She hated more than anything leaving still mad at Jon, but how could he expect her to sit around and do nothing while Max dealt with the officials. It was her bar, not his. Puffing out a breath, she thanked Vicky for everything and descended the steps and into a freezing and snowy night. It was a good thing she tossed her heavy woolen sweater into her carry-on.
Cara stood on the other side of the customs window, waiting just like she said she would be. Ari didn’t know what she would do without her. The minute she called to tell her she didn’t even have to ask, she just asked when and where.
Ariana had gotten Jon’s text before she could even get settled in her seat, and instead of answering him, she called Cara. She had to give her the edited version because they were about to take-off and needed to shut everything down. Ever the wise one, Cara told her to hang-up and call him. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to hear his voice without breaking down, she sent him a text.
Now, as she waited for her stamp and clearance from customs, she powered on her phone. When she saw the red exclamation point showing that her text had never gone through, her heart sank and a wave of guilt rushed over her. Quickly her thumbs typed an added message, and she pushed send. This time, though, she watched, making sure the message sent.
Distracted by her thoughts, Ari didn’t hear the female customs agent telling her she was good to go. In fact, she was taken aback when the woman waved her hand in front of her face.
“Ma’am. Ma’am! You’re clear to go on through!”
“Oops, sorry. Thank you. Have a goodnight.”
Ariana clutched her phone tightly in her hand and went to meet Cara. Placing her hand on both shoulders, Cara kissed first one, then the other cheek, then pulled her in for a squeeze.
“What’s the matter, you look as though you just lost your best friend.” Cara winked.
“My text to Jon never went through. He probably thinks I’m still mad.”
“Call him now.”
“I will as soon as we get in the car.”
Cara hooked their arms together, “Then let’s go.”
♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱
Not wanting to go inside just yet, Jon followed the path to the studio instead. He still had no word from Ariana yet. Climbing the steps, he unlocked the door and wiped his feet on the mat. Shaking the rain from his hair, he hung his coat on the hook and switched on a few lights.
He walked into the recording room and grabbed his Takamine off of its stands. Pulling the stool away from the corner, he sank down onto it and strummed a couple of times. He played from memory, not really paying attention to what flowed through his fingers until the words came to him.
Nobody feels any pain.
Tonight, as I stand inside the rain.
Ev’rybody knows that baby’s got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
And her problems fallen from her curls
But she takes just like a woman
She aches just like a woman
She makes love just like a woman,
But she breaks just like a little girl......
“Aww, the hell with it,” Jon muttered.
You cried. I died. I shoulda shut my mouth things headed south...
These words slip off of my tongue...
Sounded dumb...
The buzzing of his phone inside his pocket caused him to stop singing and look over. Seeing that it was Ari, he immediately snatched it up. Swiping a finger across the screen, he read the message.
[10:13pm] Ari: ;)This didn’t go through the first time. Call u
once I get settled xoxoxo ....
Miss u too.♥ me ♥ u.
Letting out a sigh of relief when he read her message filled with her silly emoji thingy, he set his guitar back in its stand, shut off the lights and went back to the house to wait for her call.
♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱
The stench of burnt wood emanated the air the minute Ariana opened the door. She saw Max was sitting at the bar waiting, having a drink. He welcomed them, then told her what the fire marshals had said and that they would be back in the morning.
Ariana set her bag on the empty stool and surveyed the room as she walked around. From what she could see, everything Max conveyed to her over the phone was right. She looked at the photos along the back wall. They were bubbled from the heat of the fire or had water damage. She was able to make them out, but only because she knew every inch, every memory etched into this place.
When she came to the pool table, she noticed the puddle of water that sat on top of the green felt like a pool. Running her fingers along its edge, she made a mental note to do whatever it took to restore the table before she scrapped it for a new one.
Cara came up beside her, “It’s not so bad.”
“No, other than the photos, everything else can be repaired or replaced.” Ari turned her attention to Max. “Has anyone been upstairs yet, Max?”
“Yes. Only smoke damage. The marshal left the name of a company that will come in and clean for you.” Max pointed to the stack of papers on the bar.
“That’s good. Max, thank you again for everything, I couldn’t do it without you.”
“Ari, it’s my job.”
“No. You do more than that. So why don’t you go home, and I don’t want to see you here tomorrow. Actually take a few days off. I will call you if I need you. I’m here until this is cleared up and we can open again.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Max slid his arms into his leather coat and collecting his belongs from behind the bar. Wanting him to understand that she was serious, Ariana waited for him to turn around and face her.
“Max, I’m not asking, I’m telling you. Take a few days off. It will take just as many before I can get someone in here to look at things. The insurance company still needs to be called, and I’m sure there is a ton of paperwork that needs to be done.”
“Fine. Two days. That's all. That should give you plenty of time to do what you need to do."
Saying goodbye, he left the two of them to head on upstairs. As they climb 'the secret passage’ like they had done so many times, Cara giggled.
"We haven't done this in years. Remember sneaking up these stairs after Max would let us in, hoping your grandmother wouldn’t catch us."
"But she always did. I swear that woman had bionic hearing."
When they entered the apartment, the smell of smoke was stronger than in the bar. It might have to do with no one being there and the windows not open. Covering her mouth and nose with the shirt, Ari looked at Cara.
"Ari, you can't stay here with this smell. It's not good for you and the baby. Why don't you come to my house for a few days?"
"You're right. Let me look around first, then we can go."
Ari took a quick look around, noticing a few water spots, but nothing more than that. She grabbed a few important papers that she would need for tomorrow, that she kept upstairs versus in the office, for reasons such as this.
Turning the porch light on, she looked out at the snow-covered ground to the bare tree. The plaque she had placed beside Lili's memorial could not be seen. Whispering, 'I'm home Mamy' she flipped the switch shutting the light.
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