Page 22 of Salute, To Bravery
“Why are you running around naked in my apartment, Ian?” I was only slightly annoyed, but I put a little more irritation in my voice. I turned away from him so I wouldn’t start gawking.
“Eh, I forgot my panties,” I heard him call from the other side of the counter.
I couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing and turned to him to see if he was serious. “Your panties?”
He grinned at me, holding up his boxers. “These will have to do. I left my pretty pink thong at home.”
I just shook my head as he headed back to the bathroom to finish getting dressed.
The bar was thankfully close to my apartment, so the walk only took a few minutes. It was busier than usual for this early in the morning, but it was filled with the usual night-shift crew that we both knew so well. My mom always thought it was so weird going to a bar at eight in the morning, but she didn’t understand that it was the end of our day, and we wanted to unwind like everyone else. Hell, this bar stayed open because of the various hospital workers who wanted to relax after a taxing shift.
We found a couple of empty seats in the corner that happened to have a table to set our drinks on. I hopped up onto the tall chair while Ian ordered us some drinks at the bar. When he returned, he had not only our drinks but a basket of fries. He pushed them toward me after setting everything on the sticky table surface.
“What’s this?”
“Anne said you didn’t finish your salad at lunch, and I know how pathetic those salads are to start with.” Ian took a fresh fry out of the basket and gingerly popped it in his mouth. He did that weird chewing with your mouth open thing when something is too hot.
I laughed at his misfortune.
“You didn’t have to do that.” I smiled as I took a smaller bite. Internally, I was grateful for the snack, even if it was bar food.
“Can’t have you wilting away on us.” He grinned and took a long drink of his beer.
Ian and I did this often, and usually didn’t talk much. We enjoyed watching the people or whatever sport happened to be on the TV. We kept the conversation light, and he was always polite. I couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness as I watched him mindlessly talk to the TV. I could tell that he wasn’t reallyinto sports, but MMA was something that always grabbed his attention, even if it was a replay of an old match.
He must have felt my gaze on him, because he turned and smiled at me. “What are you looking at? Do I have a booger?” He playfully started wiping his nose, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Nah, I’m just a little bummed out today.”
“I could tell. You’re not usually that off at work.” He turned his seat so I had his undivided attention. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s nothing important, just life shit.” I forced a smile, but even I could tell how fake it looked.
Ian tilted his head. “You really gonna be like that?” He munched on a fresh basket of fries that sat between us. “You should be elated about your vacation coming up, but every time I’ve mentioned it today you get pissy, so what’s the deal?”
I sighed. “I don’t think I’m going on my trip after all.”
Ian frowned. “What the hell? You’ve been planning this for weeks.”
“My friends backed out, so I’m not sure how I’m going to pay for it all. I already booked the RV, and they canceled on me this morning.”
Ian took another drink of his beer. How he could make one beer last all night was beyond me. “They both canceled on you? Just this morning?”
“Yep, they called me together and said they couldn’t make it. They had prior obligations.” I ran my fingers through my hair.
“That’s kind of weird.” Ian shoved a couple fries in his mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“They both canceled at the same time? Did someone talk them out of it, or did they just not plan on going in the first place?”
I sat for a moment and contemplated the conversation, and wondered if I should tell Ian the entire story. I decided against it. “I’m not sure, but that leaves me in a bind.”
Ian nodded his head and stared into his glass. “Ya know, this trip seemed really important to you.”
“It was.”
“Mind me asking why?” Ian raised his eyebrow and studied me over the rim of his glass before downing the last of it.
