Part 2 (2/2)
”He said he was, though I had the impression he was only going to be around for a few days, then fly back to Los Angeles. But he'll be cruising the art fair all this coming weekend. Probably hopes you'll turn up.”
”No, he's an art lover and a collector, as you very well know. That's probably the reason he's in Aspen.”
”Well, I still think he's there to see you, and you won't change my mind. So what are you up to?”
”Work, work, and more work. I've been diddling with this one piece for most of the day and it's just not coming together. Thank G.o.d I work in acrylics and not oils. I've erased half of it twice.”
”Come over to the bar and keep me company. The place is dead and I'm lonely. I'll mix you up the best strawberry daiquiri you've ever had in your life and we can commiserate together. Please- ple-a-s-e.”
”Okay, I'm not getting anything done here anyway.”
Caroline worked at the Wild River Grill in Glenwood Springs. She was the only female bartender employed at the saloon-style restaurant, and was, in my biased opinion, the best. The job had started out as temporary work to pay the rent, since Caroline had for years professed interest in interior design and sporadically took cla.s.ses at the local college. But now it appeared she planned to make it her lifelong career. She didn't like to sit for long. She enjoyed being on the move, and being part of the action when the nighttime crowds roared in. She also liked to talk, and customers at the Wild River were more than happy to indulge her.
I walked in and took a seat at the bar, and thought again of Caroline's recent conversation with Josh in Aspen. How was he doing now? What did he look like? Had he forgiven me in the two years since I'd last seen him? He hadn't called or attempted to contact me in all that time. When he left, I thought I understood why. Now I wasn't so sure. Was it possible that his abrupt departure from Glenwood wasn't just about me? Could it have had anything to do with Kelly? Try as I might, I couldn't believe it.
Caroline greeted me with a smile, sliding a humongous strawberry daiquiri down the bar to me. ”I put a real strawberry in there, so don't drink it down too fast.”
I took a sip. ”Ooo, yummy. Berry delicious.”
”I put in an order of buffalo wings for us too, my treat, in case you're hungry. I am.”
”Thanks. I'm glad you called. I was going stir-crazy staring at that stupid canvas. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. It's not like I need to do it, not for the money anyway.”
”No, but you love your work. I've seen the look in your eyes when you're painting. It's like you're hypnotized.”
”Yeah, maybe, but it's a love-hate relations.h.i.+p on days like this. Believe me, it was way easier to stay motivated when I was doing graphics for Crowley and Hoch.”
”Uh huh,” said Caroline, ”needing a paycheck will do that for you.”
I turned and looked around. I was the only customer seated at the bar, and other than some wait staff periodically moving between the tables with napkins and silverware, the restaurant was empty.
”It should pick up in another hour,” said Caroline. ”Maybe you could give Trevor a call and stay for dinner.”
”No, he'll be home late and definitely won't want to go out. He'll want something quick. Besides, tonight's Halloween.”
”Oh, right. Forgot. You mean he's going to miss the trick or treaters?”
”He won't mind. Actually, I'd rather turn off the porch light and sit in the Jacuzzi. Maybe I'll just leave a bowl of candy on the steps.”
”And the first greedy little goblin will dump the whole thing in his bag.”
”True.”
Caroline leaned on the bar, her eyes level with mine. ”Josh still looks good, better than ever. He got rid of the beard. Makes him look more professional.”
”Yeah?” I knew that Caroline had always been attracted to Josh. When he and I broke up after I began dating Trevor, I thought Caroline would finally do something about it. But she didn't, and then Josh moved to Los Angeles. He still had family living in Glenwood though, so there was always the chance that someday he'd move back. Maybe Caroline hoped so too. At the time he left, I was certain it was because of me, that he wanted to put as much distance between the two of us as possible. I'd never meant to hurt him. I still cared deeply for him. We'd been friends since childhood. He was my first real love, the man I'd lost my virginity to, the man I'd at one time dreamt of marrying. But then I met Trevor and was forced to make a choice. It hurt to let Josh go, but I loved Trevor more.
”You know,” I said. ”I always thought you and Josh might eventually get together.”
”Hah.” Caroline covered her mouth to keep from laughing too loud. ”Not a chance. That boy has always, and only, had the hots for you. Sure, I can't say I didn't like him, but I'm not silly enough to waste my time.” She leaned in closer. ”Besides, you're my best friend, and though you won't admit it to me, you still care for him.”
”Of course I care for him, but only as a friend.”
”Right. The truth of it is, that relations.h.i.+p never got a chance to resolve itself, Trevor moved in so fast.”
Her remark left me off balance. ”Is that how it looked to you, that he moved in too fast?”
”About as fast as a jackrabbit homing in on a prize carrot.”
I drained the last of my daiquiri.
Caroline quickly replaced it.
”No, don't give me another one.”
”Don't worry. I won't let you leave until I know you're okay. Besides, the hot wings are up.”
We munched on the wings and blue cheese dip, me trying to act as though Caroline's words hadn't upset me. Love is blind. Yes, it is. I'd never fully realized-or was it, wanted to realize-how quickly I'd become involved with Trevor. My perfect and perfectly wonderful husband. He'd shown me the house we were living in now, taking the place of another Realtor out sick. That's how we'd met. An accidental meeting, it seemed, but how accidental was it really? Everyone in town knew about eccentric Sam Everett and the truckload of money he'd left his girls. It's not like we'd tried to let it get out, but in a small town like Glenwood, riches of that magnitude didn't go unnoticed. People talked.
And what about Kelly? Yes, Trevor and Kelly had been friends. They'd joked around a bit here and there, the usual stuff that goes on between a sister and her sister's boyfriend, nothing suspicious. Kelly seemed to like Trevor just fine, and Trevor liked her okay too. But that's all it was. Right? Or was I only kidding myself?
I reached for my drink and missed, instead brus.h.i.+ng it with my hand. The gla.s.s teetered, then fell, rolling back and forth in a slow arc. The pinkish contents oozed out like a miniature lava flow.
”Sorry,” I said.
”Don't worry about it.” Caroline quickly wiped up the bar and removed the evidence.
I lowered my voice, aware that more people were sitting at the bar now. ”Do you like Trevor?”
Caroline's eyes widened.
”Do I like Trevor? Sure, I like Trevor.”
”Yeah, he's great. You know, I wonder if maybe he only married me for the money. I mean, he did know about my money. And I'm not bad looking and all, but he could have had anyone.”
”Gwyn, now wait just a ...” She eyed a customer, his arm outstretched, beckoning. ”Back in a sec,” she said, aiming a finger at me.
I watched as she moved down the bar and mixed two drinks in rapid succession. Then, almost as an afterthought, she tossed a capped beer bottle twirling high behind her back and with barely a look up, caught it, uncapped it, and slid it down the bar where it stopped dead in the man's hand.
The man laughed as his beer overflowed in sudsy foam.
Caroline sidled back to me. ”He's willing to lose some brew just to watch me do tricks.” She shrugged, then placed a tall frosted gla.s.s in front of me. ”It's water,” she said. ”You want a lime to dress it up?”
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