Page 95 of Fresh Old Bounties

No such luck.

By the time Dru dropped in for her evening shift, my mood was darker than the gray skies.

What was wrong with me?

Sure, I’d experienced bouts of despondency in the past—who hasn’t?—but I usually bounced out of them after some introspection and a good round of meditation and affirmations.

Maybe that was the problem. I didn’t have the time to stop for a good half hour and give it a better try than five seconds staring at the bathroom mirror.

Or maybe it was because my situation had changed. New city. New shop. New surroundings.

I needed to adapt.

I slammed a hand on the counter. “We’re going out.”

Dru and Key, who’d come to hang around, jumped at my sudden declaration.

It was late evening on a Saturday. Almost time to close.

“Out?” Dru asked.

“Out,” I reaffirmed.

A change of scenery would do everyone wonders.

“Out where?” Key asked.

“Guiles and Romary.”

They looked at me like I’d gone as green as the streak in my hair.

“You drink?” Dru asked, unconvinced.

“When the occasion demands it.”

Dru grabbed her purse from behind the counter. “You’re paying.”

“Fine.” A few extra expenses would be worth it if I could shake off this horrible, gloomy mood.

We closed the shop and walked over to the bars in Guiles and Romary. So strange, to be walking around for fun rather than in the pursuit of information. Strange, but nice.

Back home, I hadn’t had that many real-life friends, and none to go barhopping with. My sister and I had occasionally during the weekends, but it wasn’t the same.

I pointed at Rena’s. “Let’s go there. It was nice.”

The music was already at full blast, and the crowd spilled into the street. We presented our IDs and went inside the big space. We grabbed a table as another group of partygoers chose that moment to leave, and ordered our drinks—a Hurricane for me, a sangria for Dru, and a virgin Piña Colada for Key.

She pouted as I ordered for her but didn’t complain. Dru asked to see her fake ID and whistled, looking more impressed than I’d ever seen her with any of my spells or potions.

I took a long swallow of my drink, the alcohol burning down my throat. It was overly sweet and tasty and did wonders to warm my insides. A few more sips, and the world would definitely start looking just peachy.

I was deciding on the pros and cons between slowing down or emptying the glass and asking for another when a man got onto the small karaoke stage on the corner and began singing a popular rock song.

Cheers and whistles rose from the audience, and the man sang harder.

He was having the time of his life. As if, for a few minutes, he had not a care in the world.

Was that why Ian liked to do karaoke? To forget everything for a short while?

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