Page 35 of Breakaway Heart
“It’s a milagro, a small miracle. Something to bring you luck. In Mexico, we sometimes believe this one can help heal a heart that is broken.”
I took it and gave him a warm hug, touched by his kindness. Then I climbed into the car and headed for the airport…
PART II
Two months later…
16
MERRYVILLE
The city had lost none of its charm. A sprawling canopy of grey clouds, drizzle, and red lights welcomed me to my morning commute as I crawled along in the rush hour traffic.
That drab morning also happened to be the second time I ran into Randall‘Bobby Holiday’Jackson by chance. Like he had done once before, he was leering down on me with a simmering, toothy grin and messy hair, in nothing but his underwear.
The big difference this time was that he was 18 feet tall and staring down at me from a billboard with the slogan “Every night is game night with Puck Pants.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,”I uttered under my breath.
It seemed as if he’d been put there just to mock me as I idled in the lanes of barely-moving traffic, trying not to look, and annoyed that I couldn’t escape him. But there he was, reminding me that once I had run my fingers across that wide chest, felt those soft lips on my skin. And that once, he had also run out on me without a word.
A Mexican ballad flowed through the car speakers, and I changed the station, annoyed at the coincidental timing.
“…Tonight, the Ice-Hawks play Boston in a repeat of last season’s ‘battle in Merryville’ when Hayden Raynor and Randy Jackson were ejected from the game in a bad-tempered rivalry that stretches back to…”
I groaned and switched the station back to the Mexican ballad. It had been two months since Mexico, and my caramel tan had mostly faded, along with my memories of the trip. Both were still there, but without any of the previous luster they had once held. As I waited, stuck under the gaze of a giant Randy Jackson and full of annoyance, Hannah’s name came up on my console as she called.
“Hi, Han. You won’t believe who’s staring down at me from Neeson Avenue right now?”
“I saw that this morning, too. You doing okay, Lucy?”
“Yeah, of course I’m okay. It’s just…Fucking annoyingis all.”
“Sure. But what I meant is if you’re still on Neeson, you’re late, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I am.” I grimaced.
“You’re never late, Lucy. Like ever. But these past few weeks… I dunno, something’s up.” There was a pause on the line before she asked, “Did he really get under your skin that much?”
Under my skin, under my dress, under my sheets.He even made it into my dreams these days. Him and that weird dog in sunglasses.
“No. It’s just. I’m tired, that’s all.”
“Yeah… Someone needs drinks tonight after work. Let’s blow off some steam, okay?”
“Okay, I’m in. But not a Mexican place. Or anywhere showing that game they’re making such a deal about!”
“I’ll find us a spot. Hey, I got another one… You should use all the mirrors to check you’re going in straight.”
This time, I was prepared with one of my own. “You know, having the camera at the back really helps.”
“Haha, nice! See you tonight. Send love to Bill!”
17
DOCTOR DROOL
Hannah was already nestled in a booth at the bar by the time I arrived. Fortune Bar was a place that had made a stab at being glamorous once, then decided not to bother after all. The booth seats were covered in a cheap faux red velvet that had soaked up everything thrown at it over the years. Not unlike the clientele, sitting at the bar, drinking alone with their thoughts.
