“Do you make it a habit of answering other people’s private phone calls?” he asked me.
“If I think the person needs sleep more than the conversation, yes. He’s worried about you,” I added.
“Well, he shouldn’t worry, none of them should. I’m fine, he said turning his face away.
“How can you say that, Alex? You spend your nights getting drunk and your sleep is filled with nightmares. How can you say you’re fine?” I asked, gently turning his face back towards me. “You’re not fine, Alex.”
“So maybe I’m not. I’m alone though.”
“Only because you choose to be. You have peopled who care about you yet you push them away. You complain of your empty house and of being alone when you choose to be that way,” I pointed out.
“Even they can’t fill my home. They have their own families, wives, children.”
“So you push them away to hold on to your pain?” I asked.
“I don’t want to talk about them anymore,” he said, sitting up.
“How did she die?” I asked quietly.
“She had a brain tumor,” he answered, his eyes clouding over.
“So she died slowly?”
“No, she just lived fast. One minute she was shopping for the baby she was never going to see and the next she was gone. She never even knew she was going to be a mother of twins.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, confused. His words didn’t make any sense.
“Riley knew she didn’t have much time, but she wanted a baby so much. So she asked a friend to carry her baby for her. Pollyanna was barely into her pregnancy when Riley died. They didn’t find out for four more months that the baby she wanted so much was twins.”
“Have you been to see them?”
“A few times. They are so much like her though. Especially Star, she looks exactly like her mother.”
“But knowing they will never know her hurts, doesn’t it?”
“Why are you doing this to me?” he demanded, standing up.
“Doing what?” I countered, standing as well.
“Just stop! Just stop,” he yelled.
Before I had a chance to react he crumbled to the floor crying, sobs racking his body.
“Oh, Alex,” I whispered, kneeling and pulling him into my arms.
I held him like a child and let his tears fall. I wondered if he had ever cried at all when Riley died.
~~~~~~******~~~~~~~
He wouldn’t speak to me again once his tears dried. He simply folded his blankets, picked up his phone, and left.
Frankie must have noticed I had a rough night when I came into work. It took two well placed smacks to get the jukebox to come on.
“You all right, Busy?” he asked, watching me.
“Yeah, just didn’t get much sleep, Frankie boy,” I answered with a tired smile.
“Would have thought things would be easier on you since Jack Daniels walked out on his own last night.”
“You would have thought,” I agreed, before going to take care of our first customer.
I didn’t give Alex more than a brief glance when he walked in that night. We were unusually busy and my work needed most of my attentions even if my mind did wonder back to him. Truth was work needed all of my attention because my busy crowd had a few wild ones I didn’t really trust.
My instincts were right too when a fight broke out shortly after eleven. On any other night Frankie and I would have been able to easily handle the situation. I was tired and unprepared and distracted though.
When I attempted to break up the fight I didn’t put my self or my strength in the action and was thrown across the room instantly by a large, drunk, angry man. I slammed against the wall in an instant, my head spinning with the pain.
A moment later I heard a gun shot and jumped. I opened my eyes to see Frankie standing behind the bar with his shotgun in hand.
“The first shot was a blank. The next one’s got real live bullets in it. Now get the hell out of my bar,” he ordered.
For a single moment the troublemakers stood their ground. Then slowly they left the bar, mumbling profanities and tossing angry glares.
Once they were gone Frankie was by my side in an instant. Right next to Alex.
“Are you all right, Busy?” Frankie asked, helping me to sit up.
“I’m fine,” I answered, holding me head to stop the throbbing.
“Greer, look at me,” Alex said, turning my face to him. I looked up into his dark brown eyes and saw the compassion and worry in them.
“I’m okay,” I assured him.
“Her eyes look all right. I doubt she has a concussion,” he said, ignoring me and speaking directly to Frankie.
“I want you to go home. I’ll call you a cab just to be on the safe side,” Frankie said, gently pulling me to my feet.
“I’m all right,” I insisted.
“Just to be safe, Busy. Please,” Frankie said and I saw the concern in his eyes.
“She shouldn’t be alone. I could be wrong about the concussion,” Alex added.
“Well what do you suggest, Jack Daniels?” Frankie demanded, turning on him.
“Frankie,” I said, quietly to stop him.
“I’ll take her home with me. She can stay at my place. I’ll keep an eye on her,” Alex promised.
“Yeah, right. I’m gonna let my Busy go home with some drunk who gets so smashed he can’t get himself home,” Frankie bit out.
“Frankie, I’ll be fine with Alex,” I said, stepping between them.
“Alex?” he asked confused.
“Alex,” I repeated. “He’s been staying with me. I trust him, Frankie. I’ll be fine.”
“What do you even know about this guy, Busy?”
I winced at the sound of his voice rising and pressed a hand to my still throbbing head.
“Knock it off,” Alex ordered.
“Stop, please. I’m going back to my apartment alone,” I said. “And that’s final.”
With that I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
“Greer,” Alex called out as he followed me out the door.
“Alex, please. My head is killing me,” I said, then stopped in my tracks when I realized the phrase I had used.
I turned and saw him standing there, his dark tan gone in place of his pale white face.
“Alex, I’m sorry,” I said, taking a step toward him.
“No,” was all he said. Then he turned and took off running.
Well I was tired of him running, running from me and from everyone else in his life. So I took off after him.
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