Incidental Happenstance

by DeSalvo, Kim

“Indeed it is,” he agreed, “but for new friends such as yourself, I’m proud to share a wee bit more of me special blend!”

  Dylan put his palm over his shot glass before Paddy could pour more into it. “I appreciate that, Paddy, and appreciate the welcome I’ve gotten here even more. I’m obviously an outsider; I didn’t know Nick; but this is a great bunch of people here, and I’m so glad Tia has people like you in her life. I’d like to buy a round for the house.” He watched Paddy open his mouth and look around the room. There had to be sixty or more people drifting about, and it was an expensive proposition.

  “Well, that’s a mighty generous offer, Dylan,” he said, “but that’s a lot of shots we’re talkin’ about here. You go offerin’ that up, and I don’t see anyone who’s going to take a pass.”

  “I hope they don’t,” Dylan replied. “Do you have enough? What do you think we’d need, five or six bottles?”

  “Again,” he said with a sly smile, “I’d like to point out to ye that it’s an Irish pub. We always have plenty of whiskey on hand. But are you sure you want to do that?”

  “Positive,” he said, adding, “but it’s just between you and me who’s buying, OK? Just pass them out and make a toast—say they’re on the house.”

  He nodded, smiling, and headed for the back room of the pub. Dylan had barely turned back to the bar when Paddy leaped onto the stage and spoke into the mike.

  “My dear friends!” he exclaimed, the crowd quieting immediately and turning toward him. “It’s not often that a person with any smarts offers to help ye along the way to your drinkin’, but I just know this guy’s got smarts, cause he came here with Tia! And her new friend—our new friend Master Dylan, is buying a round of Tully for the house!”

  Oh shit, Dylan thought, but then everyone rose to their feet and held up glasses in his direction and yelled, “Slainte!” to which he had no choice but to smile and raise his own glass.

  Siobhan immediately started pouring into a line of shot glasses set up along the length of the bar and Paddy returned with more bottles, efficiently placing the shots on large trays that were quickly distributed. Once everyone had a drink in their hands, they looked to Dylan to make the toast. Hesitantly, he stepped up to the mike, while Tia smiled encouragingly. Dylan was making one hell of an impression and she couldn’t be happier—she was again amazed at what a great guy he was.

  “I, ah, know I just met you all tonight, but even though I’m an intruder on your private celebration, you’ve made me feel incredibly welcome and for that, I thank you. But this night is for Nick, and although I never knew him, I know he must have been a hellova guy to have all of you for friends. So, here’s to Nick.”

  “TO NICK!” the group answered back before tossing their shots and slamming their glasses onto their tables in unison.

  Tia was visibly moved as she made her way over to Dylan. “That was an incredibly nice thing you just did,” she choked.

  “Well, it wasn’t exactly the way I planned it—I told Paddy to say they were on the house; I just wanted to buy a drink for your friends. They seem really cool.”

  “They are.” She dropped her eyes, and pulled Dylan off to the side to get a little bit of privacy. “Listen, Dylan,” she said. “I know this is not at all what you had in mind when you said you wanted a little anonymity.”

  “Definitely not what I expected, that’s for sure,” he agreed.

  She sighed. “There’s so much I could explain to you, but I don’t even know if I should. I’ve got a long sad story, and you didn’t sign up for any of this.” Dylan looked at her, confused, but he let her continue. “If you want to leave before you get tangled in a crazy web, I would understand.”

  “Do you want me to leave?” he asked, letting the decision be hers.

  “No. I definitely don’t want you to leave. But…”

  “Then I’m staying,” he said. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time, and I still don’t know anything about you. I’d like to hear your story.”

  Tia smiled thinly. “You might be sorry you asked after you’ve heard it, but maybe we could find a quiet table and…”

  They were interrupted by a line of people coming up to shake Dylan’s hand and thank him for the drinks. She made introductions again, and Dylan was again dizzied by the array of names and faces passing before him. Finally, the guy who’d made the first toast to Tia made his way over and wrapped her in a protective embrace.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, sweetheart,” he said to her. “Are you going to introduce me to your guest?” Tia smiled and squeezed him back.

  “Sean, this is Dylan. Dylan, Sean. Typical obnoxious Irishman, but generally a great guy.”

  The two men shook hands. “Nice to meet you,” Dylan said.

  “That was a straight up thing you did there. A round for the house! Very cool. Thanks, man.”

  “My pleasure,” Dylan said, “Although I didn’t want Paddy to make a federal case of it. I just wanted him to pass them around.”

  Sean smiled, “Yeah, well that’s Uncle Paddy for you. Even if the shots had been on him, he’d try to give someone else the credit. The man’s just way too humble, if you ask me.”

  “Paddy’s your uncle?” Dylan asked.

  “Yeah, and Nick was my cousin.”

  Dylan held his hand out again to shake Sean’s. “Wow, I’m really sorry about your loss,” he said sincerely.

  “We all are,” he said, looking at Tia. “Thanks. But hey, we’re not here to feel sorry for ourselves tonight—he’d hate it if we did that.”

  Dylan nodded. “I understand.”

  “Hey, you throw darts at all?” Sean continued. “A couple of us are getting up a game, and I could use a partner. You in? The next drink’s on me.”

  He threw a look at Tia who shrugged and tossed one back that said, “You’re on your own.” Dylan contemplated the offer for just a moment, his lips turning down and his head nodding slightly. This was turning into an even better night than he thought it could be. All of a sudden he was just one of the guys, and he relished the thought of just blending in. “How could I say no to that?” he replied, and smiled at her. “We’ll have that talk a little later?” he said as he walked off to join the guys gathered around the dartboard, dropping quarters onto the top of the machine. Tia nodded, thrilled that there was going to be a ‘later,’ and went and joined a table full of girls, where she was quickly handed another Guinness.

  The other two dart players greeted him like an old friend, and extended their enthusiastic thanks for his round as well. It wasn’t what he intended, but now each of them was pledging to buy his next drink. He met Dave and Tim, and they settled up into two teams and started a game of 501. Dylan was nervous—not about playing darts; when you spent a good chunk of your life on the road, you found ways to entertain yourself. They had a little electronic dart board they always kept on the bus, and he could throw with the best of them. He worried about where the conversation with the guys would lead. He figured they’d be curious about him, and was working on a story that wouldn’t be a lie, but wouldn’t be the whole truth, either. For Tia’s sake, he didn’t want to say they’d just met a few hours ago at little dump, or that she was only here accidentally because of him and had had no intention of coming here tonight. It was obvious that they were glad she showed up, and even more obvious that she was where she needed to be. Selfishly, he was hoping to learn a little bit more about her from her friends, but he didn’t want it to look like he didn’t know anything, which was pretty close to the truth.

  Aside from that, it felt weird being so comfortable in the company of others. He looked across the room and saw Tia sitting with a group of girls. She looked so comfortable and happy here. He was glad they came.

  “So, Dylan, I haven’t seen you around before. Do you live around here?” Sean asked casually.

  Here we go, Dylan thought. Showtime. “I’m actually here on business,” he said. “My main base is in Colorado, but I come to Chica
go as often as I can. I love this city.”

  “Colorado, huh? What part?”

  “I’m about an hour and a half outside of Denver.”

  “I love Colorado,” Sean said. “I get out there at least once a year, to ski or hike. It’s a gorgeous place.”

  “I agree. You ever ski Copper Mountain?”

  “Oh man, that’s my favorite place to go! Vail is so overrated,” Sean said.

  “And overpriced,” Dylan agreed.

  “You ski there a lot?” Sean asked.

  “Every chance I get.”

  “Maybe I’ve seen you there before or something—you look kind of familiar to me.”

  “That’s a possibility,” Dylan said, adding, “I thought the same thing about you.” He pushed the glasses up and tipped his head down to get more shadow on his face. Being recognized would put an unwanted twist on the evening; that was certain. He raised his glass and drank, to further hide his features. Thankfully, Sean seemed to accept a possible chance encounter on the mountain, and moved on.

  “So how often do you get out to Chicago?”

  “Never often enough, that’s for sure.”

  “I hear that, brother.” Sean had to get up to take his turn, and Dylan breathed a small sigh of relief. So far so good, but this could get tough. He and Tia obviously hadn’t come up with any matching stories ahead of time, and he was confident that she wasn’t going to give away his identity, so he had to stick as closely as he could to the truth so she wouldn’t unknowingly dispute anything he’d said. He’d try to turn the conversation in a different direction, and hopefully learn something about Tia in the process.

  Sean returned after hitting a trip twenty and two eighteens.

  “Nice shot,” Dylan said admiringly.

  “Thanks man. So, what do you do?”

  Dylan tried to sound casual, and to be vague. “I work in the entertainment industry mostly, on the business end.” He was on the business end of the industry alright.

  “Yeah? That sounds interesting, what kind of entertainment?”

  “Different stuff, you know, music, film, awards shows; things like that.” He hoped Sean wouldn’t ask for specifics.

  “That sounds pretty cool. Do you like it?”

  “Mostly, I love it, but I have to travel a lot, so I don’t get to be home much. That part sucks.”

  “I can imagine,” Sean replied.

  Thankfully, it was Dylan’s turn to throw. He stood and took aim, and hit the bull on his first shot. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!” Sean exclaimed, high-fiving him. His next shot hit double seventeen, and then he nailed another bull.

  “Damn, I picked the right man for my team!” he said, taunting Dave and Tim, who were now more than a little behind.

  “Always glad to help out,” he said modestly, but with a sheepish grin on his face. Sean turned to him again.

  “Listen, you seem like a stand-up guy…”

  Oh crap, Dylan thought, here it comes.

  “I just want to get this out there right away. Nothing personal or anything.”

  “Shoot,” Dylan replied, casually taking a sip of his beer.

  “Tia’s like a little sister to me,” he began.

  Dylan exhaled a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He was afraid that Sean was going to tell him that he and Tia were an item, or had been, and tell him to keep his distance.

  Dave added, “She’s like a sister to all of us.” Tim nodded his agreement as well.

  “We just really care about her and all. I just want you to know we’ve always got her back.”

  “I can see that. She’s lucky to have you.”

  “We’re lucky to have her. She’s pretty amazing.”

  Dylan nodded. “I agree.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you—if you’re just friends or more than that—and it’s none of my business,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying that I couldn’t stand to see her hurt again, and I hope that you’ll keep her best interests at heart.”

  Hurt again? Dylan thought. He felt bad knowing she’d been hurt, and the way Sean said it, it sounded like it was a guy who’d hurt her. But since he didn’t know anything about her personal life, he couldn’t really ask for more details. “You got no worries there,” he answered honestly. They didn’t know each other well enough to cause the other pain.

  “Glad to hear it,” he answered sincerely, patting Dylan on the back. “But if you don’t mind my asking—and you can tell me shut the hell up if you want to—how do you feel about Tia?”

  Dylan looked across the room and saw her sitting with a group of girls at a round table. As if she knew he was looking at her, she turned and met his eyes and sent him a smile that set his heart to beating a strange rhythm. Returning the smile and without taking his eyes off her he said the first thing that came to his mind and no one was more surprised than he when the words rolled out. “I think I could get lost in her, man.”

  Sean slapped him on the back. “She has that effect on people, doesn’t she?”

  “She certainly does on me.” The simple truth of the statement was like a smack on the head.

  Dylan closed out the game with a trip 20 and an 11, much to Sean’s delight. In that short time, it was like Dylan had made three new friends. They laughed and joked around, and the talk didn’t come back around to him and why he was here or what he did for a living. He didn’t get any information about Tia, though, either, so when they asked him for another game; he politely bowed out, saying that he wanted to spend some time with her. They let him off the hook easily, but not before they extended him an invitation to their weekly Tuesday night poker game. “We play every Tuesday, and switch off houses. The host buys the beers and everyone brings junk food. You’re welcome anytime—even this Tuesday, if you want,” Sean added.

  “I’d love to, absolutely, but I’ll have to take a rain check,” he said. “I’m going to be out of town on Tuesday.” Playing a concert in Cleveland. “I’ll definitely keep it in mind, though. I’d love to get in on that.”

  “Rain check, absolutely. Tia can always find out who’s hosting.” He jumped up from the table. “Well, ladies, I’d love to stay and shoot the shit, but I think it’s almost time for me to take the stage. Gotta set up some of the equipment.”

  “Are you playing tonight?”

  “Yeah. Some of Nick’s favorites and some of the stuff we used to play together.”

  “Tia was telling me she sang with you sometimes.” Finally he could make a comment that eluded to him knowing her more than a few hours.

  “Yeah. She’s got some pretty tight vocals. I would have asked her sing with me tonight, but I really didn’t think she was coming. I got Danny on backup.” He nodded over his shoulder to a dark-haired guy messing with some wires on the stage; hooking up amps. “Anyway, the offer for the poker game stands. Hope to see you there sometime.”

  They shook hands again. “Thanks for making me feel so welcome.”

  Sean shrugged it off. “If Tia likes you, you must be a good guy.” He headed for the stage, and Dylan set off to collect Tia, and to hear her story.

  Chapter 7

  They finally made their way to a corner table, and everyone seemed to respect that they wanted to be alone. Dylan pulled her chair out for her before sitting down across the small table.

  “Finally,” he said. “I was wondering when I was going to get to talk to you again.” He smiled at her warmly. “You seem so happy here. These are really nice people, and they obviously all love you. They’ve been vying for your attention all night.”

  “Well you’ve certainly made a good impression on them. You wouldn’t believe the comments from the girls. They all give their approval, by the way, but they insist I get you to cut your hair,” she smirked.

  “Well, mullet or not, I’ll have you know that I have a standing invitation to the Tuesday night poker game,” he said slyly.

  “You mean
the Tuesday night drinking fest?” she said sarcastically. “I don’t think any of them even owns a deck of cards.”

  “Yeah, but I’m still invited. Too bad—it would probably be fun. You know, it’s been pretty awesome just being one of the guys tonight. I can’t even remember the last time I felt like I fit in at a place like this.” A shadow covered his eyes, and he looked at her intently. “But you didn’t want to come in here at first—actually you looked like you were going to pass out when we walked in the door. What was it, Tia?”

  She looked down at the table and started wringing her hands nervously. “I really do owe you an explanation, Dylan. It’s just that tonight, with you…it wasn’t supposed to happen…”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “God,” she sighed. ”You’ve been so incredibly nice to me tonight. You’ve given me exactly what I needed to get through what I thought it would take months to accomplish. Once again, you’ve come to my rescue; this time just by being yourself.”

  He shrugged. “Now you’ve really lost me.”

  She took a long deep breath. “Just give me a minute to explain, then if you want to run away and pretend like this night never happened, I’ll understand completely and try not to hold it against you.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand, and continued.

  “Nick—he wasn’t just some guy…he was my fiancé. We were supposed to be married last June.

  “Holy shit.” The pieces of the puzzle started falling into place, and Dylan could finally start to see the big picture.

  “We dated for over five years,” she continued. “Nick was an engineer.” She drew a long breath and her eyes wandered over his shoulder for a moment before she continued. “He was supervising at a job site, and there was this crane hoisting some big heavy beam, and the cable snapped…he was killed instantly.”

  “Oh, Tia,” he said softly.

  “Tonight is the one year anniversary of his death.”

  “I’m so sorry…” He reached across the table and cradled her hand in his.

  “Thanks,” she choked for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. This night had been spectacular, and she was glad that she’d come and laid the last of her fears about Nick to rest. She could honestly envision being able to go on with her life now, keeping him close as a warm and beautiful memory.