“She does, doesn’t she?” he nods his head.
“Why didn’t you ever tell Sophie about your mother?”
“I did, eventually. But it was just too hard for me, when she died dad I fell into this dark hole and I couldn’t get out of it until Sophie came in and saved me.”
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t do more to help you after the accident.”
“It’s fine dad, lots of intensive therapy helped out a little bit, told me that it wasn’t my fault, but I’m not sure if I ever believe it.”
“It wasn’t,” he tells me looking into my eyes and I shrug, “No, I don’t mean to bring it up son, but I never blamed you for it. The driver in the other car was drunk and hit you. It was his fault.”
“I know that now.” I stop, “It just took me longer to realize it.”
“Sophie?” he asks me.
“No, Kaylee,” I look to my daughter running around with one of the young boys and I can’t help but think that it is way too early in her life for her to be chasing boys around.
“It always made me laugh that you had a daughter.” My father says to me.
“Yeah, yeah, because it’s karma coming back around?”
“No, because now you will have two women having you wrapped around their fingers.” I’m not sure if I like what my father just said, “And the fact that you are eventually going to have a mental breakdown over the boys, especially if she still looks like Sophie with your eyes.”
“I know,” I shout, covering my face with my hands, and he laughs, walking and getting his gin and tonic and then walks back toward the party. I walk toward my wife and I wrap my arms and sigh.
“You have a good talk with you dad?” she asks and I nod my head.
It was good. He made me feel better about what happened to my mother… P.S. I put that in there so you would know what happened. Cause it’s the only thing that we didn’t cover.
Oh, I have one more thing I want to share before I leave.
My crappy steak comes to the bar and I look at it. Why again did I have to eat here? Could have gone across the street to Ruby Tuesday’s but it’s basically the same place
“Can I get another drink, sweetheart?” I flirt with the bartender and she grins shyly looking down at the drink and grabbing it. I see the dark black hair walk across the windows on the side of the building and I can’t help but take in the black workout pants and the oversized sweater. I’m not sure why people come out to eat not dressed up for the occasion. I mean I know that it isn’t the nicest but it’s still a restaurant. I hear the door open behind me but I don’t even bother to turn around and look until she sits down two stools over from me and I have to take a glance at the frumpy little thing that dresses like that out in the world, but she’s not frumpy, in fact she is stunning even with the clearly dyed black hair.
“Can I get a Grateful Dead and a shot of Tequila?” She asks the bartender and I take a sip from my jack and coke that sits in front of me.
“Straight for the hard stuff?” I say just trying to get a rise from her.
“It was a long drive.” She tells me and now I’m intrigued. There’s something about her, I’m not sure what it is.
“Where are you coming from?” I can’t help but ask her.
“Boston,” she tells me. Huh, that’s strange, I’m pretty sure that is where Mar’s sister is from as well the one that’s in some sort of trouble.
“Ouch,” I smile the grin that will normally get me anything that I want. She leans over to me and I think that maybe my grin has worked and it makes me a little sad, I don’t want to use that on her, and I’m not sure why. I’m not sure what it is about her but I actually want to hear her talk.
“You do realize that literally every woman in this restaurant is staring at you.” I smile at her, but I do know that. I can’t help not to.
“No, I hadn’t.” I lie to her. I watch as her lips curl around the shot glass and she throws it back and I can tell that she is a pro at it. I can’t help but watch her lips curl around the straw and instantly I begin to have dirty thoughts about her.
“Bullshit,” she says and I am stunned for a moment. I haven’t ever had someone call me on my lies.
“Excuse me?” I ask her, almost stumbling over my words.
“Bullshit,” she repeats herself, “Every man knows when he has gathered the attention of the entire room.” I then decide to turn it on her.
“Do you?” I ask her, grinning.
“Excuse me?” she asks me this time and I am slightly amused.
“Do you realize that no one was looking over here until you sat down?” I only slightly lie.
“Whatever.” She says and motions for another shot; I wonder how many she can drink.
“See, you can’t assume that everyone knows something when you don’t even see it yourself.” Truth is every man watched her walk in and even in frumpy workout pants.
“You don’t even know me.” she spits out at me and I feel as if I have been attacked.”
“You’re right.” I admit to her, “So, why are you driving from Boston.” And why do I want to know her?
“Moving,” she sighs and I can tell that it’s something that isn’t good.
“Where to?” I ask her.
“Ah, no,” she says, and it makes me laugh. I’m not even sure why.
“Alright then why are you leaving?” I ask her, for whatever reason I’m actually interested in her life.
“My life fell apart.” I’m really intrigued now.
“How so?” I’m not sure why I actually want to know maybe it’s because she is the first girl that has ever called me on my bullshit.
“I don’t even know you.” she tells me again.
“Alright, but sometimes it helps to tell a completely stranger. Come on let me try and help.’ I actually care, this is weird. I want to make sure that she is going to be alright. This girl has a strange effect on me. she opens up completely telling me about how she had a business and a fiancée that she thought she was living a perfect like and then her business sunk and how she just locked the doors for good and I look at her and say, “That sucks, what about your fiancée?” Bravo Austin, so eloquently put.
“Well,” she has an adorable nervous laugh, “We were supposed to get married on the fifteenth and Wednesday night after I walked away from my business I went back to the apartment that I was forced to move into with him because I had lost mine, and I was taking a bath. He came home, not knowing that I was home, with his girlfriend.”
“That’s awful,” I tell her, and I hate this guy that I have never meet for hurting this beautiful girl. If she was mine I would never hurt her. I would never cheat on her. Wait, what am I thinking?
“That’s not even the worst part,” she tells me and I’m not sure I can handle it getting any worse. I look to her wondering how it could get worse. “Well, they we’re together before him and I where, in fact she lived there with him before I lost my apartment.” I’m lost.
“I don’t understand,” I tell her, “Why would she be alright with that?”
“Well, it was their plan, he was going to marry me, and then divorce me, for the money. My business, when it was doing well, was a goldmine, well when it fell I never really admitted it to him. I was planning on telling him that I had to close up that afternoon, but… anyways I kind of lost it.”
“Lost it?” I ask her.
“Yeah, it was like my breaking point.” I can’t help but smile at her, “Why is that funny?” she becomes offended.
“Don’t beat yourself up too much; we all have those just before left gets really good.” I smirk at her and she nervously climbs off of the stool and to the bathroom. I call over the bartender and close out my tab telling her to put her tab on mine as well. I hurry and pay it and begin to leave because I get the feeling that she is a proud girl who doesn’t like stuff being done for her. As I am walking across the parking lot I hear someone shout and I can only imagine that it is her. I turn aro
und and she in sprinting up to me. “You know that can be seriously dangerous.” She ignores my statement.
“Why did you pick up my tab?” she asks me as we walk into the same hotel. I can’t help but smile at her. “You’re staying here too?” She asks, and I can’t help but smile.
“Yeah, I’m in town for a few days for a conference.” We both walk to the elevator and get into it, we both press different floor buttons. Damn I wish I was able to have more time with her. When the elevator stops on her floor first I smile to myself. “I couldn’t let you walk to your room alone.” Usually this is my ploy with trying to sleep with a girl, but not her I just want to make sure that she is alright.
“You know,” she says as we walk, “I didn’t tell you that story for you to pay for my drinks.”
“I know, I can tell that you’re too proud to ever ask for help,” she stops at her door, I lean over and kiss her on the cheek whispering into her ear “But sometimes even the most successful need help. Good night… and have a safe drive to where ever you’re going.” I smile at her and turn around walking back to the elevator. When I enter it I just see the door closing behind her meaning that she watched me walk all the way back to the elevator.
I don’t sleep much that night but I think about her. I have never had a girl call me out on my shit before, or have such an effect on me as she did. When my alarm goes off in the morning I have only a couple of hours of sleep but I jump up and grab a piece of paper. The meeting with my client is at seven and she probably isn’t up yet. I write on the paper.
-Good morning.
I hope that one day fate will magically bring you back into my life
-Austin
I walk up to her room quickly and slide it under her door, pressing my hand to it, just wanting to touch her one more time.
Fated Page 17
