said. “Believe every word.”

  Riley snickered.

  Ida inspected the glass in front of Riley, shook her
head, and looked at Fallon. “She’s been here a week and you’re experimenting on her already?”

  Fallon’s cheeks colored and then swiftly paled.

  Riley reached over and grabbed Fallon’s hand. “No worse than what Owen has subjected her to at the dinner table.”

  Fallon laughed. Owen liked to experiment with his food. She imagined that he would enjoy dirt, mud, leaves, and anything he could get his hands into enticing. Owen’s curiosity and playfulness amused Fallon endlessly. She envied the ability children had to find interest and excitement in the mundane. Nothing was ordinary in a child’s world. Owen liked to paint with his food.

  Ida waited for an explanation.

  “I think Owen is practicing to become a painter or something,” Fallon offered.

  “A painter?” Riley asked as she sipped her drink.

  “Well, yeah. He likes to make pictures with his food. I’ll bet there’s a future in that.”

  Riley’s face contorted with disbelief.

  “What?” Fallon asked. “Everything goes these days; imagine in another twenty years? He’s a prodigy.”

  “Or he’s two,” Riley said.

  Fallon shrugged. “Maybe he’ll be a chef.”

  “Uh huh, or a gardener.”

  “I could use one of those.”

  Riley smiled. “You could use a lot of things.”

  Ida’s gaze moved back and forth between her daughter and Riley as if she were watching a tennis match. Fallon had prattled on about Riley and Owen the last couple of times Ida had called. She’d heard plenty about the young woman from her best friend. Sylvia had shared Riley’s struggles after losing Robert. Ida could scarcely imagine how difficult it must have been to lose a husband with a new baby. Fallon’s father’s death had sent Ida reeling. She’d tossed and turned for weeks without more than an hour’s sleep. Her restlessness had prompted her to take on endless projects simply as a distraction. Without warning her grief had turned and she hadn’t wanted to get out of bed at all for nearly a month. Her children were grown. Sylvia told Ida that she worried Riley might be reluctant to get out and meet people in Whiskey Springs. The display unraveling before her eyes convinced Ida that Riley had made at least one friend in town.

  Finding friendship with Fallon hardly surprised Ida. Fallon was outgoing and charming. She had always connected with people easily—sometimes, too easily, Ida thought. Fallon was inherently trusting, or at least she had been. She had a habit of letting people in—all the way in without reservation. She saw the best in people. That’s who Fallon had always been. She was easy to talk to, and genuinely interested in what people had to say. A fast friend, that was Fallon. Ida hadn’t seen her daughter let anyone as close in many years. Disappointment and a broken heart hadn’t hardened Fallon; it had left her cautious—exceedingly so. She wondered what it was about Riley Main that Fallon seemed to have shed her armor so quickly.

  Ida cleared her throat. “Perhaps the prodigy can teach you how to get your mother a drink.”

  Fallon grinned. “He probably could except his mother won’t let me teach him.” She moved back to the bar to fix her mother something.

  Riley rolled her eyes. “At least, let him learn to speak full sentences before you put him behind the bar.”

  “Why? Carol can’t.”

  “What can’t I do?” Carol asked. “Oh, hey, Ida. How was the trip?”

  “Long.”

  “How are you?” Carol asked.

  Ida looked at Fallon. “Thirsty.”

  Riley laughed. There it was again; the twinkle she’d noted in Fallon’s eyes reflected in Ida’s. She studied the pair. There was no way to deny the resemblance. Both women were tall; Riley placed Fallon at roughly 5’9”. Ida was nearly eye to eye with her daughter, unlike Riley who had to look up to meet Fallon’s eyes. Fallon had blue eyes which stood in contrast to her dark hair and olive skin. Riley marveled at the way Fallon’s eyes changed in hue depending on what she wore. When Fallon wore light colors, her eyes reminded Riley of the ice that covers a pond in winter—a faint, clear blue. But when Fallon donned her navy blue jacket her eyes seemed to darken, resembling the evening sky. It added to Fallon’s striking appearance. Riley envied that. Her eyes were the color of honey. Robert had always complimented her on her eyes. She’d always considered them common.

  Riley thought the lively conversation over what Fallon was pouring into Ida’s glass was the most entertainment she’d had in weeks. Ida’s expressions mirrored Fallon’s a great deal. She wondered if Ida’s silver waves had once been Fallon’s color, a dark brown that looked either black or faintly red depending on how the light hit it. Fallon’s hair barely brushed her shoulders; Ida’s flowed to the middle of her back. Hair color aside, anyone would guess their relation at first sight. Riley was so busy studying the two women, she’d lost track of their conversation. The sudden crestfallen expression on Fallon’s face pulled her back to the present.

  “You know, your brother asked when you plan on visiting,” Ida said.

  “It’s busy season. You know that.”

  “It’s a three-hour flight, Fallon. You could go for a few days.”

  “How’s the drink?” Fallon asked Riley.

  Ida shook her head.

  “It’s good,” Riley replied. She tipped her head slightly at Fallon. What is that about?

  “He could easily come up here, Mom.”

  “Mm. You know, Liv would like to see you too, so would the girls.”

  Fallon groaned. “Mom, don’t.”

  “Don’t what? You haven’t gone down there to see them in over a year.”

  “Hey, sorry I’m late.” Andi placed her jacket on a hook inside the door.

  Fallon grinned, relieved to see Andi walk through the door. Save me. “Margarita?”

  “Always,” Andi replied.

  “How was your trip?” Andi asked as she took a seat beside Ida.

  “Long,” Ida replied. “I barely recognized the kids. They’ve all grown so much.”

  “They were just here in August, Mom,” Fallon said.

  “That was months ago.”

  Fallon nodded. “Well, they’ll be here in a few weeks for a whole week, so you’ll get your fill.”

  Ida turned back to Andi. “How are the boys?”

  “Oh, you know; busy as ever,” Andi replied. “They’re both doing well.”

  Fallon handed Andi her drink. Riley noted the way Fallon’s fingers grazed Andi’s hand tenderly.

  “Thank you,” Andi said.

  “And, Jake?” Ida inquired.

  “Home packing.”

  “Where’s he off to now?” Ida wondered.

  “Would you believe a conference in Cape Town?”

  “South Africa?”

  Andi nodded.

  “Goodness, that’s a long way to go.”

  “It is. He’s there for two weeks and then off to Paris. He’ll be gone an entire month.”

  Riley tried to conceal her interest by looking at the contents of her glass.

  “Guess I didn’t make it tart enough,” Fallon commented.

  Riley looked up.

  Fallon sensed her discomfort. “You’re almost dry,” Fallon said. “Same thing?”

  Riley smiled. “What does Jake do?” she asked Andi.

  “He was a thoracic surgeon,” Andi replied.

  “Was?”

  “Yeah. He works for a company that designs new surgical tools.”

  “Must be interesting,” Riley said.

  “I’m sure it is,” Andi chuckled. “I confess; I don’t understand half of what he tells me. He loves it, though.”

  “What about you?” Andi asked.

  “Me?” Riley replied.

  “Fallon mentioned something about you being a writer.”

  Riley blushed. “One day I hope to add that to my resume. I’m an editor—mostly mystery and romance.”

  “Sounds like the story of Fallon’s life,” Carol poked.

  Ida laughed. “S
he has a point.”

  “She always has a point,” Fallon said. “I just wish she’d aim it at someone else once in a while.”

  “Oh, relax.” Carol patted Fallon’s shoulder. “Everyone likes a little intrigue with their romance.”

  Andi smirked and looked into her glass.

  “What did I do to deserve this?” Fallon asked.

  “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to play with drunk people all day,” Ida said.

  “Are you drunk?” Fallon asked.

  “Will be if you ever get around to refilling this glass.”

  Riley laughed. What a cast of characters.

  ***

  Fallon tossed her keys on the kitchen counter and went in search of Riley. Andi had offered to drop Riley off before heading home. Fallon was torn between wanting to thank Andi and throttling her for leaving her to fend off Ida’s “guidance” for another hour. Ida had thrown back a few more drinks before Fallon put her in the car and took her home. Fallon was exhausted. Her mother had the best of intentions. Fallon wished that Ida could let certain things go; things like trying to persuade her to visit Olivia and the girls in Washington DC.

  “Hey,” Riley looked up from the book in her lap.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d still be up.”

  Riley closed the book and set it aside. “You look tired.”

  “Probably because I am.” Fallon flopped into her favorite chair.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Me? Sure,” Fallon said.

  Riley’s skepticism was obvious.

  “I love my mom; I do.”

  “But?”

  “Sometimes she doesn’t know when to say when.”

  “You mean with alcohol?”

  “No, I mean with her mouth. Alcohol doesn’t help with that,” Fallon explained.

  Riley nodded. “I should probably let you relax.”

  “I’m not kicking you out of the room.”

  “I know, but I can read anywhere. You seem to like to sleep in that chair,” Riley said.

  True. I do love this chair. Fallon rarely slept in her bed. The truth was it felt empty. A king-size bed was not meant for one person. Fallon felt like she might be swallowed whole in the middle of the night. Maybe it was loneliness that she feared might consume her if she spent too much time in that great big bed. There was no one to reach for, no tether. Fallon’s thoughts whirled or perhaps it was her emotions.