Chapter 283: The Table
Monday, January 30th, Evening
Picking her head up, she looked to the arch that connected the backroom to the bar's main part. Standing in the archway, Ashlyn saw Trin. The youngest of the Adams girls was leading a tall, almost six-feet tall, brown-haired woman. Slowly, they crossed over to the table. Izzy looked up as well and nodded.
Ashlyn studied the pair; the new woman stood taller than Trin, close to Ashlyn's height. That raised the question of who this woman is and why she's here. Ashlyn locked eyes with Trin.
"Thanks for joining us, Ashlyn; I know it's tough," Trin said.
Ashlyn leaned her head to one side, "I get along," she said.
Trin took her seat at the table, and the new woman joined them. Ashlyn slowly turned to look at her. The new woman studied her a bit and nodded.
"Well, I know how tough it is with one, never mind several," Trin said.
"They can be overwhelming, but I got good support," Ashlyn said.
"Several? You have more than one kid?" The new woman asked.
Ashlyn turned to face the new woman. "That I do, and who are you?" she asked, her tone starting to take the tone of the she-bear.
Trin leaned in, "I'm being rude," she said.
Ashlyn's head snapped so fast it could've caused whiplash. "What?" she asked.
"I'm being rude and not introducing everyone," Trin said.
Ashlyn settled down and nodded. "That you are," she said.
"Ashlyn, this is Ivy," Trin said, "Ivy, Ashlyn."
The new woman, now identified as Ivy, reached a hand over to Ashlyn. "Ivy Kowalski," she said.
"Ashlyn Pierce-Scott," Ashlyn said and took a firm grip of Ivy's hand. Ivy didn't wince and even squeezed back just a little more. Finally, they separated and looked each other in the eyes. Well played was stated in Ashlyn's body language.
"Ashlyn Pierce-Scott? You were on that series that Kay was watching," Ivy said.
Ashlyn nodded, "A few times," she said.
"You were the captain of the team," Ivy said.
"Co-captain, but yeah, I was on the team," Ashlyn said.
"So, what brings us here?" Ivy asked.
"In due time," Trin said, "Where's Mina?"
"Right behind you, Trin," Mina Vasquez said.
Izzy smiled and laughed, "She's always been hyper-focused," she said.
"I know, and your order is cooking, and since y'all are here, I assume y'all are ready to order drinks," Mina said.
"Sure, I've been ready since I got here," Ashlyn said.
"Mina, I heard you got stuck last week," Izzy said.
"You're mom talking again?" Mina asked.
"No, she told the girls about their ride," Izzy said, "I just happened to be there eating breakfast."
"Well, I can't wait until they can drive themselves," Mina said.
Izzy made a fake aghast look, "You mean my sister and sister-in-law are pains in the ass?" she asked.
Mina shrugged, "More a handful, especially when Keni has her dander up about something," she said.
"What is Kendall's obsessed with now?" Trin asked, with a slight hint of a laugh.
"Her hot topic this week is Tesla," Mina said.
"The car?" Ivy asked.
Mina rolled her eyes. "The man they named the car after," she said.
"Oh," Ivy said.
"Keni, our sister," Trin said and gestured between her and Izzy, "Is sort of a nut for conspiracy theories."
Ivy nodded, "I think Kay mentioned that," she said.
"In all fairness, Sawyer looks all posh as they say, but she's a geek at heart," Mina said.
"That's my brother and husband's fault," Izzy said.
"Keith's a great big brother to her," Mina said.
"He is to all his little sisters," Izzy said.
"Except Candi," Ashlyn said.
"What do you mean by that Keith's great with Candi?" Izzy asked.
"He's not older than her," Ashlyn said.
Izzy laughed, "True; anyway, I hope it worked out for you with the driveway," she said.
"Rerun and Eric dug us out," Mina said, "Ashlyn, how did you cope with the snow?"
"Everything was remote, so I just had to keep the kids focused on school," Ashlyn said.
"That's good to know; how to did you do it?" Mina asked.
"It's just training," Ashlyn said.
"You must have them trained well," Mina said.
"No one crosses the she-bear," Trin said, laughing.
"Why do people call you that?" Ivy asked.
Ashlyn shrugged, "Always have," she said.
"I don't get it," Ivy said, "You don't look like a bear."
"Something will always remain a mystery," Trin said.
"Maybe one day I'll tell you," Ashlyn said sympathetically.
Ivy nodded, "Okay," she said.
"So, back to why I'm here," Mina said.
"Why are you here?" Trin asked.
"Y'all, what do you want to drink?" Mina asked.
"Do we all like beer?" Izzy asked.
Ashlyn laughed, "Usually, I'm a wine woman, but you know I like beer," she said.
"Yeah, I'm good with it," Trin said.
"Beer is good," Ivy said.
Izzy nodded and turned to Mina. "A pitcher of the best," she said.
"Okay, I'll be back with your pitcher and pints," Mina said and headed towards the bar. Once Mina was out of earshot, Ivy looked to Izzy.
"She also works for your mother?" Ivy asked.
Izzy nodded, "Yeah, she's a driver for my mom, mostly drives Keni and Sawyer," she said.
"That seems like an interesting job," Ivy said.
"I guess, but you've not spent a lot of time with Keni and Sawyer," Izzy said.
"How does that work?" Trin asked.
"Big personalities, the both of them," Ashlyn said.
"I can see that," Ivy said.
Mina returned with the pitcher and four pint glasses. Izzy thanked her and poured everyone a pint. Once she filled all the glasses and passed them out, Izzy looked them over.
"I think we're going to need another pitcher," Izzy said.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Ashlyn asked with a laugh.
"Behave," Izzy said, laughing.
Ivy nodded.
Trin smiled, "Now, for the reason, I asked us all here?" she said.
Izzy made a face and nodded; her laugher died.
