Two Days After the Flight
Glenn was in the parking lot leaning against his pickup truck smoking a cigarette when I pulled up for my Friday night shift. I could almost see the anger seeping off him. If there were a heat map of his body, it would have been all dark red and burnt orange. He caught my eye, threw the cigarette to the pavement, and ground it out with the toe of one boot. Heaving a deep sigh, I turned off the ignition as he strode quickly toward me. I unrolled my window just a crack.
“What, Glenn? I told you I don’t know anything.”
“She can’t just disappear, Anna. She has no money and no car. Somebody knows something or is helping her. Where the fuck is she?”
“The last I saw her was Tuesday night. We don’t hang out outside of work. Lay off, man. I’m not hiding her. Why don’t you ask some other people?”
“I’ve asked everyone. Let me borrow your phone and I’ll text her as if I’m you. Maybe she’ll answer.”
“I don’t give my phone to other people, Glenn, and for your information, I did text her and she never wrote back. I don’t know shit. Deal with your own business. I have to go to work.”
I rolled up my window, pushed the door open, and stepped out.
“Anna, I swear to God, if you’re lying…”
“You’ll do what, Glenn? I’m not lying.”
I walked past him and into the bar, trying to look confident as I went, but feeling nervous and a bit unsteady. That look in his eye unnerved me. He was unpredictable and furious, a bad combination. Going to the restroom to get ready, I took some deep breaths to steady myself. Be cool, Anna, be cool.
I had a strong feeling Jasmine wasn’t coming back to Madison anytime soon. It gave me a mix of sadness at losing her at the bar, curiosity over where she was, and anger that she had put me in a situation where I had to deal with her boyfriend without telling me the exact day she was leaving. But twenty years working in a bar had given me all kinds of experiences, and I reminded myself I could handle it. I would deny helping her in any way until he finally shut up and moved on, and if Jasmine suddenly showed up at my doorstep unexpectedly, well, I guess I would deal with that too.
In the bathroom, I changed into my work clothes and tied on my apron, then slipped my phone from my purse. Holy crap.
There was a text from Jasmine.
Hey Anna—I’m more than OK. I met a great guy named Trent McCarthy. He makes me feel safe and beautiful. More details when I can!
I read the text twice and felt a strange mix of emotions. Relief met a bit of jealousy over her meeting a great guy so soon, and there was still anger over the situation she had put me in, but I tried to be the supportive friend as I texted her back.
OMG, Jasmine, that’s awesome. I’m so excited for you!
As soon as I sent my response, I deleted the text exchange. No need to have any evidence for Glenn just in case he somehow managed to get his hands on my phone and hacked his way in.
When I came out of the bathroom, Glenn was seated at the end of the bar. He looked at me with a hard stare. I glared back as best I could, but my heart was pounding.
Lifting his right hand, he put his index finger out and thumb up in a shooting motion, aiming it directly at me. Narrowing his eyes, he lowered his head toward his hand, looking as if he were staring down the sight line of a gun.
“Bang bang, Anna,” he called out. A couple of other guys at the bar chuckled. Ice water traveled the entire length of my spine. Pretending I hadn’t noticed, I turned away and grabbed a bar rag, going to wipe a table.
I was able to distract myself most of my shift, but that night I couldn’t sleep. The vision of Glenn pointing at me with his finger gun kept me tossing and turning. I was pretty sure he was a hunter and had an actual gun, maybe more than one. Getting up twice to check the locks, I contemplated staying up all night until dawn broke. But I was tired. When I crawled into bed, it was Rocky who finally helped me to calm down. His warm golden fur provided the comfort I needed. Snuggling my body next to his and throwing one arm over him, I forced myself not to think about Glenn and finally fell into a fitful rest.
I would usually sleep late after a night at the bar, but I woke up at 7:45 and rubbed my eyes. Opening the curtain of the window next to my bed to check the weather, I almost screamed but clamped my hand over my mouth so as not to scare Rocky. There sat Glenn’s truck, idling. Slowly he began driving away. My heart was hammering like a metronome on steroids.