Page 11 of September (New Orleans #9)

“S o, I haven’t been here yet, but I saw the postcards for it in one of the stores and thought we could check it out,” Molly said.

“You don’t want to go to a gay bar?” Juliet asked. “We could find you a new Finley since we didn’t before.”

“I don’t want a new Finley,” Molly replied as she walked through the open door. “And thanks for coming out with me tonight, too. I know you have a lot of stuff going on with the job and figuring things out with Carly. I’m being the needy friend right now. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. And I think I have the Carly part figured out, at least,” she said, following her into the bar that Molly told her was geared more toward locals and not tourists. “I found a dog sitter. I met her today, actually. She’s really great. Carly loved–” Juliet stopped.

Sitting in a booth next to a very attractive and obviously butch woman was Gwen. Juliet stared at that butch woman for a second and then moved her eyes back over to Gwen, the person she actually wanted to stare at.

“Jules?” Molly asked. “Earth to Juliet.”

“Huh?” she asked, having to force herself to look away from Gwen.

“Where did you go just now?” Molly asked, laughing.

Juliet looked back over at Gwen just as Gwen turned to see her standing there and smiled at her. Juliet chuckled a little and nodded at her because she didn’t know what else to do now that she’d been spotted.

“That’s her,” she said.

“Who’s what now?”

“The dog sitter I hired a couple of hours ago.” Juliet nodded in Gwen’s direction. “Gwen.”

Molly looked that way and asked her, “The one with the short brown hair?”

“No, the one with the long brown hair,” she replied.

The bar wasn’t very big, but there was enough sound that, despite the fact that they were standing only twenty feet away, Juliet was confident that the music and talking drowned out their conversation.

The two women sitting across from Gwen also looked over at Juliet, and she didn’t know what to do now.

Should she go over and say hello? Should she leave Gwen and her likely girlfriend to their double date?

“Let’s say hi,” Molly suggested, deciding for her.

“Um… Okay,” she replied and followed her friend over to the booth. “Hi,” she said to Gwen a little too loudly.

“Hey,” Gwen replied. “Come here often?” She shook her head. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

“No, I’ve never been here, actually,” Juliet replied. “This place was Molly’s idea.”

“Molly is…”

“Her.” Juliet pointed. “This is Molly.”

“Hi. I’m the aforementioned Molly,” Molly said with a small wave.

“Gwen,” Gwen replied. “And this is Logan.” She nodded toward the woman sitting next to her. “Elisa and Myra, her girlfriend.”

It was interesting to Juliet that Gwen had chosen to describe Myra as Elisa’s girlfriend, but Logan was introduced as just Logan. Juliet didn’t know what to make of that, but she didn’t want to ask in front of a crowd.

“Do you want to join us?” Elisa asked her.

“Oh, we don’t want to impose or anything,” Juliet said. “Molly heard that this was more of a local scene, so she just wanted to check it out. We can leave you to it, though.”

“Babe, want to go to the bar and play one of those games with me?” Elisa asked her girlfriend. “They just got the poker one in.”

“They all have poker on them and will take your money,” Logan noted.

“We’ll be right back,” Elisa said with a headshake.

“I guess we will,” Myra added. “Feel free to take our seats. We like the bar.”

“You do? Since when?” Gwen asked.

“Since now. Love the bar. So much love for sitting at the bar,” Myra said.

“Glad to hear it. I hang out there a lot,” a woman said as she approached them. “Can I get you anything?”

“Oh, I guess I’ll take a…”

Juliet didn’t know what to order. She wanted to seem cool, but she usually only drank beer, if she drank at all. Was beer cool? It looked like Gwen had a beer. Maybe a beer was a good choice.

“Martini,” she blurted out like an idiot instead.

Why had she done that? She didn’t drink martinis. She didn’t know anything about martinis.

“Gin? Vodka?” the woman asked.

“Oh. Vodka,” she replied, thinking that she could stand vodka more than gin, at least.

“Dry?”

“Yes,” she said, not remembering what dry meant in this context. “And dirty, with three olives.”

“You really like olives, huh?” the woman asked.

“I do, yeah,” she said, unsure if that was really true.

“Can I get a beer?” Molly asked. “The one she’s got.” She pointed to Gwen’s beer.

Juliet was regretting not saying what Molly had just said and ordering herself a beer, which was something a normal person would’ve done instead of ordering a more expensive drink that she didn’t want.

“Candace, can I get a burger?” Gwen asked.

“Sure. Your usual?”

“Please,” Gwen said.

“Logan, want anything before you go? For Rory?”

“No, she’ll eat with the kids,” Logan replied. “And I’ll have something at home when I get there.”

“I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

“That’s Candace,” Gwen told her. “She owns the place. And Logan bartends here.”

“Oh, cool,” Juliet replied.

“Do you want to sit down?” Gwen offered. “They’ll be at the bar for a while.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks,” Molly answered for them both.

Molly then motioned for Juliet to slide into the booth, which would put her across from Gwen. Juliet didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so she slid into the booth and sat down. Molly moved in after her and sat across from Logan.

“So, any occasion or just checking out a new bar?” Gwen asked.

“I asked her to come out with me,” Molly replied.

Gwen nodded and looked toward the bar.

“What’s the occasion for you?” Juliet asked.

“None. Elisa asked me to come out with them tonight. She just wanted to buy me a drink for helping my niece, like I mentioned earlier.”

“Sorry. How do you all know each other?” Logan asked.

“We met today, actually,” Juliet answered. “Gwen is going to be taking care of my dog for me when I’m out of town for work.”

“And you two?” Gwen asked, looking at Molly.

“We work together,” Molly said. “We’re both in HR.”

“I’m a trainer,” Juliet said.

“Personal trainer?” Logan asked.

“No, we both work for Southern Roastery. I train the new hires and stuff.”

“She’s being modest,” Molly added. “She just got promoted, so she’ll be taking on an entire region, and she’ll train managers and salespeople, too.”

“Congrats,” Logan said before she looked down and pulled out her phone. “Rory’s done early. I’ve got to go.”

“Rushing out because she’s heading home? Whipped?” Gwen teased.

“Yes,” Logan replied as she stood. “And you would be, too, if you were me. My girlfriend is amazing.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Gwen laughed a little.

“It was nice meeting you both,” Logan said.

“You too,” Juliet replied, liking the idea that Logan had a girlfriend who wasn’t named Gwen.

Their drinks arrived shortly after Logan left, and Juliet didn’t know what to do with hers.

It didn’t look particularly delicious to her, so she grabbed the little stick with the olives on it and twirled it as Molly told Gwen more about working in HR at a coffee company.

Then, after a while, Molly went to the bathroom, leaving them alone for the first time since earlier in the day when things hadn’t been at all this casual or over drinks.

“Not a big martini drinker?” Gwen asked.

“Huh?” Juliet asked back.

“You haven’t taken one drink of that thing yet,” Gwen noted with a little chuckle.

“Oh, right.” She picked it up and brought it to her lips, taking the smallest sip before setting the glass back down, trying to hold in her grimace. “Happy?”

Gwen laughed a little louder and asked, “Why did you order it if you don’t like it?”

“I have no idea.” Juliet laughed, too. “I think I wanted to sound cool.”

“By ordering a martini?” Gwen asked.

“It’s a cool drink. James Bond drinks it, right?”

“I guess so. Not a big Bond fan.” Gwen pushed her half-finished beer toward Juliet. “Want a beer instead?”

“I can’t take your drink.”

“No, go for it,” Gwen replied. “I can drink this.” She pulled the martini toward herself just as the owner of the bar approached with her burger.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks, Candace.”

“No problem. Can I get you or your friend anything to eat?” she asked, looking at Juliet.

“Nothing for me,” Molly replied as she walked up and stood next to Candace. “Hey, I have to go,” she added. “I feel like crap.”

“What?”

“I just threw up in the bathroom,” Molly said.

“You did?” Candace asked.

“I cleaned up after myself and managed to make it to the toilet. I just had these oysters for lunch today, and I think they’re unhappy with me, or my stomach is unhappy with them. I need to get home before it happens again.”

“I’ll come with you,” Juliet said and went to leave the booth.

“It’s okay. It won’t be pretty. I drove us, though. Can you get a ride home?”

“Are you sure? I can–”

“Jules, I don’t want you to see this,” Molly said, holding one hand over her stomach and the other up to wave her off.

“Okay. Yeah, I’ll get a ride. Text me later?”

“I will,” Molly replied and walked briskly out of the bar with her head down.

“Well, I imagine you don’t want anything to eat now,” Candace said to Juliet.

“Not really, no,” she replied.

Candace then walked away with a small smile, and Juliet looked over at Gwen.

“I don’t suppose you can give me a ride home.”

“I took the streetcar,” Gwen replied. “But if you want to ride that with me, it gets me to my apartment, and I can drive you from there.”

“I can just order a car. It’s fine. I should really go after her, shouldn’t I?”

“I wouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“You’re work friends, right?”

“Yes.”

“She doesn’t want you to see her throw up all over her bathroom because you work with her. I get it. I’d just text her later if she doesn’t let you know how she is,” Gwen said and ate a French fry. “Want a fry?”

“No, thanks,” Juliet said. “You really took the streetcar here? I don’t think I’ve taken one of those in years.”