Page 16 of Somewhere Only We Know
I think. Damn it. She still seemed wasted and I wasn’t sure if this guy was a dirtbag or what.
I was wondering what to make of this annoying chivalrous instinct, not sure if Fern even wanted it, when she glanced over at me questioningly. Something about that subtle thing, that tiny check-in, got to me.
“Sure, but can my friend Jack join?” she asked the bass player.
The guy barely looked at me. “I guess.” Cool, thanks, bro. Real excited.
He led us over to a group of people sitting on low stools scatteredaround a coffee table covered with drinks. “Y’all, make some room for…” He looked at Fern.
“Fern. And Jack!” Fern said, patting my shoulder. Hard.
The group of people—a mixed bag of ethnicities, ages, and genders—nodded their heads in greeting. It was the chilly greeting of Hong Kong hipsters.
Fern plopped onto a stool and pulled me down next to her. The bass player sat on the other side of her and motioned for a server to come over.
“I’ll have a gin and tonic,” he said, his voice all velvety and authoritative. He glanced over at Fern with a lazy smile. “What do you want, darlin’?”
Laying it on thick, there, Rhett Butler.
“A hamburger,” she said primly, folding her hands in her lap.
He chuckled. “What about a drink?”
Oh, please. I tapped my foot, not wanting to make any decisions for her, but another drink seemed like a supremely bad idea. I was itchy to get out of this bar, away from this pretentious snake pit.
Fern was still poring over a menu and staring at all the food photographs. “There are no hamburgers here.”
The server gave a flat smile under his handlebar mustache. “We don’t have hamburgers. Only snacks and desserts.”
Fern’s eyebrows rose. “Dessert. Hm, that’s novel.” I looked down to avoid cracking up. Her old-fashioned words and phrases always popped up at the weirdest moments.
After a quick flip through the menu, she looked up at the server. “I’ll have the ice cream sundae, please.”
Sleazy McJazzy rolled his eyes and lifted his chin in confirmation with the server.
Musicians were the freakingworst.
He started to chat with Fern and I glanced down at my phone. Charlie was texting about meeting up.
Uh… about that. I kind of met this girl and she’s eating ice cream right now.
Charlie’s text came swifter than anything:WHAT
Then:Why is she eating ice cream? Wait never mind. FORGET I EXIST AND ENJOY THE NIGHT BRO
No one got more excited for this stuff than Charlie. He liked to play the womanizer part, but I was pretty sure he was a romantic at heart. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and glanced over at Fern and the guy again. He was speaking low into Fern’s ear.
It wasn’t that loud in here, buddy.
The sundae arrived and Fern dug into it like someone who hadn’t eaten in days. Weeks.
“Whoa,” I said. “You’re gonna get brain freeze.”
She paused in her inhalation to look at me before her face scrunched up. “Ow!” She clutched her forehead, knocking the cap off her face. It wasn’t nice to laugh at her suffering, but I couldn’t help it. She started laughing, too, whipped cream smudged on her chin.
McJazzy didn’t seem to like this laughter business and leaned into Fern, his cheek practically touching hers. “That looks good. Can I try some?”
God bless Fern, she handed him her spoon. “Why not?”
