Happy Columbus Day! Here's my part of the celebration...the next chapter! Enjoy:-)
Sitting under the dim light of the neighborhood bar, Jude stared into her glass, half-filled with a clear liquid. She didn't know exactly what was in the glass. She had ordered something—anything—that would make her forget who she was and how her life was falling apart.
It was Thursday night—two nights after her dinner with Rob and five days after Sadie and Kwest's wedding. And twelve days after The Fray concert with Tommy.
It had been exactly five days, three hours and six minutes since she had last heard from Tommy. He hadn't attempted to contact her, not once, since the wedding. She had managed to successfully push him away, as opposed to Rob, who she wanted back in her life, but who was only hanging on by a thin thread. They had exchanged brief emails earlier in the day, but he had failed to return any of her phone calls.
As she walked home from work that night, she was hit with the realization that she was losing the two people who meant the most to her. Stopping dead in her tracks, she saw a bar about five blocks from her apartment and decided to drown her sorrows, rather than sit alone in her apartment in a pool of tears.
Circling the liquid around in her glass, she leaned forward and took another gulp, feeling it burn her throat on the way down. She squeezed her eyes shut, embracing the pain of the drink, knowing that with each sip, she was one step closer to forgetting everything.
There were a few other patrons around her, sitting at the bar or the tables, but she ignored them all. Her concentration remained steady on the glass and of memories of what could've been.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something stir near her. Someone had sat down a few chairs away and she heard them quietly order a drink from the bartender. She reluctantly looked over, stealing a quick glance at the other patron and immediately recognized the figure before her.
"Jessica?" she asked quietly, watching as the woman neatly placed the gin and tonic on a napkin.
In a daze, Jessica slowly turned towards her. Jude scrutinized her appearance—her hair and clothing were impeccable, but her eyes were drawn and tired.
Jessica's mouth opened at the sight of Jude sitting three seats down from her, flustered at her presence.
"Oh, ummm, Jude, right?" Jessica replied, taking a sip of her drink.
"What are you doing here?" Jude asked inquisitively, ignoring the fact that she had forgotten her name.
"I could ask you the same thing," Jessica responded, turning towards her.
Feeling the curiosity getting the best of her, Jude continued, trying to act concerned. "Is everything…okay? Are you…okay?"
"Fine, I'm just fine," Jessica said quickly. "And you?"
"Oh yeah, everything's great," Jude lied. She knew Jessica could read right through her, as she could with her.
"Where's your boyfriend?" Jessica asked.
Jude sighed, feeling the alcohol get the best of her judgment and the truth come forward. "I have no idea," she replied softly, staring into her drink.
Jessica smirked quietly. "Join the club."
Jude looked up at Jessica in surprise. "You…don't know where Tommy is?"
"Not really," Jessica said casually, taking a swig of her drink. "He said he would meet me for dinner tonight, but he didn't show. He left me some vague voicemail about how sorry he was, but he gave no reason and no explanation."
Jude didn't know what to say. She wanted to tell Jessica something positive to pick up her spirits, but she could only feel the incessant guilt that had been with her for the past two weeks creep up yet again.
They sat in silence for a few moments, both sipping their drinks.
Out of the quiet, Jessica turned towards Jude and said, "Can I ask you something?"
Jude hesitantly turned towards her, scared as to what the question would be. "Umm, sure."
"Was Tommy…has he always been like this?"
"Like what?" Jude questioned.
"Like…mysterious and secretive, confusing even."
Jude couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I'd say…confusing is his middle name. Mysterious and secretive—those would be his nicknames."
Jessica nodded, gazing back across the bar in thought. "In the beginning, things were so good. He was always there whenever I needed him and I felt like he would do anything for me. Granted, he was always a little withdrawn, not ever wanting to talk much, but he was really attentive and sweet. He used to pick up roses on his way home even if there was no occasion."
Jude closed her eyes and took another gulp of her drink, trying to avoid listening to the details of their relationship.
"And then…things just changed," Jessica continued. "He changed. He asked me to marry him and then he pulled away. Like he didn't want anything to do with me. What did I do?"
Jessica looked at Jude, as though she was expecting a response. But Jude was staring blindly into her glass, listening but not reacting.
"I know he spent a lot of time with you," Jessica said flatly. "You two have been close. Do you know why he just suddenly pulled away?"
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Jude turned towards Jessica. "Honestly? We never really talked about you."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah…sort of," Jude answered. "He wasn't really open about you or your relationship, so it wasn't ever discussed."
Jessica turned back towards her drink, taking in the information that Jude had just said. "Never?"
Jude reluctantly shook her head, as they both took another sip of their drinks. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Jessica, as she stared disappointedly into her drink.
"Hey," Jude said, turning towards her, "don't let Tommy upset you. He just…he does this. He gets all weird sometimes. It's like he's not always speaking the same language."
"Yeah…" Jessica replied vaguely. "He's like two different people. The nice, caring Tom and then the distant, cold one."
"And have you also met the nit-picky and perfectionist Tommy?" Jude added.
"I believe I have…that's the one who won't let me touch any of his hair products in the bathroom," Jessica replied as they both laughed a little. They quickly turned quiet again, Jude feeling the awkwardness of the situation.
"Jessica, can I ask you something?" Jude posed uncertainly, swiveling on her chair to face her.
"Sure," Jessica said, taking a big gulp of her drink.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Jude asked frankly.
"What do you mean?" Jessica said, looking at Jude with a puzzled expression.
"I mean, you've been kind of…well…a bitch to me," Jude said bluntly, letting the alcohol speak her mind for her.
Jessica immediately spit the mouthful of gin and tonic back into her glass as she burst into laughter. She put her drink down and leaned over the chair, breaking out in hysterics. Feeling like she missed something, Jude gazed at Jessica in confusion. Jessica looked up and saw her blank expression, trying to calm down.
"Sorry…it's just, I don't think anyone's ever actually said that to me," Jessica explained through giggles.
"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Jude asked seriously, taken aback by Jessica's reaction. "I mean, you did call me 'The Coffee Girl.'"
"True," Jessica admitted. "Honestly? Ever since I heard Tom was hanging out with this girl from his past, I couldn't help but hate you. He was suddenly rushing off to dinners or concerts with you, instead of with me. You were spending more time with my fiancé than I was."
Jude immediately blushed, turning away as Jessica continued.
"What really got me was how he acted when your name came up or when he was making plans with you. He could be all distant and weird with me, but then, boom—your name was mentioned and he's happy. So I was a bitch. But in my book, you were the bitch," Jessica stated simply, taking a large gulp of her drink.
Jude's jaw fell open at Jessica's disclosure. She was completely shocked, unsure of what to say.
"But…you didn't even know me," Jude replied. "And I…we…I didn't mean to…"
"I know," Jessica said, cutting off her jumbled response. "I know you didn't mean to, but that's what happened. And I didn't want to get to know you. Would you want to snuggle up to the girl who was snuggling up to your fiancé?"
Jude looked down, feeling humiliated and even more guilty than she had before. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault. He didn't have to exclude me, but he did. It was his choice," Jessica said definitely, taking another sip of her drink.
Cautiously, Jude asked the question that had been on her mind all night. "But…you're still engaged, right?"
"Of course," Jessica answered quickly. "We already paid for the wedding, my parents would kill me if we ever rethought things."
Jude nodded in understanding, as Jessica added, "Besides, we've been together for awhile now and have gotten through plenty of setbacks. I love him and he loves me--that's really all that matters. And every couple has issues, right?"
"Right," Jude agreed softly, seeing Jessica's hopeful expression. In that moment, as she looked at Jessica, she actually hoped, for her sake, that she was right.
"And why am I being so nice to you now? Because clearly, we have more in common than we probably realize. We're both sitting here moping over how stupid men are."
"Very true," Jude said. "They really are all idiots, aren't they?"
"Absolutely. And they'd be totally lost without us," Jessica added.
"Exactly," Jude agreed. "They just need to learn to appreciate us more."
"Definitely," Jessica said, holding up her glass with the remaining sip in the bottom. "Here's to the stupidity that is men and the incredible women who have enough patience to deal with them."
"Here, here," Jude said, tapping her glass with Jessica's before downing the rest of her drink.