Chapter 43

And then it was almost six months since I’d last seen any of them.

Juniper brought me the offering and I poured a libation to the gods, well, I poured it down my throat; I figured they’d understand.

“Hey David, I forgot to tell you, some guy came in here and mentioned you last week,” said Juniper.

“Leave a name?” I said.

“No, a young guy, looked like a cop, but not a cop, know what I mean?” she said.

“No, but whatever. If they want me bad enough, they apparently know where to find me,” I said.

“Guess so,” she said, as she wondered down the bar to tend it.

It was getting late and I was figurin’ on going home when it happened. I stared for what I was sure was a long minute. She caught my eye but didn’t say anything, didn’t get up and approach me, nothing. I went to the register. Barry was on for the late shift. He took my card, ran it, and I left. Nothing had been said by me to her, or her, my daughter to me. Weird.

She had no business in Douglas, so I had to assume she was there to see me, but, having seen me, she ignored me. Weird.

“You saw him then?” said James. “Then... ?”

“Nothing, he ignored me. I did what you said: I just looked at him, I think I nodded, not sure, and then he left,” said Jenna.

“Okay, good, no pressure, no words, just let him get used to the idea of you being here.

“Oh, and the bank called. Escrow will be closing this week. We can move in next Monday,” said James. She nodded.

“Well good, finally,” said Jenna.

“James, can I ask, are we going to like it here?” said Jenna.

“Jen, that’s the tenth time you’ve asked me that. Yes, I think we will. We have each other, which is the main thing wherever we live, and you’ll be near your dad. And maybe, finally, you two will be able to get back together like you should’ve been all along,” he said.

“Oh James, I so hope so. After talking to you and mom and dad so many times over these last months I finally get it. I just hope I don’t blow it. I just can’t blow it,” she said.

“You won’t. I have faith in you this time around. But, you cannot rush the man. We let him set the agenda and the timeline, and all of it. He’ll come to you eventually. He may be or may not be belligerent when he does, but you’ll have to roll with that, and wait to get a word in edgewise, okay,” he said.

“I know, I know. Let him initiate things. I know. And I will,” she said. Her husband nodded and poured himself another shot of scotch.

It was Friday; I was shooting pool with my bud, Steve Sherman. He was a driver for MTS. I liked shooting pool with Steve: I almost always beat him.

It was almost nine. The band would be tuning up pretty soon. That would be my signal to cut country. I had no interest in chasing any of the ladies that frequented the place, and being an ex-con would always be a turnoff to any of the ladies that I would be interested in. Anyway I wasn’t interested in serious dating at all. Rozelle was the end for me. I would just work and eventually die. Anyway, that was the plan.

I saw the three of them come in. My daughter was dressed very nicely, her cohorts almost as nicely. They took a booth. She hadn’t seen me. But she would: I’d have to put up my cue just a few feet from where she was sitting.

“Steve, take a break, okay. I’m gonna get me another brew,” I said.

“Get me one too; you owe me one anyway,” he said. I signaled that I would.

I was waiting for Barry to do me some good. He saw me and came over.

“Another one?” he said. I held up two fingers. He nodded and went to get our beers.

Coming back, he set them down in front of me. I held him up. “Barry, who are those people over there?” I said, pointing to the booth where the three newcomers were checking the menu deciding what to order.

“Those guys?” he said.

“Yeah,” I said.

“They’re from that law firm downtown,” he said. I looked at him like he was nuts. If she was at a law firm and working for them; then, she must’ve moved here. Now, I was in a quandary. I had to get out of there.

I headed back to our table. I handed Steve his brew and waited for him to shoot. I kept my eye on the lawyers. She didn’t seem to notice me, not yet at any rate.

We finished the game, call-shot eight ball. I made my apologies to Steve and headed out; oh yeah, and he won, well my mind was elsewhere. I put up my cue, and then she did see me. We made eye contact, and I walked out. Still not a word between us. It was clear to me that she didn’t want to talk to me.

At home, I poured myself a shot of rye. I stood in front of the front room window and looked out at the paved street. It was windy; the one thing I didn’t like about the desert was the damn wind. I could do the heat, no problema, but not the wind.

Okay, she’d gotten my attention. I had to assume that, for whatever reason, she and James had moved down from Phoenix. But what reason! The obvious answer was me, but again, why? And, we’d seen, and only seen, each other twice in the last week and she’d not said a word to me. Weird.

Should I be going to wait her out, or just put an end to the charade and just get on with things? Then it hit me. The young man that Juniper had said had been looking for me: it had to have been James.

He’d undoubtedly been trying to locate my hangout; that had to be it. Well, he’d found me, but nothing seems to have come of it. Well, other than she was now hanging out where I hung out. This was a game that I now determined I would do something about. Yes, I’d be the one to make the first move since she didn’t seem in hurry to do so. I wanted it, the game, over and truth told, I was blood mortal curious. Yes I was; there was no denying it.