Natalie Vega stood behind the bar serving drinks to every low life and drunk in Llanview and couldn't help but remember, remember a happier time, happier time in her life, when everything was new, a time not to long ago. A man of Latino descent sat in front of her and every time he spoke she couldn't help but grieve, continue to grieve, his voice so reminded her of what she lost, what was taken from her a year ago, reminded her of how life could be so cruel. She was not unfamiliar with such life cruelty since she faced it most of her life, but she really did think things were going to be better for her, life would be kinder to her, kinder since she found what she thought was missing from her life, found where she fit, her family, although she still sometimes felt like an outsider she found them, and then she found him, the man of her dreams, the man who would love her forever, the man she was suppose to spend the rest of her life with, have children with, grow old with. But she figured out it didn't matter what your last name was, or who you really were, cause if you weren't meant to have a kind life, you just weren't meant to have one, and Natalie Buchanan Vega knew all to well that her life wasn't meant to be a kind life. She realized it the day one dream came true and another died.
John Mcbain sat at his desk in his office for the last time, today he would finally leave, he would make a new start, a new start he told himself, a start to try and make things different, try to overcome life's obstacles, who was he kidding he wasn't leaving the FBI to make a new start somewhere else, he was leaving cause they were making him, he had pushed his luck once to many times with doing things his own way, with as they put it having a death wish, a wish not mattering if he lived or died only that he made his case, they insisted he either go for therapy or leave, so John McBain did what he did best of late and didn't obey, he resigned, signed the papers and was saying goodbye to a place and job that had cost him so much in life. Life, he thought now that was a joke, I have no life, no life since that day the job caused it to go away, the day it was killed, a dream of a life killed all those years ago, a dead dream, a dead wife, a dead life.
She couldn't help but watch the clock, it was almost time for her shift to end, for her to go home, go home she thought, now that was a joke, a dark cold house filled with emptiness, she was brought out of her depressing state when someone cleared their throat.
" Hey Nat, how are ya?" Michael Mcbain asked as he got her attention.
" I'm good Michael, what can I get ya?" Natalie asked with a small smile, just a small smile, nothing more, especially not towards Dr. Michael Mcbain, the bright young Dr might take a bigger expression as a sign to ask her out again, again for the tenth no maybe fifteenth time this month, Natalie shook her head she couldn't remember the exact number only that it was a lot, this guy, this smart Dr didn't get the picture, she wasn't interested in him, she wasn't interested in anyone, she wasn't even interested in life.
Michael told her what beer he wanted and she passed it to him. He tried to make small talk but it wasn't going very well, she was unresponsive as usual.
"Got any plans this weekend?" Michael asked and Natalie cringed, here is it, it was coming, he was going to ask her out again.
"Michael, your a really nice guy but as I've told you before I Just don---" Natalie started saying as he cut her off.
" Natalie, I know your not interested in me, I was just asking cause my brothers coming to town tonight and I'm having a small dinner party tomorrow for him, I wanted to know if you'd come. Please? Half the people I invited have the flu and I would really like to show my brother how nice of a place Llanview is." Michael said as he started to drink his beer
"And you want me to come? You think I would help show him how wonderful Llanview is? Why is it so important anyways? Important that he thinks it's so wonderful?"
" Well. Well cause he's been a real stranger to me most of my life and I've been trying to change things, change mistakes from my past, and I thought maybe if he saw what Llanview had to offer he'd stay awhile,"
"Excuse Me! Did you only invite woman" Natalie said twisting Michael intent
" I didn't mean it that way, I meant if he likes it here, likes the people, the town, if he likes it the way I do maybe he'll stick around, I know they still need a chief of Detectives at the LPD since the last one left, my brother just left his job with the FBI" Michael said mentioning the FBI and he saw her face change, her eye's got glassy and she became cold again, stone cold.
" I'm sorry Nat, I didn't mean to bring up the FBI, I know what today is" Michael said as he held out a hand to try and put it on top of hers that was resting on the counter, a gesture of compassion that Natalie didn't accept as she moved her hand quickly from his reach.
Natalie heard him bring up the FBI, how she hated those letters together, how she hated the damn FBI for screwing up her life, for taking her Christian away from her. Natalie looked at her watch and saw her shift was over,
" My shift's over, see ya" Natalie said as if the conversation never occurred, she gathered her stuff up from behind the bar and was headed towards the door when she heard Michael call out to her.
"Come tomorrow, it'll be fun, 7:00." Michael yelled to her, as she didn't stop moving towards the door, she didn't look back and she was gone.
John was attempting to park his car when he slammed on the brake,
"Watch out you Idiot!" john screamed to a red head as she quickly pulled out of her parking spot and didn't even see him as she sped off down the road. John shook his head in disbelief of how Michael had told him how nice everyone was in this small town so courteous, yeah, she was nice and courteous. He thought as he parked his car, got out and walked into the bar.
