The Game Pt. 02

"Andrew?"

"Your hubby."

"Right, of course. No one calls him Andrew so I didn't catch on...Wait, did you say you guys have something going."

"Yeah, but it's just for fun. We're not in love or anything. We both got needs and we take care of them for each other. That's all. Since my Jerry died last year I been real lonely and Andrew and I just kind of...drifted together, you know what I mean. I just didn't want you to worry about it."

"Uh, yeah, okay. Thanks."

The confession made Julia's head swim. She and Drew were both in their twenties. She was sure if he was 'getting his needs met' it would be by one of the hot, young waitresses, not the woman old enough to be his mother. And that he was getting his needs met by anybody didn't make her happy. That probably meant he'd never had any intention of coming home.

The night passed slowly. Drew seemed to be genuinely happy here. He was very friendly to the customers, some of which he called by name and she presumed were regulars. He checked with her periodically and finally convinced her to have some of the fried calamari. She had to admit it was good.

Finally the night came to an end, and Charlie told Drew to go 'talk to his wifey' and that they'd handle the clean up tonight. Drew argued briefly but in the end he took her up on the offer. He poured himself a glass of cranberry juice and led her to a corner booth.

"You tracked me down, Jules. It's your show."

"I already told you I came to bring you home. I love you, baby. I still don't understand why you left."

"You really don't know why?"

"No, I mean, not really. I know it has something to do with me being with Gary, but you agreed to it. We did it with that girl and you agreed we'd do it with a guy so I don't really understand, no."

"It's not about you, Julia, or you being with another guy. It isn't and never was."

"Then what, baby? Please explain it to me so I can at least understand it."

Drew sat quietly for a couple of minutes while Julia looked at him expectantly. She wanted to reach out and touch him but his body position left all of him out of her reach. She contented herself with leaving her arms across the table where he could easily touch them if he wanted to.

"How long have we been together, Julia?"

"About 4 years if you count from the day we met until tonight."

"And how many times have we made love?"

"I don't know. Hundreds of times for sure. Why?"

Drew looked her in the eyes and she could see the immense pain and sadness that he was holding within. Her heart was breaking for him, even if she didn't understand exactly what the problem was...yet.

"And have you been happy with our sex life?"

"Very happy, baby. What's this all about?"

"Hundreds of times making love...and not once did you scream for me or beg me to never stop fucking you. Gary had known you just a few hours and he had you wrapped around his pinky. He got you off better than I ever have and he barely knew you."

"You can't listen to things a woman says at times like that, honey. We're not thinking."

"Exactly. You're not thinking, you're reacting. And your reaction was that you wanted him to fuck you forever. There was no way I could compete with that. I'd never done that to you and probably never would. For the rest of our lives I'd be thinking about what he had done and how I couldn't get you off like that. I couldn't face that, so I left."

"God, baby, I'm so sorry. I never thought of it like that. Okay, look, Gary was great." Drew's face fell. "Please, honey, just listen. Yes, he knew how to satisfy a woman. Some guys just do. But that's all he has. He's an asshole with no future. The orgasms were good but it was an empty feeling. When I was done with him all I wanted was you, to be with the man I love."

"Yeah, the guy that can't you off like that."

"No, the guy that gets me off in every other way plus that. Babe, you're my other half. I was devastated when I lost you. Please don't make me go through that again."

"I'm sorry, Jules, but I'm not going back there."

"Then I'll come here."

"What?"

"I'm not losing you again, not if I have anything to say about it. And if that means moving here and smelling like seafood all the time then that's what I'll do. Is Charlie hiring?"

Drew smiled at her, smiled at her for the first time since she'd been here, for the first time in months. She had missed that smile.

"Not right now, no, but most of the places here are always looking for people. I'm not sure this a good idea, Julia."

"It's a great idea, honey. We're meant to be together. I love you more than ever and I know you still love me. You got hurt and you reacted and I understand that. And, baby, I'm so sorry I did anything to hurt you. When I walked in tonight I saw a man that was content but he wasn't really happy. Tell me I'm wrong."

Drew sat quietly while Julia just waited for a response.

"No, you're not wrong."

"Then take a chance on our love, baby. I'll give up everything and move here with you. If we can't make it work then I'll leave. Just give us a chance."

Drew sat quietly again, seemingly pondering what Julia had just said. She was trying to remain calm on the outside but her insides were in turmoil, afraid that Drew wouldn't be able to bring himself to take the chance, to risk his heart again. Finally...

"Guess we'll have to find a place to live."

"Where are you living now?"

"With Charlie."

Julia realized that should have occurred to her, but to hear him say she was living with another woman, even if it 'don't mean nothing' as Charlie said, didn't make her feel any better.

"Oh, I didn't realize you two were that close."

Drew just shook his head.

"Don't be stupid, Jules. I've been staying in her spare room and paying her a little rent. I needed a room and she can always use a little extra cash."

"But you were...fucking her...right?"

"Yep. As far as I was concerned we were over. You need to decide if that's gonna be a problem. I'm not gonna change my life just so you can give me shit about being with Charlie. She's a sweet lady that missed her husband and needed a man to help comfort her in a no-strings kind of way. I filled the bill. And I needed the confidence boost."

"No, no, it's fine. Just no more, okay? No more other people in our bed, okay?"

"Okay."

*****

Epilogue

Julia went back home to deal with their things and close out the business of their life, then joined Drew back in Texas. She got a job as a waitress in another restaurant nearby and they found a cheap apartment. They weren't making nearly the money they had before but they lived a simple life.

It wasn't as smooth as they would have liked. Drew still had some performance anxiety and it took time before he could feel confident enough in his ability to satisfy Julia to really let himself go. But he got there eventually.

When one of Charlie's waitresses left to go back to school, Julia quit her job and came to work for Charlie and, more importantly, with Drew. They built up a solid repeat clientele; not easy in a touristy place like this.

One such regular was a man named Thomas Gibson. He was a businessman of some kind from nearby Corpus Christi and made the drive over to Port Aransas because he liked the atmosphere in the little bar. Drew and Julia hadn't even realized that anything was going on between him and Charlie until they saw them together at breakfast early one morning...very early.

Even then they didn't realize the full depth of the relationship. No, that came to light when Charlie asked Drew and Julia to stay late one night so they could talk after everyone else had left. By this time everyone knew about Thomas and Charlie, so his sitting in the corner after closing while the cleanup was ongoing wasn't unusual. The staff said their goodbyes and then it was just the four of them.

"Thomas and I are getting married," Charlie said, leaping right into it.

"That's great news. Congratulations," offered Drew, so happy for a someone he had come to love as a friend and admire as a strong woman. "Congratulations, Thomas. You take good care of her or you'll answer to me."

"I will, Drew. I promise you that."

"There's something else I need to tell you guys," continued Charlie. "I'm selling the bar and moving to San Antonio with Thomas."

As happy as they were for their friend, they didn't relish the idea of someone new coming in and screwing up what was proving to be a solid business model for them. But they kept the smiles plastered on their faces so their friend would be none the wiser.

"I thought Thomas was from Corpus."

"He is right now, but many of his business interests have moved north and he's ready to make the move. He's asked me to marry him and go with him and obviously I've accepted. But I won't be so far away that we'll never see each other."

"It's wonderful, Charlie, it really is. We're very happy for you. Do you have a buyer yet?"

"Well, I hope so."

That news made it nearly impossible to keep the smiles on their faces but they managed it somehow. It was like they could see their entire lives blowing up right before their eyes. They wanted to be happy for her, they really did, but they couldn't ignore how it was going to affect them. Charlie sensed the unease and broke the good news.

"Don't worry, guys. I'm not gonna charge you much when I sell it to you."

"Us?"

"If you're interested, I mean. If not..."

"Don't even go there. Of course we're interested," interrupted Julia. "We have some money saved, not a lot, but we'll figure out a way to pay whatever price we agree on."

"Guys, Thomas is...very well off. The truth is I won't need the money, so my asking price, at least for you, is really just a token. The law says I have to charge something since we're not related, but I promise you have more than enough."

"Look, Charlie," said Drew. "I hate to be the wet blanket here, and Thomas, please don't misinterpret what I'm about to say, but what if this doesn't work out? What if you sell us the bar and 6 months into it you're not happy. I just...I wanna make sure you're gonna be okay."

"I appreciate your concern, Andrew, I really do, but it's been taken care of. Thomas knows what I'm giving up here and what I get if things don't work out is already in writing and signed. I'll be fine no matter what, though you may find yourself with a 40-something cocktail waitress if that happens."

"And we'd be damn lucky to have her," said Julia.

And that's how Andrew and Julia Atkins came to be the proprietors of the Oyster Shell Bar and Grill on the beach in Port Aransas, Texas. It was a life they never would have imagined for themselves but they were happy and in love once again, if indeed they had ever stopped.

*****

fin