Page 6 of Baby, It’s You (Clairesville #1)

Olive

This was one of Jane’s favorite themes and she would always tell me how she got everyone to lie to Seymour about what day it was so he would be the only one without a mask and end up on the bar stage doing something ridiculous.

Her eyes would twinkle as she laughed and described to me the time that he had to do jumping jacks and sing “Amazing Grace” simultaneously.

Or when he had to recite the Gettysburg Address from a piece of paper while wearing a pink thong and bra on top of his clothes.

He was always a good sport about it, Jane would tell me, deep in her nostalgia.

I usually always kept a Halloween mask in my trunk.

But last week, I sat it down on the bar at the end of the night and a drunk girl grabbed it and kept shoving it in her best friend's face telling her to “make out with Mike” and then I never saw the mask again.

Imagine being so drunk you steal a Halloween mask and then the next day, you wake up with that on your floor.

In July . I would pay to know what she was thinking that morning.

Crossing the street and stepping inside The Mart, a store I know like the back of my hand, I'm greeted with an ice-cold blast of AC. I wave to Mr. Ray at the counter as I head to the candy aisle to grab Rob his “thank you” Nerds.

“I’m having a mask crisis!” I shout over my shoulder.

“No more Mike Myers?” Mr. Ray responds.

“He was taken from me. RIP Mike, you saved me from many horrible tasks, and I will always remember you,” I say playfully, putting my hand over my heart.

“Well, I don’t know what you’re going to find here to use, unless you’re going to cover your face in Band-Aids and pretzels.”

“Hmm Band-Aids…that's not a bad idea, actually. But so painful, right?”

“Depends how bad you want to get out of the dreaded tasks ,” he chuckles, opening his eyes wide for emphasis.

I keep scanning each aisle and say, “AH HA!” when I see a large box of cereal.

I proudly walk it up to the counter and Mr. Ray gives me a quizzical look as he scans my items. “Don’t doubt my crafting abilities.” I wiggle my finger at him. “I have an idea.”

He puts his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I believe you. Give this to Rob for me please,” he says, reaching under the counter and tossing a small bottle of fresh honey into my hands.

Mr. Ray’s wife, Sonjia, has a bee farm in their yard, and she always gives Rob honey because he makes them takeout once a week, his treat.

Rob doesn’t expect anything in return and just likes cooking for them, but she always wants to show her thanks.

“You’ve got it, boss,” I say, giving the cereal box a shake and heading out the door.

As soon as I get back to the bar, I go to the kitchen and find Rob reading while leaning against the grill.

“Honey. Candy,” I say, and sit them down next to him on the prep station.

He looks up from his book and gives me a wide smile. “It was nice doing business with you,” he states, grabbing the Nerds, then ripping the top open and shaking the bag into his mouth.

“Thank you for covering for me this morning.” I lean against the opposite counter. “It was another long night with Ivy.”

Rob gives me an understanding look. “You’re a good friend to her. She will thank you one day for always being her shoulder to cry on.”

I sigh. “I just want to shake her and tell her to wake up . I feel like she’s under some spell and I hate the way he makes her view herself. I don't get it. I would never put myself in a position like that and I don’t know why she allows him to hurt her. Repeatedly.”

“Well, first off, you know everyone thinks differently. She is not you. People also give their partner too many chances sometimes when they think they have found love, even an unhealthy type of love. You also know that I stayed in a marriage way longer than I should have,” Rob says.

“The relationship was toxic and extremely painful for years. I spent many nights on the couch, looking up at the ceiling and wondering, ‘Is this really what my life is supposed to be like?’ but I felt trapped, and I thought she would change. So, I just stayed. When we finally decided to separate, I was so negative through the divorce and thought I couldn’t go on.

I was sure I would never open myself up to dating again.

I closed myself off from any possible romantic connections. ”

“But then you met Missy.” I nod, knowing where this story is going. Missy is Rob’s wife. They met six years ago, when she applied to work at the bar as an extra bartender. She still fills in a few times a week so I can have a day off here and there, but she works as a librarian most days now.

“Right, then I met Missy. And I realized that I was just going through a bad season of life before. It’s an amazing feeling to be in love.

To have a best friend that’s also your partner,” Rob continues.

“I’m sure Ivy yearns for that. Just because she is in the wrong relationship right now, it doesn’t mean she will always be in it.

Give her time and she will figure it out.

Don’t worry, you will get your friend back. ”

“Yeah, I know,” I agree with him. “I know she’s still in there.”

Rob smirks. “And what I’m also trying to tell you is just because you have seen bad relationships around you like Ivy’s and your own parents, that doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to have a bad relationship, too, if you give dating a chance.” He slides a basket of fries towards me.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all before from you,” I say, swiping a fry from the basket and cramming it in my mouth as I walk through the kitchen door.

Everyone in my life wants me to find someone. I don’t tell them that I never plan to.