Sierra
Andy shut me out going radio silent. Not that I blamed him for the bomb I dropped. I paced the cottage back and forth, but it didn’t give me any answers or solace. I tried drowning in tequila, but the bitter burn didn’t numb me sufficiently.
I stared at my prepaid phone considering a call to Emmett but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone. He deserved better than that and I had to fight my battles on my own.
A week passed and I finally left the cottage more because I need groceries then I did anything else. Human contact felt painful and abrasive. I passed a mother in the cereal aisle. She was my age or thereabouts and had three children with her. Twins about six or seven and a newborn sleeping in its carrier. I couldn’t tell if the baby was a boy or a girl and I thought maybe the mom was too tired to dress the kid in anything but neutral yellows and greys. I never did find out the sex of my baby and I don’t even know how I feel about it.
My stomach turned and I leave my cart of groceries in the aisle pulling my jacket tight and walking out of the store. At least my cart had been filled with non-perishables. I could absolve myself of the guilt knowing nothing would spoil since I hadn’t gotten far in my shopping. My legs carried me automatically down Main Street until I was standing in front of the pub. A glance at the town clock said it was four thirty and I figured that was close enough to five o’clock somewhere.
I opened the door and slipped inside. A few tables were occupied and the bar was empty. I slid onto a stool at the end and waved at Pedro.
“Hola, Miss O.” Pedro sprayed seltzer over ice, a handful of maraschino cherries, and cranberry juice in a tall glass placing it in front of me. I remembered Andy saying Pedro was fairly new, maybe two or three years, but one of his best employees. I’m sure he had a story to tell, but Pedro kept to himself and took his barkeep counselor duties seriously with an ear always ready to listen.
“Thanks Pete.” I said taking a sip. He nodded and resumed stocking the bar. Sooner or later, Andy would come out of the back office to help him, and since my schedule was pretty free, I decided to wait.
I didn’t have long to wait before David showed up Andy was still MIA and maybe someone tipped him off. I wasn’t exactly an Easton family favorite.
“No more grenades, okay?” David sat next to me but the distance between us was clear as a fucking bell.
“He told you?” The pit in my stomach grew exponentially.
“His drunk ass cried about it after I got him hammered on Pedro’s specialty.” Having heard his name, Pedro glanced over at us and nodded.
“It wasn’t supposed to come out like that.”
“No.” David grunted agreeing. “He’s been hungover that last three days leaving me to manage shit.”
“I’m sorry.” I picked out a cherry biting into it. Sweet flavor burst on my tongue mixing with the tart cranberry juice and my sour sorrow.
“Don’t be sorry about that. Be sorry you’ve strung him along.”
“I left David. He wasn’t supposed to carry a torch for me.”
He snorted like I said something ridiculous, this was exactly why I left. Clean break. No contact. Look at what it got me.
“Yeah, well little sister, the heart wants what it wants and he’s wanted you. He’s always wanted you.”
I hung my head in shame. Why did hurting someone for their own good have to hurt so much more in return? I did this for him, but no amount of pushing kept him away.
“I thought he’d fill an annulment, find a nice girl and forget about me.”
“If you honestly thought that…you know what, let’s go.” David stood up abruptly almost knocking me off the stool. His paw of a hand clamps around my bicep and he’s pulling me along with him.
“Hey, where are we going?”
David heads down the hall past the closet we got locked in and into his office. He none to gently dumps me in a chair across from Andy’s desk and started opening drawers pulling files.
“You need to see this.”
He dumped a file onto to the table and puts a finger on top as I go to grab the folder.
“Wait.”
“I thought you said I needed to see this.”
“You do, but I feel like I should preface this with you left him, and you left him with few options.”
I’m shaking my head. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”