The driver took them to their favorite neighborhood joint, an Irish pub, on the corner across from their apartment. They thanked him-Race handed him a cigar from the club- and they walked through the door to the sounds of crooning and whistles: Jack laughed and loosened his tie, smiling at the familiar faces sitting at the bar. The bartender Connor, a 3rd generation Irishman from Dublin, began pouring beers and whiskeys.
"'Ey, Jack, you fellas clean up nicer than I thought ya could," Connor teased, handing Jack and Spot cold beers he poured from the tap. He lined up shot glasses on the bar top.
"An' one for yourself," Racetrack said as slammed Medda's card on the bar.
David's eyes widened and his hands flew over his pockets. "Wait-how'd you get that?!"
Boots shook his head, "every damn time."
They lifted their glasses, pints in one hand and whiskeys in the other, and Spot grinned wickedly at Jack. "To Cowboy."
"To Cowboy!" Mush shouted.
The guys laughed and clinked their mugs together before taking their shots and draining their beers.
"So, you guys gonna fill me in on the occasion or what?" Connor asked with a grin as he leaned on the bar, pouring his own whiskey down his throat.
Snoddy snorted, "you still wouldn't believe us."
They spent the next two hours drinking, laughing, and reliving the night's events with an edited retelling.
"You're right," Connor said with a laugh, "I don' believe ya!"
The guys roared with laughter. Kat walked in the door at 1:45 a.m.
"Kat!" Mush exclaimed with rosy cheeks as the blonde came in with the chilly night air.
She turned to look at them sitting at a round table playing cards, their faces clouded with smoke.
But when he saw her face, Jack's jolly disposition melted away instantly.
The guys fell quiet but the others in the bar did not notice her at the door. Her nose was red, her eyes swollen, and her lip was trembling. She'd been crying, hard.
Jack stood up immediately, moved between the bodies, and took her by the elbow to go back outside.
She followed him without coaxing, barely holding it together until they stepped around the corner. The ends of her coat sleeves were soaked from her tears and she couldn't say a word through the sobs that overtook her. Jack pulled her to his chest, and they stood on the corner under the streetlamp, her soft sobs echoing down the alley between the pub and the laundromat next door.
She pulled away, shaking her head, her hands limp against Jack's chest. "How-how can you do it?-how can you look at her and not fall completely apart?"
Her eyes met his through wet lashes, mirroring the heartache he felt every day. The joy from earlier faded to his numb fingertips as he read her glassy hazel eyes. Under the light of the streetlamp behind her, she looked like an angel. A heartbroken angel.
She looked at her empty hands. "He-he does so many drugs, Jack-so many-" she shut her eyes tight, like she was in physical pain. It hurt him to hear the words.
"Jack...it's every day. Everyone around him does the same thing-none of them care. He probably deals too-h-he pumps that shit into his body-" she sobbed harder. "And I'm terrified-Jack, I'm scared every night, that it might be his last-and he doesn't even know-"
Her face broke his heart as it twisted into despair. "He doesn't know who he is. I want Kid Blink, I want Kid-"
"Shhh," Jack pulled her to his chest again, trying to hold her still as sobs rocked her. "He'll know. I can't promise ya when, but he will. He'll look at you and know ya, I have ta believe that."
Her hands clenched into fists on his chest. "Jack...he has women all over him. He leaves with a new one every night...I can't-"
He placed his hand under her chin, tilting her head up so he could meet her eyes. "Then don't. Quit tha damn place. I don' want ya torturing yourself."
She sniffed and nodded. Jack kissed her on the forehead before he let her go.
David, Spot, Mush and Race came outside. Race held his arms open, "C'mere, sweethear'." He hugged her tightly for a moment and Spot rubbed her arm, each of their faces serious with heartache.
"There, there...Racetrack will kick his ass for ya, don' ya worry."
She laughed against Race's neck and the mood lifted a little. Mush tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and she let out a big breath, letting her head loll on Race's shoulder.
"I want to get drunk."
"Well hurry the hell up," Snoddy said from the door with a devious grin. "I'm this close ta winnin' a hand and I might buy all of ya's a drink."
The guys' laughter filled the street, and they took Kat inside.
