Champagne Toast (32 page)

“
Absolutely,
”
she says, looking like she
’
s about to jump up and down.  But, her feet stay planted on the blue carpet below.

“
Excellent,
”
I reply,
“
I
’
ll order the tickets and we
’
ll have a great time.
”

“
I
’
d better get the rest of these sandwiches delivered.  But, I
’
m really looking forward to that, Evan.
”

“
Me too.  Pop back in later if you want, I
’
m sure I
’
ll need another distraction in a few hours.  I hate Mondays.
”

“
Me too,
”
she says, rolling her eyes a bit, before pushing her cart forward.
“
See ya.
”

Sitting back down, a thought pops into my head as I attempt to get back to work.  I
’
m not thinking of the adorable blonde who just left my cube, but of someone else.  Kate can
’
t stand the Lovehammers and she
’
d be irritated to know I was seeing them to impress some intern who delivers sandwiches in my office. 
I wish she
’
d get out of my head.

Kate

September 8, 2012

This heat is oppressive. I feel trapped by the murkiness of the humidity filling the streets of Evanston as I walk to my shift at Molly
’
s.  I haven
’
t been able to stop thinking about Evan since his double date a couple of months ago.
Who am I kidding?
I haven
’
t been able to stop thinking about that man since he walked out of my life two years ago.  I was devastated and so disappointed
,
that after almost three years together
,
he didn
’
t trust me.  It made me feel hopeless.  If he couldn
’
t trust me when I hadn
’
t done anything wrong, how could we ever work?

Walking into Molly
’
s, I nod my head at the other bartenders and walk to the backroom to store my things.  Vince is busy fixing a leaky pipe, but looks up at me as I walk in. 

“
What
’
s shakin
’
, Kate?
”
Vince asks, more chipper than usual.  His normally serious face looks light and almost carefree. 

I shrug my shoulders as I pop the combination lock in my hands.
“
Nothing worth mentioning,
”
I mutter, opening the locker and thumping myself on the wooden bench.

“
You don
’
t look so good.  Are you feeling ok?
”
Vince presses.

“
I
’
m feeling fine.  Just having a day, ya know?
”

“
Yeah, I
’
ve been there, too.  Hey, little darlin
’
, you need anything, just say the word, all right?  I
’
d be lost without you.
”

“
Okay, what
’
s going on with you, Vince?  You
’
re different today.  It
’
s like you have sunshine coming out your ass,
”
I sneer.  As soon as I say the words, I prepare for a verbal lashing from my boss.  He knows I
’
m a smart ass, but I don
’
t want to push him too far and find myself unemployed.  But, Vince just laughs.  The wrinkles above his forehead deepen as he chuckles.

“
My wife is pregnant,
”
he says with the biggest grin I
’
ve ever seen on his normally grouchy face.

“
Wow, Vince, that
’
s great. Congratulations,
”
I say, shocked.  I had no idea he ever wanted to be a father.

“
Thanks, Kate.  I didn
’
t expect to react this way.  Mindy always wanted to get pregnant, but I wasn
’
t too sold on the idea since I
’
m not exactly a spring chicken.
”

Vince is in his forties.  His hair is slightly gray and he always looks tired.  I can see how having a family wouldn
’
t be his biggest priority. But, his wife is much younger and probably had other ideas.

“
So, we decided to just leave it up to fate or whatever,
”
he continues,
“
and here we are.  She
’
s due in about six months.
”

“
Are you going to find out what you
’
re having?
”

“
Nah, we
’
re just so damn excited.  Boy, girl, doesn
’
t matter at all.
”

“
You
’
re going to be a really good father, ya know.
”

“
You think so?
”
Vince asks, his voice sounds uncertain.

“
Absolutely
.” 
I smile and touch him softly on the arm,
“
You
’
ll be great at it.
”

“
Thanks, Kate.  That means a lot to me.  You
’
ve almost become like a daughter to me.  Is that weird?
”
Vince shoves his hands in his pockets, looking a little embarrassed.

“
Not weird at all.  I
’
m really happy for you
.” 
And I am.  Vince is a good man. 

“
Thanks,
”
he nods, still beaming,
“
I
’
ll let you get to work.  This pipe is starting to piss me off and I really don
’
t want to hire a plumber.
”

“
Well, good luck with that.  I
’
ll be out there if you need me,
”
I say, gesturing towards the bar area.

Walking through the door to the bar, I stop dead in my tracks when I see a familiar face sitting at the bar.  She
’
s stirring her drink slowly with a tiny red straw as she watches the television set above the bar.  I haven
’
t seen her in ages.  Is there something in the air that
’
s making all these people from my past walk through those doors?  Are they
trying
to drive me insane?

Taking a deep breath, I walk as confidently towards her as I can.  She sees me and smiles warmly, which surprises me.  I guess I had assumed that I annoyed her as much as she annoyed the living hell out of me.

“
Hey, Chloe, what brings you here?
”
I ask the always-chipper woman in front of me.  She hasn
’
t come through those doors since Evan and I broke up.  Frankly, I
’
m shocked to be seeing her again.

“
How are you, Kate?  You look great,
”
she says.  Her lively demeanor is just as I remember.  Doing my best to smile, I glance back at her hand as she stirs her drink.  An enormous diamond shines from her index finger.  Unable to hide my reaction, Chloe notices my wide eyes.  She looks satisfied as she places her hand on the bar.

“
Patrick proposed.  Isn
’
t it gorgeous?
”  I must admit
it is beautiful.  It
’
s enormous and a bit gaudy in size, but the style is really stunning.

“
Oh, wow.  You and Patrick, huh?
”
It feels like a million years ago that we were all forced to hang out together.  I guess I had assumed that if Evan and I couldn
’
t make it work, certainly Patrick and his ridiculously happy lab partner would fail as well.

“
Yes, he asked me in June.
”

“
That
’
s great, Chloe.  Congratulations
.” 
I look at her expectantly, wondering what the hell all this has to do with me.  Maybe it doesn
’
t.  Maybe she
’
s just here to gloat.

“
Thank you.  Actually, that
’
s why I
’
m here.  I
’
d like to hire you
.” 
If this girl asks me to bartend her wedding, I will drag her out of here by her hair.  Seriously.

“
Oh?
”
I ask, trying desperately to suppress the paranoid anger building in my chest.  To distract myself, I grab a barstool and take a seat next to her.

“
I remember seeing your photos when you were, um, when you were with Evan,
”
she says, looking embarrassed. 
“
You have real skill, Kate.  I
’
d like to hire you to take some artistic photos at the wedding.  We have a photographer coming to take all the regular wedding shots.  She
’
s from Wilmette and is highly recommended,
”
she continues, looking so proud of herself, and I do my best not to roll my eyes.  She
’
s such a snob.

I have to interrupt her or I think she might go on talking forever about every little detail of her wedding.
“
So, artistic shots?  Do you have something specific in mind?
”

“
Well, we
’
re getting married at my family
’
s country club, and they have these amazing Christmas lights literally everywhere.  It
’
s gorgeous.  I remember seeing photos you took at Christmas time a few years ago
.” 

Just the mention of Christmas is painful.  All I can think about are the holidays spent with Evan.  Pushing him from my mind, I do my best to focus on Chloe as she continues.
“
I was hoping you could get some shots with Patrick and I with lights in the background.  I remember you saying a long time ago how film cameras are able to give more texture and definition to the shots.  And I don
’
t want to have any regrets about these photos.  They
’
re the memories that Patrick and I will hold dear for years and years.  I want them to be perfect.
”

“
It sounds like a really nice opportunity for me.  But, you should know that I don
’
t have a photography studio.  It
’
s just me, my camera and a makeshift darkroom in my extra bathroom.
”

Chloe seems unfazed by this statement.  She places her hands on the bar, lacing her fingers together, looking me in the eye.  She looks determined. 
“
Kate, I
’
ve seen your work and it speaks for itself.  You
’
re talented.  Please consider it.  I
’
ll pay you, of course.  Just name your fee.
”

“
I
’
d have to think about that since I
’
ve never done this before.
”

“
How about this?  I
’
ll pay you the same amount that we
’
re paying our other photographer.  I
’
ll base it on her hourly rate.  We won
’
t need you for the entire time.  Basically, the service, some time with us during cocktail hour and then a few shots at the reception.  You
’
ll be free to go after that
.” 
Acting as if I
’
m pondering this, all I can really think about is Evan.  Is he still friends with Patrick?  Will he be there? 
“
We
’
ll also pay you for your photographs.
”