"Thanks, Ang." I point over my shoulder. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you tomorrow night?"
"You'll probably see Carlos or Eric. I'm off that night."
"Cool." I turn toward the door and take a step. "Oh, Lisa is up front in case you didn't know."
"Really?"
"Yep. I saw her when I walked in."
She rushes past me and yells over her shoulder, "Close the door on your way out."
Wow. It looks like I'm not the only one Lisa didn't see when she got back into town. Apparently, my sister is the only one she cares about enough to see. I push that hurt down. This isn’t about me. I’m sure Lisa has her reasons for being back.
I follow Angie at a slower pace and close the door behind me. Slowly, I walk back into the bar, doing my best to avoid the area Lisa is in.
It’s hard seeing her here and knowing she isn’t going to make time for me the way she used to.
Angie has Lisa in a bear hug as I walk past them. I wave to nobody in particular as I exit the bar. Hell, I don’t even think anyone saw me. But that’s fine. Lisa is happy and here.
A gust of wind blows through the parking lot and I shove my hands in my pocket. The sky is opposite of how it was when I walked into the bar. The bright shine of the sun is gone as dark gray clouds move in. The weather perfectly matching my mood now.
I could stay and drink for a bit, try to get Lisa to actually talk to me. But I won’t. My feet move toward my car. There’s only one thing I want to do right now, and that's write my feelings.
The rain is beating down on the roof of my house, and the words aren't coming. I thought for sure I'd have something to write about. Lyrics to put down on the page to play this weekend at the bar.
People aren't going to pay attention to what I'm playing if I don't have anything new. It gets repetitive. I could play covers of songs. While that's fun, I'd much rather play my own music.
I need something to materialize on the paper in front of me. Instead, scratched out words are scattered on the page. Is it because of my interaction with Lisa earlier? I don't know, but I need to figure it out.
There's a knock on the door and I don't bother asking who it is. Instead, I yell "come in" to be heard over the storm.
I throw my pen across the table and close my notebook. It's clear I won't have any good ideas tonight.
The door opens and for split second, I let myself hope it's Lisa, but that's squashed when my dad walks in. He's carrying a plate covered in foil in one hand, and an umbrella in the other.
"Hey, Dad." I stand, grabbing the plate for him so he can close his umbrella. I'd like to say I don't believe in bad luck, but tonight is not the night to tempt the fates.
He closes the door and sets the umbrella on the floor beside the door. "Your mom asked me to bring you what we had for dinner." He pulls the only other chair out at my table and takes a seat. "I guess the writing isn't going well?"
"How can you tell?" Sometimes it's like he has a sixth sense about my creativity. It's kind of freaky.
"Well, your pen is on the floor and your notebook is closed. It's rare I ever see that. Even when you aren't actively working on a song, it's always open."
"Yeah, things aren't going great." I sigh before sitting down. "I was hoping to have something new before I perform at Out of the Ashes this weekend, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen."
He taps his knuckles on the table a few times. I don't think he's going to give any input, but finally he speaks. "I think it'll all work out in the end. You'll find your inspiration and be able to write when the time is right. But I wonder if this has something to do with a certain girl who's come back."
No way. There's no way he actually knows what happened. "Why would Lisa have anything to do with it?"
"Son," he shakes his head. "I'm not dumb, and you aren't as sneaky as you thought you were."
"What do you mean?"
"You realize this is right next to the house, right? We can see who comes and goes. Her car was over here a lot considering Delilah doesn't live here."
Damn it. "You can't tell Delilah. She would be pissed."
He throws his hands up, "You have nothing to worry about there. This is between you, Lisa, and your sister. We aren't getting in the middle of it. You can deal with that on your own."
