“Do you have someone to talk to about whatever it is you keep coming here to think about? I’m not trying to get in your pants right now, I promise. I came here to meet someone I met online. They’re now thirty minutes late, so I think it’s safe to say that they’re not coming at all. I was going to get my check, pay and go, but you walked in. Maybe there’s a reason for that timing. I’m being serious here. I’m not hitting on you anymore. I’ve more than taken the hint, okay?”
“I appreciate the offer, but–”
“Who’s the girl?” Ashlee interjected.
“Sorry?”
“Come on… It could really only be about a girl. A job problem or family issue wouldn’t have you coming to a bar, would it? You’d buy your six-pack and take it home. You’re here for a reason. A girl, right?”
“Woman,” she corrected.
Ashlee laughed a little and said, “See? I was right.”
“I’m going to get my beer and hang out at the bar, but you have a good night,” she repeated.
“Oh, sit down, Harlow. Just tell me what’s going on. I can help, maybe. Despite the fact that I just got stood up and you saw me here last time without anyone, I’m actually pretty good with this stuff. Want to know why?”
“Why?” she asked with little interest.
“I’m a couple’s therapist,” Ashlee shared. “A single, divorced one at that. Who else knows better how to avoid relationship pitfalls thanme, right?”
Harlow laughed and said, “I really appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll–”
“All right. I get it. I should pay and get out of here anyway. I have a bottle of wine already opened at home that I can finish off while I take a bubble bath to help me wallow. If she didn’t want to meet me, she could have just texted me and let me know. No need to stand me up, you know?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that. That sucks,” Harlow said.
“Well, here’s my card.” Ashlee stood and handed her a business card. “If you everdowant to talk.”
“As a patient?”
“No, just as someone you met in a bar once or twice. Call me selfish. If this woman doesn’t give you a chance, maybeIcan have one later.” Ashlee winked. “See you around, Harlow.”
Harlow tucked the business card into her back pocket and headed to the bar.
???
“Hey,” Harlow said when she walked into the house.
“Did you just get home?” Larissa asked as she looked up from her computer at the kitchen table.
“You didn’t notice that I wasn’t here?” Harlow gave her a little smile. “How engrossed are you in whatever you’re doing there, Larissa?”
“Journal reading,” Larissa told her. “Lots of charts and graphs,” she added and rolled her shoulders before looking back at Harlow, who was behind her. “Hi, by the way.”
“Hi back.”
“What time is it?”
“Um… After ten, I think,” she replied and checked the clock on the stove. “Yeah, just after ten.”
“Were you at work this whole time?”
“No, I went out,” she replied. “Bar.”
“And you drove?”
“One beer. I finished it an hour ago and had some mozzarella sticks before I left, so I was good to drive.”
