Page 35 of The Two of Us

“Sure.”

Before our butts connect with the barstools, a voice explodes from behind us. “Well, I’ll be damned! Do I spy with my little eye, Solomon Makinen’s girl?”

Warmth spreads through me at the sound of the thick Italian accent. The graying man approaches the bar. Lorenzo’s five foot two, but his personality makes him the biggest guy in any room.

“Lorenzo.” I laugh. “It’s so good to see you!” I lean forward for double cheek kisses.

I’ve known Lorenzo since I was a baby. He was a part of my dad’s construction company before it went under. Thankfully, he’d already opened Duffy’s a few years prior and it provided him with a financial safety net. And thankfully, my dad had enough savings for the fallout. Most of the other men my dad worked with weren’t so lucky.

“It is good to see you, cara. Ambrose, nice to see you, my good man.”

Ambrose leans over the bar for a hug, clapping him on the back. “Always a pleasure, Renz.”

“What can I get you two?”

I look at Ambrose. “We’ll start with two pale ales?”

He nods. I pull my card out, sliding it toward Lorenzo.

“And you can keep the tab open.”

Lorenzo tsks. “Put that card away, cara. You think I take money from Solomon Makinen’s girl? Don’t be silly.”

I insist, but he’s not having it. I throw my hands up in defeat, accepting the generosity.

It takes a few beers, but eventually Ambrose and I fall into easy conversation.

“Okay. So you own the zoo. You’re a member of the Big Brother program. What else have I missed?” I take a swig of my beer.

Ambrose spins my bottle cap on the table. “Not much. After you left, I took some time off before going back to school to complete my undergrad. Then, I did an accelerated program to get my MBA. I’d been working for an accounting firm for a bit when I got the call about the zoo.”

I picture Ambrose in a suit at a corner desk and I snort. “An accounting firm?”

He chuckles. “I know. Not me at all. When the previous owner of the zoo explained their situation, I knew it was what I was meant to do. I’m just glad it’s an avenue where I can put my degree to use.”

I’ve almost finished my third beer and I’m feeling confident. And nosy. “When did you meet Anya?”

“About two years ago when Matty was four.” He searches my face. “I didn’t date anyone until her.”

I cringe. “I thought she was going to rip my head clean off my body.”

Ambrose sighs deeply and I expect him to shut the conversation down, but he says, “Anya is a good woman. She loves Matty and is protective over me. I know she probably didn’t leave a good first impression when you met her, but she isn’t always like that. She has her vices, like we all do. She’s just not as good at hiding them.”

“Is she getting help for her addiction?”

The question slips out of my mouth before I realize it crosses a hard boundary of privacy. Something that intimate is none of my business and I cover my eyes in embarrassment.

“I don’t know why I asked that, it just flew out of my face.”

Ambrose swirls his beer bottle slowly. “She is. She’s been doing well; Laura and I are proud of her. But she’s been seeing this new guy. He’s a dick. She thinks we don’t know… but I’ve seen him sneak into their house with her a couple of times. I think he has her using again.”

Ambrose’s pained expression makes it obvious just how important Anya and Matty are to him. And unlike me, Ambrose doesn’t abandon people.

“What will you do?”

He shrugs. “Nothing we can do. No matter how much you love someone, you can’t save them from drowning. They have to love themselves enough to learn how to swim.”

I think about that. If I’m honest with myself, it feels like I’ve been drowning for the last seven years, but I don’t know if I’m capable of swimming. Sometimes it feels easier to just let go and be dragged out to sea.

---