“Drinks tonight?”
Ava looked up from her desk to see
Libby standing in the doorway of her office. “It’s ten a.m. and you’re already
talking about alcohol. Have you ever considered that you might have a problem.”
Ava smiled.
“You need to get out.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” Ava said.
“I’m always so thankful when my married friends point out all of my
shortcomings.”
“I’m buying.”
“Then I’ll be there,” Ava said.
“We’ll leave from here?”
“Works for me.”
“Our usual spot?”
“But, of course,” Libby said. “I
wouldn’t want dear Francis the bartender to think we’d been swallowed by a
black hole. We haven’t hit him up for obnoxious amounts of extra olives in
almost two weeks.”
“Do I hear something about a girls’
night?” Much like an early period or a tax audit, Harriet appeared unexpectedly
behind Libby in the hallway. It wasn’t until Ava saw that Harriet was wearing
bright blue Capri pants, a bright blue turtleneck and a blue turban that she
realized it was only Wednesday. Wednesday was Harriet’s blue day.
“Just making time for a little girl
talk, Harriet,” Libby said.
“That sure sounds like fun.”
“Would you like to join us?” Libby
said. Ava would have pinched Libby if she weren’t so far away.
“Thanks for the invite, but I
can’t,” Harriet said. “I’ll be working late.”
“That’s really too bad,” Ava said
and Libby shot her a look that said she wasn’t doing the best job of keeping
the glee out of her voice.”
“I
don’t know where you girls find the time,” Harriet said, and she tsk-ed a bit. “You
must not have enough on your plate, Ava. Why don’t you send me some ideas for
the holiday issue then?”
“No problem,” Ava said. “What were
you thinking?”
“Oh, five pages or so should be
sufficient.”
“I’ll have it in your inbox by the
end of the day.”
“Lovely,” Harriet said.
“Single-spaced, please.” Then she turned and walked back down the hallway. Ava
bent over her desk and began banging her forehead against the keyboard over and
over again.
“At least we’re having drinks
later?” Libby said.
“At least.”
“I’ll meet you in the parking lot at
5:30.” Libby said, and she scooted the other way down the hall towards her
office.
With a new assignment on her plate,
Ava abandoned her pity party (and head banging) and decided to start thinking
of holiday story ideas: Makeup to Give
and Receive,
At least there was the promise of
that drink – or three – or five.
“You notice Harriet didn’t feel like
loading you down with work as a punishment for having a life,” Ava said. She
and Libby were at their usual spot, Sparky’s. It was a terrible bar with a
terrible name, but it was close enough to the office to provide easy access
after work and the low-brow establishment also had the bonus of being a spot
neither Harriet or any of their other co-workers would be willing to be caught
dead in. Plus, the liquor was cheap, there was an air hockey table if the women
needed to blow off some steam and Francis the bartender waited on them hand and
foot. (It helped that Ava and Libby were the only women and the only patrons
under the age of 50 who ever visited Sparky’s.)
“She’s jealous of you. She could
care less about me.”
“I’m sure,” Ava said.
“I’m a writer by trade. You’re one
by vocation,” Libby said. “Harriet is just like me. She can put words together,
but she doesn’t move people. She’s just like me, but she’s always wanted to be
like you.”
“So, in her admiration she decides to make me
miserable,” Ava said. “Awesome.”
“And you make it look easy, and she hates you for
it. So, she punishes you. Sorry O Gifted One, but you do have a sensibility
most writers like me would kill for.”
“Talent or no, we’re still all working for the same
magazine.”
“Harriet and I work there because we have to. You
work there because you’re scared.”
“Right,” Ava said.
“You’re scared to fail, and you know it,” Libby
said. “As soon as you decide to believe in yourself, you’re out of there.”
“It’s funny you should bring that up,” Ava said.
“I’ve wanted to tell you more about that meeting I took for you on Monday.”
“Is this where you kill me?”
“No, I actually learned a lot from your contact,”
Ava said. “I think I might spend some more time with her.”
Libby almost spit out her drink. “You can joke
around all you want Ava Carson, but at least have the decency to wait until
I’ve swallowed. I refuse to waste perfectly good vodka because you’re pulling
my leg.”
“I mean it,” Ava said. “She had some really
interesting stuff to say. I may even want to write about it.”
“Really? What would you write?”
“Well, we started talking about the family court
here in town …” Ava was just about to share the finer points of what she’d
learned in the past few days when Libby’s eyes went wide and Ava could tell she
was no longer listening. She followed Libby’s gaze to the front door of
Sparky’s and saw two young, attractive men in business suits enter the bar.
“Shit,” she said, under her breath.
“Do you know them?” Libby asked.
“Not exactly,” Ava said.
“Well, I think you should then,” she said.
“Good-looking men never walk into this bar. It’s a sign.”
“It’s a strange, random occurrence,” Ava said as
she turned her back to the door and put her head down.
“It’s a sign,” Libby said. “And the single cannot
afford to ignore the signs.”
“Really, Libby,” Ava said, but Libby had already
begun waving frantically at the two young professionals. “What are you doing?”
“I’m married. I can make a complete fool of myself.
Besides, complaining about your embarrassing friend is a great ice breaker.”
Ava saw the men approaching and
slunk even lower in her seat.
“What brings you two to Sparky’s?”
Libby said. “And, by the way, I’m Libby, and this is my incredibly talented and
available friend Ava.”
“Hi,” Ava said.
Both men wore dark suits. The
shorter one was blond with brown eyes,
and the other was a brunette with incredibly piercing blue eyes.
“I’m Mark,” the blond said. “And we
came to Sparky’s because we never thought we’d be discovered here.”
“What a coincidence,” Libby said.
“We like this little bar for the very same reason. Do you work around here?”
“Not really,” Mark said. “But
finding an old school air hockey machine isn’t as easy as it used to be.”
“I had no idea,” Libby said. “And
who’s your friend?”
“I’m sorry,” the brunette said to
Ava. “But do we know each other?’
“I don’t think so,” Ava said,
avoiding eye contact – which was pretty damn hard with the baby blues on that
one.
“Do you read Gloss magazine?” Libby
said.
“Sometimes,” the brunette said.
“Ava here is the features editor,
and I’m the beauty editor. Maybe you’ve seen our photos in the magazine.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” the
brunette said, and he continued to study Ava’s face.
“Are you an animal lover? Ava’s
always volunteering at some sort of Humane Society event or other.”
“I do like animals, but that’s not
it either.”
“Where’d you go to school?” Libby
said.
“Geez, Libby,” Ava said. “Give it a
rest already.”
“That’s it,” the brunette said, “Now
I know how I know you – you’re the one who called me a jackass in open court.”
Libby turned to Ava, mouth open
wide. Mark wore a similar facial expression.
“Guilty as charged,” Ava said.
“You called him a jackass?” Libby
said. “In court?”
“It’s a long story,” Ava said. “And,
in fairness, you know it is one of my favorite words.”
“I’m Eric, the jackass, by the way,”
he said, extending his hand to Libby.
“Nice to meet you,” Libby said.
Eric turned and extended his hand to
Ava. “Eric – in case you’d like to know how my friends usually refer to me.”
“We like jackass, too,” Mark said.
“Ava. Ava who can’t keep her mouth
shut.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ava,” Eric
said.
“Is it too late for an apology?” Ava
said.
“It’s never too late for an apology,
but I might mull it over a bit before accepting.”
“Fair enough.” Ava couldn't help but think that this was just her luck. Not only did the stranger she insulted show up at her favorite bar -- making it forever again uninhabitable -- but he also had to be attractive, wedding ring-less and accompanied by an equally attractive friend.
Mark and Libby seemed to think this
exchange was just a hysterical and delightful way to begin a conversation, but
Ava couldn’t get over her humiliation. And from the very little that Eric added
to the group conversation, Ava was pretty sure that Eric didn’t think the
incident from the day before was quite so funny either. Libby and Mark
continued to talk about the upcoming college football season, city council
elections and the latest in reality TV, but Ava found the first possible excuse
to leave when she finished her drink.
“Why such an early night?” Francis
said as she paid her tab.
“I just think it’s time to go before
I do or say something I’ll regret,” Ava said. She left off the “else.”
“Have a good night, sweetheart,”
Francis said.
“You too.”
Ava felt Eric’s eyes boring a hole
into the back of her head all the way out the door.
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