The Q by Rick R. Reed

Author:Rick R. Reed [Reed, Rick R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBTQIA+, Contemporary, Ace, Bi, Gay, Lesbian, Family drama, bartenders, blue collar, coming-of-age, coming out, hurt/comfort, soulmates, open relationship, #ownvoices, over 40, reunited
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2021-01-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Pour Me

Poor guy.

Mary Louise put Wally out of her mind for the moment and hurried to the young man at the end of the bar, with his currency held aloft. She got the message.

She didn’t say it, but the guy who’d “lost his husband” had most likely lost him in more ways than one. The fact he couldn’t find him was worrisome, but Mary Louise didn’t want to add to Wally’s anxiety. As Doris Day once sang, what would be, would be. Mary Louise could offer a kind word, maybe even a bit of sage counsel, but her powers pretty much ended there. She couldn’t, much as she would like to, wipe away things like jealousy, fear, or even the gradual deterioration of a relationship. She had to constantly remind herself that in the end she was a bartender and not a therapist.

Back to work.

“What can I get you?” she asked the guy standing in front of her. Like Wally, she’d never seen him before. If she had, she would have remembered, because this guy was a looker, what she and her friends back in Chicago would have called a hunk or a hottie. Somewhere around six foot two, he had a nice lean build. Runner, maybe? Dark hair, flecked with the tiniest bit of silver, green eyes, five o’clock shadow. There was something cosmopolitan about him, a certain urban vibe Mary Louise had almost forgotten existed. She’d been away from Chicago too long. Anyway, she could tell from a glance, he wasn’t from around here.

“Do you have Stella?” the guy asked.

“I don’t know, I’ll check.” Mary Louise leaned back and, doing her best Marlon Brando/Stanley Kowalski impression, screamed, “Stella!” She held a hand to her ear as though expecting a reply, then turned back to the guy, who had the decency to chuckle at her lame wit.

“Not here, huh?” he asked.

“I’m afraid she’s out. But, to console you, we have Bud, Bud Light, Miller, Miller Lite, Michelob, Pabst, Iron City, and even Rolling Rock, if any of those would whet your whistle.”

The guy set down the ten-dollar bill he’d been holding up on the bar. “Rolling Rock would be great.”

She turned to pull a bottle from the cooler below the bar. “You wanna glass?”

“That’s okay.”

She shoved the green bottle toward him, and he slid the ten toward her.

“I’ll get your change.”

“Keep it.” He took a swig of beer. God, he’s cute. “Got a minute?”

Mary Louise said, “Sure.”

“I’m looking for a guy.” The young man sat down on a stool.

“Honey, so is everyone else in this joint, including me.” Her gaze wandered over to Billy Breedlove, standing by the door. He looked bored. He looked delicious.

He laughed and extended his hand. “Riccardo.”

She shook it and told him her name. “Well, Riccardo. What kind of guy are you looking for? Tall? Short? Husky? Bear, maybe? Thin? Rich? Artsy? Notice I didn’t say poor. I’ve been known to play matchmaker on occasion, and I do believe you’re new here, so I’m happy to help you out.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.