After Ben set the drinks in front of them and moved away, Barbara Jeanne resumed the conversation. “Okay, spill it. What’s wrong?”
She bit her lip and focused on the lemon wedge the bartender had placed on the rim of her glass. She needed to confide in someone, and she knew she could count on her best friend to protect any secret she divulged. “My dad is keeping something from me. He’s been in touch with my mother.”
“Your mother? You’ve never talked about her. I thought she died or something.”
“Well, she’s always been dead to me, and to Dad, or so I thought.”
“What happened?”
Morgan barked out a harsh laugh. “Then or now?”
“Why don’t you start at the beginning.”
“I barely remember my mother. She left in the middle of the night when I was about six. I woke up one morning and she was gone. And I never saw or heard from her again. It’s always been just me and Dad ever since.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe I asked about her in the beginning, but Dad never talked about her, so neither did I. But obviously it affected him. I never saw him with a woman until he met Angela. And he nearly blew his chance with her.”
“So what’s going on now? What did he keep from you?”
“I found an envelope the other day in his office. From the court. I couldn’t look inside because it was still sealed. But the only thing that the chancery court would be sending him is divorce papers. And this wasn’t old mail. It was recent. It explains his lack of dating or getting involved with anyone all these years. He was still married to my mother! The mother that obviously wanted nothing to do with me.”
Barbara Jeanne didn’t say anything, she simply cradled Morgan in a hug as a silent offer of comfort. Too soon, her friend pulled back, looking in her eyes as she spoke. “You know, things aren’t always what they seem. You should talk it out with your dad. And you never can tell what’s going on with your mother. She may have had good reasons for doing what she did. Try not to beat yourself up about it, and try, although I know it’s hard, try not to take it personally. Look at my family. We had no idea Uncle Sandy had a daughter. It was life-changing for all of us when Sally found us. She spent her whole life thinking her father died before she was born.”
She marveled at her friend’s mature take on the situation, but it was a tough pill to swallow. “Well, one thing I do know is the woman who gave birth to me—I can’t very well call her my mom—is not dead. She’s alive and well and is recently divorced from my father.” Morgan couldn’t help the sarcastic tone, brought on by her feelings of helplessness and rejection.
“I’m not saying go find her and start a relationship. I’m just saying maybe you should give your dad a break. He raised you right and did the best he could.”
“I suppose. But it hurts just the same.”
“I know, girl. And I’m here for you. You know that.”
“I do know that. Thanks for listening. Now, let’s drink!”
They were on their second tea, having moved on from the conversation about their negative feelings about mothers, to lamenting the lack of sexy single guys in town, when Morgan stopped her friend in mid-sentence.
“Oh. My. Gawd.”
“What?”
She grabbed her friend’s arm and caught her eye in the mirror behind the bar. “Don’t turn around. Look what just walked in.”
“How am I supposed to look if I don’t turn around?”
She rolled her eyes and tilted her head in a gesture designed to draw Barbara Jeanne’s attention in the right direction.
Once Barbara Jeanne focused on the reflection in the mirror, she hummed in appreciation. “Yummy. Do you know him?”
“No. But a girl can dream.”
“Well, you might just get your chance to meet him, because he’s headed this way.”
They tried to be discreet as they drooled over the tall, dark, and handsome stranger approaching the bar area dressed in well-worn and snug-fitting Levi’s, black boots, and a black Stetson. He settled on a stool to the right of Morgan, leaving an empty seat between them. Fortunately, no one else was able to hear the girls’ whispered conversation over the music playing in the background. Morgan let out a soft sigh. “Girl, he is so fine. Wonder where he blew in from?”
Barbara Jeanne shook her head in agreement. “He’s definitely not from around here. We surely would have noticed him before.”
The bartender approached the newcomer as he removed his hat and placed it upside down on the bar.
“What can I get ya, man?”
“Bud Light draft and a menu, please.”
