Dad reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “You’ll figure it out, kiddo. You have plenty of time to figure it out.”
“I know, I just... it’s humbling when you go for your dreams, and it all ends in a big pile of doggie doo-doo.”
“I have faith in you, Brittany. Remember, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. So what? LA didn’t work like you thought it would, but I bet you learned a lot.”
“True.”
“And I bet you’ll find your next adventure. Just give yourself a little time. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
“Any other poster-worthy inspirational sayings that you’d like to lay on me?”
My dad gives me his patented, lopsided grin. “Nah. You know all the good ones. Remember, I’m a great parent.”
I roll my eyes. “And a humble one.”
I grab a second slice of pizza. “I do need to get going after this.”
“Don’t let me cramp your style.”
“Dad, I’ll come home later, and we can play a game or something, OK?”
“Kid, go have fun. What is it you all say now, YOLO?”
I laugh. “Sure, Dad. YOLO.”
“See, I’m hip.”
I raise an eyebrow as I finish my slice of pizza and down the rest of my beer.
“All right, well, I’d say I’d do the dishes, but, uh, we don’t have any. So, I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Go have fun. And don’t worry about getting back here tonight. And say hi to Harley for me.”
I lean down to kiss him as I head out the door to walk up to the main lodge.
Four
Brittany
“Hey, Zane. We need two Mojitos, please,” Harley says to the bartender as we settle at the far end of the bar. Zane is also her cousin.
“Coming right up, ladies,” he replies.
I look him up and down and turn to Harley. “I should come here more often.”
She rolls her eyes. “Nope. Not going there. OK, so tell me everything.”
I turn the glass of water that Zane has set in front of me in a neat little circle as I contemplate where to begin.
“Well, I was stuck in this loop, this never-ending cycle of other artists’ problems. The PA gig paid all right, way better than being a waitress, but it was just...” I trail off as I sip the water. My eyes scan past Zane to a familiar face a few seats down at the bar. Cole Bradford. Cole had been a senior when I was a freshman, and I may have had a huge crush on him. We flirted in art class, but it never went beyond that because he was the captain of the football team and I was a merely a choir singing little freshman. He had a bad boy reputation, but that was years ago. I’m sure he’s grown up and changed since then.
He looks my way as Zane sets down our drinks. “Enjoy, ladies. And good to see you, Brit.”
“It was just what?” Harley asks, pulling my attention back to her as she sips her mojito through a metal straw that she has pulled out of her bag. I give her a look, and she whips out another one for me.
“What? It’s better for the environment, and it keeps my lipstick looking good,” she justifies.
I laugh and take the straw, glancing at Cole again. He looks my way and gives me a smile. I smile back and nod at him before focusing on Harley once more.
“I wanted to feel inspired, you know? I thought if I was in LA, surrounded by the industry and exposed to it every day, that being immersed would help me figure out my path forward. But instead, it just pigeon-holed me. Once people knew I was a good PA, they only saw me as a PA. I mean, other than Lark, no one ever really took my music interests seriously.” Harley had given me some numbers of people in LA. And I had called them, but nothing ever panned out, and I was too proud to admit that to her. Whenever we’d meet up, which was usually at a music festival on Harley’s college breaks, I pretended to love being a PA. I should have told her. I should have told everyone the truth.
Harley studies me as she sips her drink. “Did you ever think that maybe, you didn’t take yourself seriously?”
“I...” I ponder her words. Yes, they are hard to hear, but Harley is one of those people who doesn’t beat around the bush. She calls it like it is. “No, I never thought about that.”
“Maybe you should?”
“Maybe.”
She gives me a pointed look that says, “I should.”
“Fine, I’ll think more about it.”
She puts her hand on my arm. “Brit, you are so talented. Your songs are... your lyrics, they are just so good. It’s like you can read people and then put words to it. You see things other people don’t see. You have a gift. Don’t let that gift go to waste. Screw the people that didn’t see that in LA. And you could have told me that, ya know? I believed in you, and I still do.”
“Thanks, Har.”
I take another sip of my drink as she motions for Zane to bring us another round.
“It’s on Cole,” he says to us, nodding down to where Cole sits.
Harley glances over at Cole. “Hey,” she says, giving him a small wave.
“Long time no see,” he quips as he raises his glass to us.
I get up and walk over to him. He stands and leans in to hug me.
“How are you?” he asks as he pulls back.
“Great. I didn’t know you still lived here.”
He beams. “Yep. I moved back a few years ago. I’m working in my dad’s law practice doing trusts and estates. Have you been back for long? You were out in LA or something, right?”
I nod. “Yes. I just got back a few days ago. I decided to spend some time here and work on some new music.”
“That’s great. We should catch up.”
“I’d love to,” I reply with a grin. He hands me his phone, and I punch in my phone number.
I look down at the other end of the bar. A set of eyes watches me, and I blush. Parker George. I nod to him, and he nods back. There’s a pretty blonde sitting next to him, chatting away, oblivious to the fact that he isn’t listening. Parker is Ty’s best friend. They are both local ski legends, but only Parker uses it to get women. Or at least, that was the case last time I hung out with them.
As if I have summoned Zeus himself, Ty walks into the bar. The blonde jumps out of her seat and hugs him, plastering herself to his body. He kisses her cheek, and they begin chatting amicably. Great. He is probably dating her. But then he looks over at me. His eyes quickly dart to the back of Cole’s head and then to me again. He looks downright murderous for a moment before the blonde pulls his attention away.
“Well, it was great to see you,” I add as I turn to Harley.
“See you soon.”
I look back to Harley, who has now turned to see what I’m looking at. Paling, she turns back to me as I walk toward her.
“We can go... I mean, if you want,” she mutters.
I sigh and stir my drink. “No, it’s fine. I need to get used to seeing him, right? I mean, I can’t hide under a rock forever.”
She shrugs. “I don’t want you to feel weird about it.”
“It’s fine, Har. Let’s just enjoy ourselves, all right?”