“Some show, Saturday,” he says, reaching for my choice of Jack Daniels for the evening.
“Thanks,” I shrug out, happily accepting the freshly poured liquor.
I give him a side eye, his demeanour not indicating whether it’s a compliment or not. “Shame, all that business with Miss Mabel,” he offers me some sort of comforting smirk.
“Yeah,” is all I manage, taking a sip of my whiskey.
Mack’s an old timer, worked here even when I was a kid trying his luck with his best friend and his girl. Sneaking in here for a night of fun and country music.
This man must have seen it all.
“Is there a way back?” He asks and my eyes lock back onto him once more. I laugh at his question, who the fuck knows anymore?
“I don’t know, man, she won’t see me,” I answer him, with the same guilt I’ve carried with me for all this time. He nods at me, before looking behind me and I hear the door to the bar open.
I don’t bother looking behind to see who’s just come in to do what me and the other six patrons are doing.
The bar stool next to me moves and a man who I instantly recognise as my younger brother sits down.
“Jake, what can I get ’cha?” Mack asks, awaiting to know what drinking direction my brother was about to go in.
“Bud light please, Mack,” my brother replies and I know he plans to stay sober enough based on his choice of alcohol.
Mack hands Jake his drink before nodding and then walks away. The tension in the air has changed, it’s become like I’m about to get a hard dose of reality.
I don’t look at my brother, but I feel his eyes boring into me. Taking another swig of my drink, I know he won’t be the first one to make a move.
“Jake,” I acknowledge, before placing my glass back on the bar.
“Don’t Jake me, what are you doing?” he asks, leaning forward and clasps his bottle in his hand.
“What do you mean. I’m having a drink,” sarcasm won’t work during this conversation but until he spits out what he’s got to say, then it’s all I have.
“You ain’t learned that getting drunk helps no one?” He asks, this time taking a gulp of hisown.
I snicker at his remark. “I’ve heard.”
Jake shakes his head side to side, bringing his bottle up to his lips and takes a small swig.
“What are you doing, Mav’? Why did you come home?” He asks, almost as a whisper.
It’s one question no one has asked me yet. The one question that probably should have been asked.
I hold in a breath to the question that should have been asked when I came home. “I missed it.”
“It?” Jake questions, refusing to let my answer be it. “You spent your adult life so far away, somewhere completely different, yet one day, you decided that was that? You just missed it?” the sternness of his voice reminds me of our father.
I feel like a child again, except this time it’s my baby brother doing the life lessons and not my father.
“I missed her, alright?” I look at him, square in the eyes.
“Nope. Wrong again, brother.” he takes another swig from his bottle.
Is he serious right now?
“Holy fuck, Jake, what do you want me to say?” I slam my glass of whiskey back onto the bar, making Mack jump as he cleans a glass with a washcloth.
Jake’s eyes bore into me. “Something fucking real for once.” His words hit me like a socker punch that once again, since Colter socked me with not one, but two, I fully deserved.
