Jake stepped into the old-style Irish pub and inhaled happily. It smelled of beer and food.
After his last appointment, Jake had looked out the window and seen Friday afternoon gridlock on Lower Water Street. He had turned the radio on: a three-car pile up on the Macdonald Bridge had backed traffic up everywhere. Jake had two choices — sit in traffic or let the traffic sort itself out. The Old Triangle was a five-minute walk from the his office.
A visit to the pub served another function. It allowed him to unwind after a day full of patients. He refused to take home the tension and stress of his job. Better to take a thirty-minute break at the pub, avoid the traffic, and get home in a good mood.
Especially now.
Especially with Wyatt being sick.
Jake took his usual seat at the bar and ordered a Rickard’s Red.
“Hard day, boss?” the bartender asked. Even though he recognized Jake, they weren’t on a first-name basis. Jake had never offered his name. He didn’t like amateur psychologists.
“Same thing over and over.” Jake hated this kind of small talk. Sometimes, he felt like his entire job consisted of forcing small talk. Some sessions were so difficult. After work, the last thing he wanted to do was have an awkward conversation with the bartender.
“You must work around here,” the bartender concluded. “I’ve seen you in here a few times.”
It was hard for Jake not to roll his eyes. “Yep.”
The bartender had expected more. The guy obviously took it as a challenge to figure out his customers when they didn’t want to share.
“What do you do?” he pushed.
“Stool samples,” Jake said without cracking a smile.
“What’s that?”
“I work up in the hospital lab. I analyze stool samples. I sift through them and look for parasites and other abnormalities.”
The bartender obviously wanted to laugh. He wanted to share in the joke but was waiting for a sign that it actually was a joke. Jake looked completely serious.
The silence stretched until the bartender spoke again. “What kind of work is that? I mean, how do you like that?”
Jake looked at him, still not smiling. “I can honestly say it’s a shitty job most of the time.”
The bartender snorted but Jake just stared at him and nodded thoughtfully. Then he turned his attention to his beer, and the bartender slid away. I hope Wyatt’s going to be okay.
Jenna, Maria, and Karen sat in a booth at the back of the Old Triangle. There was a half-full pitcher of Alexander Keith’s beer on the table.
“You need to get back on the horse,” Maria announced.
“And hope he’s hung like one, too,” Karen giggled.
“You guys,” Jenna said. “Behave yourselves. We’re supposed to be respectable nurses.”
“Only when we’re on duty,” Karen answered. She took a pull from her mug.
“Do you have any prospects?” Maria asked.
“Honestly,” Jenna said, “I don’t want to talk about me all night. Let’s just have fun.”
“Talking about you is fun!” Karen laughed. She finished her beer and reached for the pitcher.
Jenna shook her head. She didn’t need pep talks. She’d matured past the point of needing to be in a relationship. She just wanted to be her own person for a while. She wanted to do her own things and not have to negotiate with a partner. She really wasn’t in the mood to have these two convince her she needed a man.
“What about a fling or two?” Maria asked with a curious smile.
“What makes you think I haven’t?”
“Oh.” Karen perked up. “Do tell.”
“I’m not saying I did and I’m not saying I didn’t.”
“Then you didn’t,” Karen said flatly.
“I don’t think you’re a fling kind of person,” Maria said, squinting at Jenna.
“Well, why’d you suggest the fling, then?”
“Ooh,” Karen breathed. “What about him?” She was looking at the bar. The restaurant was busy, but the bar was clear except for one lone man. “He’s kind of hunky.”
Maria and Jenna looked.
“I can’t really see his face,” Maria said.
“But he has nice hair,” Karen said. “And look at that butt.”
“You guys,” Jenna said, embarrassed.
A waiter set a large plate of chicken wings on the table. “This side is mild and this side is hot,” he said. “Do you ladies need anything else?”
Karen, grinning, motioned the waiter over. He bent toward her and she whispered, “We might need you to invite that sexy stranger at the bar to our table.”
The waiter straightened and laughed. “I’m afraid I can only get you what’s on the menu. Just let me know if you need anything else.” He headed to another table.
“You tit,” Jenna said, scowling at Karen.
“Yeah,” Maria said as if agreeing with Jenna. “Don’t invite him over until we get a look at his face.” She laughed.
“No problem,” Karen said. “Keep your eyes on him.”
The three women looked at him. “What are you going to do?” Jenna asked nervously.
“Hey guy!” Karen shouted, then looked away.
Maria and Jenna were still looking at him when he turned. They turned their heads quickly.
“You tit!” Jenna said again, trying not to smile at her friend’s brazenness.
“Well?” Karen asked. “Is he cute?”
Jenna said, “I think I know him.”
“What? Who is he?”
“I think he was a friend of someone I used to date a long time ago.”
“Who?” Maria and Karen asked in unison.
“Just a guy, back at university.”
“Not the guy?” Maria asked.
Jenna didn’t answer. She was pretty sure it was Jake.
“Is it the friend of the guy who left you to be a priest? That guy?”
It was. Jake Tunnel, Benicio’s best friend at Columbia. She knew he’d relocated to Nova Scotia but she’d never bumped into him. She wasn’t sure he’d remember her after all these years. And just this morning she’d been thinking about Benicio. What are the odds? Next thing you know I’ll be running into Benicio.