Page 17 of A Thousand Little Goodbyes

The nightlife of Boise on a Tuesday night, while better than what Medford had to offer, wasn’t much to write home about.

Scarlett led Chrissie into a classy, black-and-white themed piano bar within walking distance of their hotel. Proximity, Scarlett had maintained, was the only real prerequisite she had for their evening’s entertainment. She said she wanted a place to show off Chrissie’s haircut that wouldn’t require them to spend any more time in the car—and if live music was a part of the deal, even better.

“I’m sure this place picks up after dark,” Scarlett promised as she plucked a happy hour menu off the table. “The only people here this early in the evening are the olds and the cheapskates.”

“And which ones are we supposed to be?” Chrissie asked. Despite her hesitation, she wasn’t displeased to find that they were only two of a handful of people inside the bar. As much as she was enjoying her new look—including the sequined tank top Scarlett had forced her to buy from a pricey boutique, she didn’t particularly want to shout to be heard all night.

“Neither. We’re women who refuse to let society dictate our actions.”

Scarlett set the menu down with a grimace. Although Chrissie was dressed to the hilt, Scarlett wasn’t looking her best. Her face was pale against the cropped black turtleneck she wore, dark circles starting to form under her eyes.

“Is that why you’re wearing a turtleneck?” Chrissie asked. “I thought for sure I was going to be treated to an obscene display of the new girls tonight.”

“Nah, I didn’t want to overshadow you. That’s why I’m also going to start my night by ordering a hot chocolate instead of a martini. I wonder if they’ll let me bring one in from the café next door.”

It was on the tip of Chrissie’s tongue to say that they could just as easilygoto the café next door—or better yet, crawl into their pajamas and call it an early night—but she was stopped when a familiar face started moving toward them.

“Hello and welcome to—Oh!” River stopped a few feet short of the table, her one visible eye even more made up than before. “It’s you.”

“Chrissie,” she reminded the girl in a friendly voice. She pointed at her hair, which swished around her shoulders like a curtain of silk. “Thanks for the suggestion, by the way. I’ve been getting compliments all afternoon.”

“It looks great,” River agreed. Then, with a nervous glance over her shoulder, “What can I get you two to drink? Pretty please don’t order anything blended or smoked. The bartender’s in a foul mood. If I have to ask him to make piña coladas all night, I’m not sure I’ll get paid.”

“Just water for me,” Scarlett said.

Chrissie couldn’t remember the last time Scarlett had orderedwaterat a bar, but she figured her friend was taking it easy on the girl.

“And I’ll take a glass of house white,” she said. “But you know it’s illegal for you to work without getting paid, right?”

The look River cast her was so much like her daughter that she almost laughed out loud. She managed to hold herself in check until the girl took herself off to put their orders in with a bowlegged bear of a man who did, in fact, look to be in a terrible mood.

“The poor thing,” Chrissie said as she watched River start to wipe down tables and light candles on the several dozen tables surrounding a glossy grand piano on a raised platform in the center of the bar. “She had to work all morning at the hair salon, and now this? I wonder if I should—”

“No.”

Chrissie swiveled her gaze back toward her friend. “But you didn’t even know what I was going to say!”

Scarlett held up her hand and started ticking off the possibilities. “You’re either going to talk to the manager, call up the workers’ rights complaint hotline, write her a check for several hundred dollars, and/or adopt her as your second child.Thirdchild if you count Rufio—which I don’t. That cat is a menace.”

“The workers’ rights complaint hotline exists for a reason.”

Scarlett snorted. “This is ourvacation, Chrissie. Our chance to kick back and spend some much-needed time together. I absolutely forbid you from bringing in strays. There’s a lot of stuff I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet.”

A frown tugged at Chrissie’s lips as she watched River start to carry away a tray of dirty glasses that weighed almost as much she did. That last bit—about the things Scarlett wanted to tell her—seemed important, but not nearly as important as the girl’s plight. “She looks barely older than Kat.”

“And I’m sure she has a perfectly adequate mother of her own to worry about her.” Scarlett rapped her knuckles on the table. “Now. Tell me about Walsh. I want to hear all about his unrequited love for you.”

Chrissie allowed herself to be distracted, but not without firstremembering what River had said about her mother and the cancer that had taken her life. There was no age at which losing a parent was easy, but she must have been awfully young.

“‘Unrequited’ is a strong a word to describe our situation.” Chrissie shrugged as she did her best to push the thought of a small, tear-streaked girl clutching a pink cosplay wig out of her mind. “Walsh asked me out a few years ago. I was tempted, but I pointed out how inappropriate it would be while Kat was one of his athletes, and he agreed. Ever since then, he’s been a good friend.”

“Friends don’t ask friends to send bikini pictures.”

Chrissie’s cheeks flamed. “Youdo.”

“Yeah, but only because someone has to remind you what a hot piece of ass you are. Have you guys ever chaperoned a volleyball tournament together?”

“Of course. Why?”