The night before my gig at O’Malley’s, Charlie and I were sitting in his studio drinking some cans of Scattered Sun beer and talking about his latest work—a floor to ceiling portrait of Maggie made from candid shots he had taken of her, and black and white photos of the generations of O’Malley’s that had owned the bar. Aside from gathering some local beer bottle labels, he’d asked me if he could use some of the song lyrics from my first album, the one I wrote almost exclusively in their apartment the summer before I left.?
It was a piece that he and I talked through when I had decided to stay, and it was something we wanted to give her when the deal went through and the renovations were finished. I was more than happy to assist, and looking over the lyrics of the songs that our friends and Magnolia inspired me to write gave me a sense of purpose I hadn’t felt in a long time.?
My muse was coming back to me. I could feel it.?
Charlie stopped his strategic placing of some song lyrics around Maggie’s eye when he took a break and sat on the stool next to me.?
“Did you hear Kasey’s back? She just walked into the bar for her Friday afternoon shift as if nothing had ever happened.”?
I shrugged. I hadn’t been to the bar since I picked up Maggie’s marked-up paperwork the day before. She hadn’t said much, aside from letting me know that she had made a few edits to the documents. When she handed over the envelope, I had the feeling that there was some sort of trepidation on her end. Almost as if there would soon be an invisible anchor between her and I that she didn’t want to be there.?
“Anyway, she fed Magnolia this whole story about how she gave the flu to her mother and had to take care of her and how since she hadn’t been working,her cell phone got shut off. I think it’s bullshit, though.”?
I was half listening to Charlie when Sutton bashed through the door, handling a couple boxes of pizzas.?She rested them on the counter between us and picked up my open beer, taking a swig from it, shooting me a sidelong glance. “I’m still not used to you being home.” She smiled when she said it, but I knew my presence, now quasi-permanent, was making everyone uneasy.?
Just when everyone had gotten over Maggie and me being in the same room together after all these years, we were joining forces like never before. I didn’t blame them for being overly-cautious.?
Charlie had my back, though. “I like it. Dane and I never really had much in common. And when you and my sister get together, it’s like trying to break the cone of silence on a couple of twins. You know, the weird-ass ones that only communicate with each other with their minds?”?
Sutton opened her mouth and showed Charlie her chewed-up slice of pizza, almost choking from laughing at herself. Tears pooled in her eyes. “Feel closer to me now that you’ve had my see-food?”?
Sutton was still an absolute idiot. And it was refreshing as shit.?
Being home with my friends was indescribable. Ryan and I had already stayed up until 1:00 in the morning working on some new tracks for the Saturday gig and for the new album. I was full of material already, and we both agreed they were solid tunes. Being home, even for a short time, had already reset my soul.?
Of course, being in close proximity to Magnolia was helping the cause quite a bit.?
I thought of her the day we talked about what her vision for the bar was. Her short hair, a look I was finally warming up to, falling like a slick curtain at her shoulders. Though she had it professionally lightened, the vibrant orange still shot through when the sun hit it just right. Her sea-gray eyes lit up every time she talked about something new or where she wanted something to go, or even how she wanted me to play at the bar.?
A dream we had held so long ago now coming true.?Our youthful vision for the future, in some ways, was finally right before us, and I was feeling the excitement of old promises being kept coursing through my veins, igniting my heart with a vibrant exuberance I hadn’t felt in over a decade.?
Not all the promises we made to each other were coming to fruition, butI would take what I could get when it came to Maggie.?
“Is that Magnolia’s giant-ass, judgy eyeball?” Sutton said, waltzing up to the larger-than-life portrait with a slice of pizza dangling in her hands.?
“That’s my baby sister’s eyeball, yes.” Charlie met her in front of the mammoth canvas, and they both stared up at it, talking about Charlie’s inspiration for the installation and how he thought it would look great on the new wall separating the bar and what would become the kitchen.
“So, just like her giant face. Glaring at all of us,” Sutton offered.?
They continued chatting, and my thoughts drifted to what the new normal would be like for all of us when Dane came back next week, and I was still here. It wouldn’t be the same, that’s for sure. They’d either pick up where they left off, or there would be a blowout between the two of them, and our foundation would be rattled once again.?
At least this time it wouldn’t be my fault. Or would it??
“Do you think they’ll stay together?” I interrupted Charlie explaining the theory behind this piece to Sutton, something about all of the O’Malleys before Magnolia becoming one with her and the building.?
They both turned toward me, and Sutton groaned.?
Charlie finally snickered. “Brother, I love you, but let’s let this ship decide, on its own, where it’s going to dock.”
“Besides,” Sutton added, “we’ve all been through this before, and we’re not kids anymore, so the drama isn’t as fun as it used to be.”?
“Let’s be honest, it’s still kind of fun.” Charlie shrugged and slinked back into the chair across from me again.
Sutton threw her hands up in surrender. “Fine, it’s kind of fun. But it’s notasfun. We all have jobs now. I can’t be up all night listening to her whine about you or your idiot brother or her idiot brother or me, the biggest idiot, if shit hits the fan again. Her life is kind of normal now.”?She walked across the room and put her hand on my shoulder before continuing. “I love you, Leland, like a brother. For real. But I can’t go through it again with you two. None of us can.”?
I decided to plead innocence and just offer her a shrug. “I didn’t mean it like that, Sutton. Not like I want to get back together with her. You guys know I have a girlfriend, right?”?
Both Charlie’s and Sutton’s heads snapped back, and Sutton let out awild howl, cackling like a maniac.?“Bullshit, Lee,” she said. Charlie nodded in agreement, chugging his beer to stifle his laughter.?
