Amber
Chapter 4 - Getting to Know You
@copyright Jean G Hontz and Sharon Pickrel
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Sal was grinning when he took a break from bar duty at Ariadne's. He
went to the kitchen and got a couple of doggie bags, filling them up with the
things the cook said he could have. He took them and slipped out the back door.
Old Joe wasn't around but he'd be along later, and if not him, some of his
friends would be. Sal put the food into the beat up old cooler in an alcove in
a boarded up doorway and sauntered off, enjoying the night air. It was cool and
while New York was seldom quiet, at least he didn't have to smile and flirt for
a few minutes anyway. He'd left Fiona tending the bar, Lynne Winters sitting
with her, and chatting.
What a lady, Sal thought. And she could play baseball. Some combination. He
grinned and found himself reaching for a fag. He cursed himself. He'd stopped
smoking, well, he was still tempted periodically, but he was trying. He
sauntered around the corner and regarded the street in front of Ariadne's. It
was pretty quiet because the shows were dark tonight, and the bar was therefore
pretty quiet. It was a good night for Fi and Lynne to talk, and an easy night
for him.
That was when he looked over at the coffee shop and saw someone who looked
awfully familiar. He squinted a bit, trying to get a better view through the
glass between them, lights glinting off the glass making the view less than
ideal.
It was her, he realized after a couple of seconds pondering it. "Security for
Lynne," he muttered. "Should have guessed." Anyone who could afford private
security would hardly let his significant other show up alone. He wondered if
Lynne knew she was being followed. Maybe she did, and didn't mind. He would, but
then that was him. He was a bit touchy about stuff like that. He also wondered
if it meant they didn't trust Fiona. Now that was a mistake. Yeah, she was a bit
odd, and strange things happened to her, but still. She was a straight arrow,
he'd bet his life on it.
He turned and walked back around to the back door, and sure enough Old Joe and a
couple of friends were there. He exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, joked
with Joe about how stupid Marines were (Sal had been an Army Grunt), then walked
back into the bar.
Fiona looked up at him when he came in, looked around at the dearth of patrons
and said, "Why don't you quit early. I think I can handle it."
"Okay," Sal replied. "Not gonna argue. Nice seeing you again, Lynne."
Lynne smiled at him and replied, "Same here. Hope to see you again soon, Sal."
Sal got his stuff and walked out of the bar through the main entrance. He
glanced over at the coffee shop, hesitated a minute, then crossed the street
thinking that if she gave him a signal she wasn't happy to see him, he'd just
plead the need of some java and go home.
She watched him cross the street and groaned to herself. Lynne didn't know she
was here. She wouldn't like it if she found out. She watched him, ducking her
head when he reached the door, not wanting him to think she was staring at him,
watching him out of the corner of her eye as he entered the coffee shop.
Sal entered, ordered black coffee, then walked over to join her. "I won't tell
her, I promise," he said.
She blinked, startled. "Tell her?"
"Security for Lynne? If she were mine and I could afford it I wouldn't let her
walk the streets alone either."
"Yeah well, it's a guy thing I suppose, then." She glanced across the street.
"She wouldn't like it. She hates it I think, but she's always a good sport
about it."
"I can believe that. She's a real lady. And I guess she loves him a lot. She
and Fi are busy bonding. Don't expect her out of there before closing. Her old
man won't be jealous about that will he?"
"Ash? He's not the type. He hates doing it to her. But I think if something
happened to her, especially something he might have prevented, it would kill
him."
"Yeah, I can understand that. Mind if I sit? Or you being on the job I should
maybe just leave."
He'd startled her again, throwing her off balance and she'd of blushed if such a
thing were possible for her anymore. "No, it's fine." She didn't know what to
say to him, how to make conversation and it embarrassed her. "It can get, ah, a
bit boring sometimes."
"Oh I doubt that. Now me, I'm pretty boring. You at least have an interesting
job. And you get to play with your boss, which, I gotta tell you, seems pretty
weird. Most rich guys I know are pretty snooty toward the help." He slid into
the seat opposite her, scooting over so he wasn't obstructing her view.
She grinned. "I haven't worked for him that long, but he's never snooty. He
treats everybody like family, even me. He can scare you to death though, when
he wants to. Some of the others, though, have the snooty thing down pat when
they want it."
"Oh yeah? Like who? No one struck me as snooty at the ballgame."
She frowned. "Oh no, I didn't mean them. I mean the other prin...the other,
ah, people who do what he does."
"Oh, I get it. Thank god Fi sees that sort doesn't hang out at Ariadne's. So,
uhm, what's Cayden like? I mean, look, I don't want Fi hurt."
"Cayden? Like you saw, but he's also..." She gestured slightly, struggling to
find the words she wanted. "He's the most...romantic I suppose, and
protective. He pays attention, notices things, all the time, that someone else
might miss. He's a guy but he's a good guy." She thought about the morning
briefing. "He won't hurt her, not on purpose."
"That's good. Although I'm not sure she'll see him again. She's kinda skittish."
Cayden had called her wary. "Why?"
"Dunno. She doesn't date. I think it's mainly her family. I gather she never
really had anyone she felt she could trust. Helluva way to grow up."
Robyna could totally relate. "Have you worked for her long?"
"Coming up on a year. She's a great boss. Gives me time off when I need it,
keeps her nose out of my job. And, well, she gave me a job when a lot of other
folks wouldn't."
"Well, I'll bite," she said after a moment, almost wincing at the truth of that
statement. "Why wouldn't they?"
"I was kind of a mess. Got shot down in Afghanistan. I'm a chopper pilot. The
usual. Nightmares, paranoia. And I wasn't really reliable, you know? Twice she
came to my apartment and drug me out of bed and sobered me up and got me to
work."
"She sounds like an amazing lady," Robyna said. "I can tell she's really
important to you." Really important, like maybe in love with, important, she
added silently.
He shrugged and sipped his coffee. "She needs a friend. I do too. It works."
She envied him. She didn't know how to have friends, not really. She knew how
to keep people away, keep herself safe. Or at least she used to, until...She
shut the train of thought off. It was worse than unproductive and she wasn't in
the mood for a pity party. "So what do you do when you aren't tending bar?"
"Mostly hang out at the airport. I volunteer some flight time, let's me keep up
my license. And report home regularly for dinner," he added grinning.
"You fly?" It was a long nurtured hope, to learn to fly.
"Chopper is my first love. But yeah, I fly small planes too. Wanna go up with me
some day?"
Her heart, the one she didn't really have anymore, stopped and started again.
"Yes." She said it simply, no embellishment. Then she said it again, exactly
the same way.
He grinned. "I'll let you know the next time I get a chance to fly. You'll have
to give me your cell number, and I may not have a lot of warning. Mostly I ferry
organs."
She raised an eyebrow and reached over, pulling the pen from his pocket. Then,
without giving herself time to think about it, she grasped his hand and wrote
her cell number on his palm.
He stared at it 'til he memorized it then looked up and grinned at her. "You
know, you should learn to fly. Sounds like you've got the bug. How come you
never tried it? Or did you?"
"It costs so much money and I move around a lot, it seems. And I'm not the type
to join the army just for the training. They like tell you what to do way too
much for my taste."
"Roger that," he agreed glumly. "Give the Army a pass. Well, think about it. I
know someone who's instructor certified. I could maybe talk him into teaching
you."
"Sal, that's really nice, sweet even, but I wouldn't feel right." She smiled,
not wanting him to see how much the offer, just the fact that he'd offer, meant
to her. He didn't even know her.
"Okay, but you still wanna fly with me, right?"
She nodded solemnly. "Yes. So let's hope I'm not working when you call because
I might have to go AWOL."
He grinned. "Don't worry, I'll keep trying. Oh, here comes your girl," he added,
watching as Lynne stood at the open door to Ariadne's giving Fiona a hug.
"Thank for the company, Sal. It really does get boring."
"In between periods of pure terror? Sounds like the Army, Robyna. Take care, and
good night."
"You too," she said.
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