A Girl by Any Other Name (71 page)

left more of a bitter aftertaste than the beer I was drinking. She twirled her blonde hair in her fingers,

giving me the evil eye, and I suddenly wished I were anywhere but here.

“I’m so happy for you, man,” Tony said, patting me on the back, acting like Molly wasn’t even

there.

“We need to celebrate. We’ll get shots,” Molly said, gesturing for the waitress.

“I don’t think shots are a good idea, Molls,” I coaxed.

“It’s a fucking great idea,” Tony boomed. It was like he was taking enjoyment in my torment.

Before I knew it, three shots of snakebite were on the table. It was appropriately named because

like the bite of a snake, the drink, composed of tequila with lime juice, snuck up on you. “Keep them

coming,” Molly said.

“I’m only doing one,” I replied, taking a wedge of lime from the plate.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do the rest,” she said, running her fingers over the rim of the shot glass.

I sighed before taking my shot. “Wouldn’t you rather have a B52 or lemon drops or something?

This is pretty hard liquor here.”

“Pussy drinks,” Tony announced. “I love a gal who can drink,” he said, clinking his shot with

Molly’s. She smiled at him like they were suddenly best friends.

The waitress brought more shots. Molly did them all. I breathed a sigh of relief when she

accepted an invitation to play pool with a tall guy in a suit. Maybe the distraction would help.

“She’s pissed,” Tony stated.

I rolled my eyes. “No shit, Doc. I understand she might not be happy about it, but she really

needs to calm the fuck down. I was completely honest with her.”

“Girls only hear what they want to. You tell them you don’t like them that way, and they hear, ‘I

need you to change me.’ Especially that one,” he said, cocking his thumb in Molly’s direction.

“Why do you say that?”

“Bro, you’re kind of a dumbass. Never tell a girl about your unrequited love. They’ll take it as

an invitation to heal you of said ailment.”

“Yeah, you got a point.” Tony was right. I’d only told her because she hadn’t understood why I

was so distant. Instead of making my intentions clear, though, I think my admission only blurred the

line between us. Molly was a nurse too, so she was a healer by trade. She was really a very sweet

girl when she wasn’t acting all jealous crazy. She just wasn’t meant to be my girl. “She’s great, she’ll

meet someone.”

“She doesn’t want to meet anyone, Cal. She’s in love with you. And you’re such a fucking nice

guy that you’re ripping the bandage off so slow that the scab reopens. You need to rip that bitch off.”

“Who would have thought you were such a philosopher. Not tonight, though. She seems fragile

tonight. Besides, she’s on the express train to Drunktown. I might need to drive her home.”

Tony smirked, combing his fingers through his black hair. “What would your girlfriend say about

that?”

“I don’t know. On second thought, maybe you should drive her home.”

“Can’t. I have my motorcycle and only one helmet. Besides, I’m not as good of a guy as you. If I

take her home, I’m going to tap her for sure.” He jerked his head toward Molly, playing pool, being

obscenely loud and drinking shots like they might reenact Prohibition any moment.

“Jesus, Tony. How are we friends again?”

“I guess we bonded over football and romantic tragedies.”

“Yeah, guess so. How’s your cabin renovations going?”

Tony lit up as he always did when we talked about his cabin in the secluded woods of Holly

Oak. He was a do-it-yourselfer like me, and often sought my advice on how to go about certain

repairs. I had never seen it, but we were talking about going fishing there soon, since he also had lake

access. Unfortunately, those plans would need to be put on hold longer. I was having a hard enough

time leaving Sylvie for a whole night let alone a weekend. Maybe she’d want to come. It would be

nice to fish with her again.

Molly came up behind me, leaning over my shoulder, setting another shot in front of me. “Do you

remember when you licked tequila off my body? Here’s a pop quiz for you, professor…where did I

put the lime?”

I blushed, a mixture of embarrassment and unease. Molly was never this vocal. “I think you’re

cut off, honey.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.” She sat down next to me.

“So what’s she like?” Tony asked. Since Molly was between us I couldn’t easily kick him this

time.

“She’s nice,” I replied lamely, not knowing what else to say not to make Molly angrier. I was

really questioning why I’d ever thought it was a good idea for us to remain friends.

“Caleb, I thought you were a writer. Surely you can do better than that,” she said, taking the shot.

Her words started to slur and stick together without the appropriate pauses.

“Yeah, give us more. What does she look like? Do you have a picture?” Tony inquired.

I didn’t have one and I realized that was something I needed to fix right away, but at this time, I

was damn happy not to have one to share. “No pictures. She has brown hair and brown eyes.”

Molly huffed. “And all this time, I thought dyeing my hair blonde made me more appealing. I

should have just stayed a brunette.”

“Molly, I like your hair.”

“Not enough.”

No, we weren’t talking about hair coloring for sure. Shit.

Tony smirked. “
In vino veritas
,” he quoted the Latin motto, which also happened to be another

Doc Holliday saying, lifting his beer glass. The phrase translated to ‘in wine there is truth’.

“Well…anything else?”

“Damn it, Tony, you sound like my momma. Now shut up and drink your beer.”

The conversation shifted, and Molly left to go finish her game. I turned to Tony. “Stop asking me

about Sylvie in front of Molly.”

“Her name is Sylvie?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Fuck.

“No, it’s Sophie Becker. That was a mistake.”

“Calling her by another girl’s name, especially that name, is a sure-as-shit way to get you banned

from calling her at all.”

“It was just a mistake. Anyway, here’s the deal. I met her and I feel like everything has fallen

into place for me. I love her.”

“You love her after a month?”

“I can honestly say I do. She’s very special to me. The thing is, I really don’t want to hurt Molly

by going into any great descriptions so stop being an asshole and bringing it up.”

He lifted his beer to me. “I just want to celebrate the fact that you met a girl who could make you

forget about Lenore so easily.”

“It’s not like that.”

“You’re still hung up on Lenore then? Haven’t given up the search?”

I smiled, unable to contain it. “I don’t think I need to look any further. Lenore was a dead spirit

who haunted Poe. Sophie Becker is very much alive and she is my everything.”

I looked over at Molly, while Tony started rambling about his cabin. The man she was playing

with was a bit grabby and I wanted to make sure his advances were wanted by her. She seemed to be

having a good time, sitting in his lap and letting him lean over her when she took a shot, but I was

leery. Molly was an adult, but she was also very drunk. I reached to her chair and grabbed her purse,

fishing through it.

Tony gaped at me. “So first you break her heart, and now you’re stealing from her?”

“No, I just want an insurance policy that she’ll make it home okay.” I found the item I was

looking for and stuffed it into my pocket, placing her purse back quickly.

When I turned to glance once more, I saw Mr Grabby Hands kiss her. It was hard to tell if she

was struggling, but either way, it was clear she was inebriated and I needed to step in. “I’m leaving.”

“So soon? I was just going to ask if you wanted to call Sylvie to join us?”

“Yeah, that’s all I need. Let me ask the girl I’m madly in love with to join me for drinks with my

ex. No wonder you’re not in a relationship, man.”

“It’s by choice. Like you, I’m holding out.”

“For what?” I stood up and grabbed Molly’s purse and coat.

“For my Lenore.”

I shook my head, as I made my way to the pool table. “Come on, Molly, I’m taking you home.”

“She’s not done with the game,” Mr Grabby said. I ignored him.

“Molly, I can’t make you leave with me, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving you stranded here.”

I doubted Tony would look after her.

Molly stared back and forth between me and Grabby. “I’m going with him,” she replied.

I held out her coat for her. She took her purse from me. “Stay,” Grabby Suit said, clasping

Molly’s arm. I noticed his fingernails were buffed to a high manicured shine and his teeth were so

bright they looked over-bleached.

“Let go of her,” I warned.

“We’re having a good time. What are you? Her boyfriend?”

“No, I’m her friend and I’m going to make sure she gets home tonight. Y’all can exchange phone

numbers and when she’s sober, she can decide if she wants to contact you.”

“Maybe I want to have contact with her tonight,” he said, tightening his hold on her.

“Look, buddy, I don’t want a problem with you. I’ll repeat myself one more time, real nice and

slow so you understand what I’m saying. Let. Her. Go.”

He didn’t, challenging me with his sneer.

I seized his wrist in a tight hold, relishing the wince on his face. His fingers unclenched,

releasing her. I placed my hand on her back and led her out. I heard his clumsy footsteps behind us.

Molly jerked when he stomped his pool stick on the floor, as if he wanted one final stand.

“Y’all leaving so soon?” he asked, exaggerating the Texas twang in my voice. “Y’all white trash

running off with y’all’s tails between your legs? That’s good, take that slut out of here. She’s been

leading me on all night.”

Oh, hell no.

Molly clutched my arm, but I shrugged her off. I turned as he lifted the pool stick in the air, like

he planned on whipping me with it. What an idiot. I knocked it out of his hand as he swung it with one

arm, taking a fistful of his shirt in my other hand. I forced him back until I could slam his head against

the wall. “You got me all worked up now, you son of a bitch. Think my accent’s funny? If you think

I’m trash, then I dare you to take me to the dump. Let me tell you something about the South. We are

downright hospitable people. So, if you’re itching for a fight, well, you can call me scratch. And if

you feel the need to use a pool stick or any other prop because you don’t want to ruin your fancy

manicure, feel free. Personally, I like to use what God gave me.” I slammed his head again.

“So, we’ll go through this one more time ’cause I think you’re a little dim-witted to be

challenging a man who’s bigger and smarter than you. I’m warning you once more, if you say another

fucking word to me or her, I’m probably going to jail and you’ll be at the hospital. And trust me when

I say it’ll be an extended visit for both of us. So, I’d suggest we avoid the theatrics, so I can go home

and you can finish your fucking Cosmopolitan or whatever you have in that martini glass that I know

is too pink to be gin and vermouth. Do you agree or do you need more convincing?” I cleared my

throat, letting all my Texas shine through. “Because like I said, partner, I’m glad to oblige either

way.”

Mr Grabby stared at me for a minute. I could see the flicker of emotions on his face, from

indignation to fear to surrender. He held up his hands in a giving-up gesture, and I pulled him closer

to me. “We’re not done, asshole.” I spun him around to face Molly, holding his hands back.

“Apologize to the lady.”

“S…sorry,” he said. I released him with a shove. He stumbled into the pool table.

I took Molly’s arm, leading her toward the exit. Everyone stared at me with jaw-dropping

expressions. Tony high-fived me on the way out. “Can’t believe you started a fight in here, Ringo,” he

said with a smirk. “I would have helped, but you know I’m a lover not a fighter.”

“Thanks, Doc, but it wasn’t a fight.”

“Then what was it?”

“Me yelling and hitting some asshole’s head against a wall, while he shit his pants. A fight

requires two participants.”

Tony’s laughter followed us out of the bar and into the chilly night air.

Once we got outside, Molly hugged me. “Caleb, I knew you cared. I knew you were jealous.”

I released her, trying my best to keep my temper in check. “You did that on purpose?” She stood

before me, looking suddenly contrite. “Molly, that was a pretty bitchy thing to do. Let me make this

clear for you. I wasn’t jealous, but I wasn’t going to let you go home with a stranger when you’re like

this either. What I did in there was born out of concern for you and encouraged by that dickhead and

my inability to keep my anger in check. This is me being a friend to you and that’s all.”

Her lower lip quivered, and she ran away from me to her car. I followed behind slowly, trying

to give her a moment alone and knowing that I had all the time in the world. Sure, I was pissed at her,

but she was my friend, and there was no way I was going to leave a friend behind. She rummaged

through her purse then through her pockets, dropping her handbag in the process. I bent down to pick