A Woman in Search Of...

On one of Brad’s breaks Wendy went to the bar and swirled into a seat. Mike headed toward her from the other end where he had just served a drink. He had a great full body with his height maybe five feet, ten inches, with black curly hair and big brown eyes

“So, what will it be, Wendy?”

“Just water, I still have a screwdriver over there.” She pointed backwards.

“Okay, one water coming right up.”

As he set the drink down Wendy looked up with wet eyes. She tried to hold the tears in abeyance, but she couldn’t.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked. With the back of her hand, she wiped the tears away. “Well, just having a rough time right now. I just broke up with Marty.”

“I’m sorry. Listen I need to get some liquor from the storage area. If you’d like to talk, you can stay after everyone leaves.”

“You’re so nice, but...are you sure?”

“Of course.”

“I’d like too. Thanks, Mike.”

She left the water and went back to the piano bar.

By one fifteen only five people remained, so Brad ended the evening and packed up his stuff. Wendy told Cindy she was staying to talk to Mike. Brad went to the door and Cindy followed him out, giving a wave to Wendy as she left.

Wendy was glad Mike was willing to talk to her. The few people who remained soon left, and the owner locked up as he exited.

“Care for a drink?” Mike asked.

“Thanks, I’ll take a white wine.”

Wendy rose when Mike came out from behind the bar with two drinks and led the way to a small table in the restaurant.

Once they were seated across from one another, Mike focused on Wendy. “Tell me what happened.”

“I just found out Marty was using me so his company could buy my building in order to build a restaurant.”

“Man, that’s crappy. I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, me too. I liked him, and I believed him when he said he cared about me. He told me his company would offer me a lot of money if I’d sell, but he didn’t seem to care about my feelings and all I did to make The Shade House a success, or how much it meant to me. What a fool I’ve been. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t go on like this but. . .”

“It’s okay. I know when we talked before you were so happy with how everything turned out at the nursery. One thing you’ll learn from this is you can’t be thin skinned. You can’t let someone else ruin your life. Try to forget what happened and keep on truckin’.”

“I’m trying, but it really hurts. I know I’ll get over it, but right now I feel like crap.”

“I can understand completely.”

“You’re being very nice. Thank you.”

“I like you, Wendy. I’ve watched you here for a long time and considered you a calming element in this crazy bar scene.”

“Really. How could you tell?”

“Well, when you’ve been around this “scene” for as long as I’ve been, you notice things no one else does.”

Wendy didn’t know much about Mike. “How did you get interested in bartending?”

“I hung around bars and found most of the people were pretty laid back. I liked it. Some became like family.”

“Family, huh? Do you have a family of your own?”

“Yeah, but the kids are older with lives of their own, and my wife has different interests. We slipped away from each other and recently separated.”

“I’m sorry to hear it. I guess you can really understand how I feel.”

“I wish I could be more helpful. The guy’s obviously a money hungry bastard.”

“You’re so right. Thanks for listening, it’s very much appreciated.”

“Any time. This will be hard to deal with for a while, but it will be less bothersome soon.” “Thank you.” Wendy looked at her watch. “I’m sorry. It’s getting late I’d better split.”

The drinks remained on the table. Wendy grabbed her purse.

“I’ll lock up and walk you out.”

“Thanks.”

Wendy and Mike stopped next to her car and without warning he took her shoulders, leaned down and briefly kissed her lips and pulled back.

“You’re one great chick. See ya later,” he said, as he started toward his truck.

Wendy couldn’t respond, too much in shock. She unlocked her car, got in, and sat a moment before she headed home.