Page 108 of Used

Rummaging through her bag, Selene pulls out her phone and begins to type. She glances up briefly. “Apology jewelry.”

After another thirty minutes of shopping and being explicitly told I am under no circumstances allowed to purchase an apology ring, I walk out of the store with my wallet and head hurting.

“Okay. Now what?” I ask, headed for my truck.

“Oh no. Not that fast. You’re gonna want to be at least a little tipsy for this.” Selene says, snatching my keys out of my hands. “There’s no way I’m letting you drive.”

I look at Gunnar, hoping for answers, but he just chuckles at me and shakes his head.

“Gunnar. To the nearest dive bar!” She cheers. “¡Vamos!” Let’s go.

Gunnar’s mental map of dive bars in the city is quite impressive. It only took fourteen minutes to arrive at this one that, from the outside, looks like it should be condemned.

“Come here often?” I joke as we get out of his SUV and head into the old building.

Inside, the little dingy bar is exactly as you would expect it to be.

It’s dim enough in the bar to see and make your way around but not enough to really notice how beat up the place is. The floor is scuffed, just like all of the tables. The chairs and bar are well-worn. Everything looks well-loved, for lack of a kind word.

Selene leads me over to a booth in the corner and motions for me to slide in before she takes her seat on the outer edge while Gunnar heads to the bar to get us our shots of vodka, per their negotiation.

“How well do you know Elsie?” Selene starts.

“I mean... I’ve been living with her for about six months now, and we’re having a kid together.” I shrug and keep my eyes roaming the bar. “Surely there’s somewhere else you’d prefer to be right now, Selene?”

“Don’t change the subject. I’m perfectly fine right where I am.” She says as Gunnar makes his way over to the table and slides in on my other side, essentially trapping me between them with no escape.

He sets down three shot glasses and a bottle of Deep Eddy’s on the table and begins dispensing shots for the three of us. When he’s done, he hands each of us a glass.

“To...” He starts.

“To apology jewelry.” Selene giggles before taking her shot.

Gunnar shrugs, and we both take our shot before Selene starts in.

“Okay. You’ve been living with Elsie for six months. But what do you know about her?” She asks, with all seriousness.

“I know her father’s a dick,” I reply. “He’s never been around for her. Treated her more like a political prop than a daughter.”

“And what do you know about her mom?” Selene asks carefully.

“Just that she’s not in the picture.” I shrug.

“She died,” Selene says seriously. “Giving birth to Elsie. Her mom died like right after from birth complications.”

“So…” I say, hoping Selene will continue.

“Her dad didn’t just use her as a prop, Marshall.” Selene sighs. “He avoided being a parent to Elsie altogether. He made her invisible unless it was in the public eye. Elsie’s never been loved the way you or I have been. She’s never felt love herself and trusted that instinct. Because the person who was supposed to love her most growing up, the person who was supposed to teach her that, was him.”

“Shit,” I murmur. “She’s not ready.”

“Yeah,” Selene says, motioning to Gunnar to dispense another round of shots from the already low bottle of vodka. “You fucked up.”

“I didn’t know,” I say defensively.

“Doesn’t matter, man. You need to meet her where she’s at.” Gunnar supplies as he hands me another shot that I down quickly. “She’s not ready for that kind of commitment. It has to be her idea.”

Grabbing the bottle of vodka from him, I down the remainder in a few gulps.

---