The phone call with my mother went a lot easier than I had expected. I thought telling her that I’d met some stranger on the train and moved in would have caused her to go straight into heart failure. The line was silent for a moment and she simply said, “well, I hope this young lady seems decent.” Decent was always Mom’s way of saying “not a drug peddling floozy.”
“Yeah, mom. She’s great. She works a lot and spends all of her free time auditioning so I don’t see her all that much.” I tried to sound as positive and sure of myself as one could sound over the phone. To be honest, I was just surprised that she was screaming at me for inviting myself into what could have been a nightly special on 60 Minutes. She told me to text her my new address so she could send my things and that was that. I was astonished. Maybe she was really starting to trust me.
Weeks went by as I started to settle into the city. I found myself a job waiting tables at a bar down the street. It was kind of a dingy, dark place called The Snakebite Lounge. Not somewhere I would have normally ventured into, but the owners were a sweet older couple, Al and Lacy, who had owned the bar since the day they opened it, probably far before I had even been born. The clientele were an odd mixture of older, rough-around-the-edge types and younger college kids looking for cheap drinks. The place itself was quite small inside, only fitting a few small tables and booths in the back. The bar took up most of the place, as did the two pool tables in the front. I had no idea how to make a drink, so Al had me taking orders and bussing tables. The work was easy, the hours were long, but the tips were worth sticking around for. I didn’t expect to make it a lifelong career but I knew it would keep me going until I figured out exactly what it was that I wanted to do with my life.
What I had figured out was that the city was where I wanted to be. Even with my life spinning out of control like a broken compass, I felt oddly at ease in this bustling place. Living in Brooklyn made me feel alive and excited each day that I woke up. I felt at home living with Trudy and we were really starting to get close. Routines started to take form. I didn’t mind sharing the responsibility of Velma while Trudy was busy with auditions. The cat and I had discussed personal space since our head pouncing incident, and it was nice to have an animal in the apartment. We both worked so much, but I managed to have off every Tuesday night, so Trudy and I declared it Chinese Take-out Tuesday. The take out place wasn’t far from the apartment, and although it was mediocre at best, and probably extremely unhealthy, I loved everything about it. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was that made Trudy and I such fast friends. We were exactly the opposite in each and every way, especially outwardly. My dark hair and uneven complexion would never be a match for Trudy’s beautiful blonde hair and porcelain skin, but she was the kind of person who would never make you feel less than she was. I still hadn’t figured out what the hell I was doing with my life, but with Trudy as my friend, I felt safe taking my time in figuring it out.
After a long night of waiting busy tables, I sat down at the bar, starved. I had started to make a habit out of eating dinner at Snakebite on the nights I knew Trudy wouldn’t be home. At least that way, I wouldn’t exactly have to eat alone. As I sat down at the stool nearest to the kitchen, Lacy slid a plate toward me. She had caught onto my routine, too. The lounge wasn’t much to look at but they could definitely serve up a burger. As I ate, Lacy liked to tell me what the bar was like, “back in its prime.” Her and Al had never had kids. They poured their heart and soul into the bar and before they knew it, they had grown old, and so had the bar. It was nice to have Lacy, especially with my mom being so far away. She knew how to cheer me up when I was feeling lonely. I had come to love Brooklyn so much, and so fast, but any place can feel lonely when you’re young and new.
I ate my burger and listened to Lacy chitter on about the things her and Al had done in their younger years. It had been a busy night but it had slowed down over the last couple hours. I had gotten so involved in what Lacy had been talking about, or maybe really involved in the cheeseburger, that I hadn’t noticed the guy sitting next to me.
“Hey, there Jacky. Drink? Lacy greeted him like she had known him forever as she set down a napkin and a bowl of pretzels. She got to work on a drink without him answering.
I jumped at the realization that we weren’t alone anymore. I turned to my left to see the what had to of been the most gorgeous set of green eyes in my entire life. Connected to those eyes was also a gorgeous man, it would take my brain a few seconds to notice.
“You have ketchup on your nose.” He smirked and pointed at my face.
“Thank you.” I muttered at him and could not for the life of me stop staring. What in god’s name was wrong with me?! He laughed and scooted his stool closer to mine and wiped the ketchup from the tip of my nose with a napkin. I began coming to my senses just in time to be completely mortified. Lacy set a drink in front of him and refilled my water glass.
“Thanks, Lacy.” He nodded and smiled at her as he took a sip.
“My pleasure, Jacky. Let me know if you need anything.”
He smiled to us both and at that moment I became extremely aware that I was stuffing my face in front of what possibly could have been the most gorgeous person on earth. I ran to the kitchen and dropped my dishes into the sink. I took a full minute to regain composure and headed back out the bar. Conveniently, Lacy was nowhere to be found as I clambered my way back out to the bar. I did my best not to stare as I racked my brain for any kind of small talk that even an idiot might be able to muster up.
“So,” I stammered. Nice start. Finish strong.
“Lived in the city long?” Great going genius. Not at all cliche.
He smirked at me. He was good at the smirking. Very cute, very cavalier.
“My whole life, actually. Right here in Brooklyn. You must be new, I come here all the time and I’ve never seen you.”
“Uh, yeah. I’ve worked here a few weeks. Just moved here. I’m Hazel, by the way.” I stuck out my hand to try and be polite, but in the process knocked the entire bowl of pretzels all over him and the entire bar. This was going great.
“Jack. I’m Jack.” He was laughing as he picked up pretzels and placed them back in the bowl.
“Lacy calls me Jacky, but she’s the only one. She’s known me since I was a kid, so, I let it slide.”
I stuck my hands in my pockets for damage control and did my best to stand still. With any luck I could get through the rest of this conversation in one piece.
“Yeah, Lacy seems great. Her and Al gave me a chance and I’m really grateful. It was either this or stock cans at that bodega over there.” I chuckled at my own joke and he laughed, too, only slightly mercifully. Awkward silence filled the room, only to be outweighed by the rock music coming from the jukebox. I seriously needed to get better at this conversation thing. Almost on queue, Lacy came out of her office to rescue me from behind the bar.
“Here’s your tips for tonight, honey.” She handed me some bills and I shoved them into my apron.
“Okay, well, I should get going. I’ll see tomorrow, Lacy.” I took my hand out of my pocket to muster a quick wave.
“It was nice meeting you, Jack.”
“You too, Hazel. Have a good night.”
I walked out of the Lounge in a complete haze. I couldn’t wait to tell Trudy about Jack. I hardly knew the guy and already I was falling head over heels for him. This quick crush seemed really dangerous. Which, to be honest, made it all the more exciting.
