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  Still, every once in a while I would think back to my friend Joker, who had taught me so much, and asked me for very little. Regrettably, the time that I had been away had made it hard for me to be able to walk through those doors. I'd been a fool, also hell-bent on my ambitions to be the best, that I had taken him for granted. By now he must hate me.

  When I walked in, there were a couple of patrons sitting at the bar. Since I had to take a leak, I walked back to the bathrooms first. It was funny, as long as I'd been gone, nothing had changed.

  The walls were still dark colors and the door to the men's room still needed to be fixed, not that it was ever locked, but it was the purpose of having one that mattered. I also noticed that one of the sinks in the bathroom was out of order, as well as one of the urinals. It wasn't like Joker to get so behind. Once he was over scolding me for being away for so long, I would get on him about slacking.

  Once I was finished with the facilities, I decided to walk upstairs and see Joker myself.

  I'd walked up the stairs so many times that it almost still felt like home. Since they were located at the back of the bar, it was quieter and my footsteps seemed so loud as I worked my way to the top step.

  I knocked three times and leaned back against the wall, unsure if Joker would hug me or punch me. I'd walked away from our friendship, just like I'd walked away from everyone that ever meant something to me. It's what I did whenever I started to get close. I couldn't handle the commitment of being responsible for someone else's feelings, even my friends.

  When nobody came to the door, I started walking down the steps, but a soft voice made me freeze in place and turn around. A little kid, probably no older than five or six, stood there with the door cracked open. "I'm not supposed to open the door to strangers."

  He spoke well for a little kid.

  "Well, I'm not a stranger, buddy. I'm a friend of your dads. Is he here?"

  "No."

  I had to remember that I was dealing with a kid. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

  He shook his head and closed the metal door without saying anything else. I wondered, at first, if Joker was in there and he was playing a joke on me. I half expected him to open the door once I was all the way down the stairs, but it didn't happen.

  Instead, I made my way back to the bar and froze in place when I saw what was standing behind it.

  This sexy little kitten was standing back there. She had her reddish brown hair tied up in a bun with a pen sticking through it. One of her fingernails was getting the hell chewed out of it as she was looking down at some book and seemingly struggling with whatever it was she was reading. I found her frustration to be very sexy, so I sat back in the far corner and just watched her. There were a few people sitting up at the bar and I kept hoping, at some point, she would catch eyes with me, but the girl never seemed to look up. Every time she turned around, every dude in the bar was checking out her fine ass. It was quite comical, especially considering that I was doing the same thing. I knew right away why Joker had hired this chick. It was obviously not for her bartender skills, which she was failing at horribly, by the way.

  She was a head turner and just for that fact alone could bring in some fresh customers. The more she struggled, the more that they seemed to harp on her lack of experience. When she actually dropped a glass and it shattered on the floor beneath her feet, it was embarrassing for her. I had to look away to avoid the first time that she saw me I would be laughing at what had happened. There were these two guys at the opposite end of the bar that were really giving her a hard time. I could tell from the look on her face that she was frustrated and the funny part was that she wasn't trying to hide it. I wondered why a businessman like Joker would have been interested in hiring someone like her. She didn't even smile.

  Maybe he was hooking up with the young hottie. I mean, he knew a lot of people and maybe he got lucky and hooked up with her. There was obviously a kid upstairs, so maybe they had started a family. Five years was a long time.

  Still, she didn't seem old enough to have a kid and even if she did, she wasn't wearing a ring.

  I suddenly realized that my fascination with the hot chick behind the bar was keeping me from my real reason of being back at the tavern.

  I swallowed my pride and started making my way to the bar. When the girl spotted me heading in her direction, she rolled her eyes. It forced a half smile to appear on my face. She was already annoyed with me and I hadn't even spoken to her. Now, I was a ladies man and never had a complaint in that department. There wasn't a single woman that didn’t have a smile on her face when I left. I didn't know who this girl belonged to, but it was going to be my goal before I left, to get her to smile at least once. She was too hot to not have anything to smile about. Her tits alone would be something to smile about. The closer I got, the more I noticed how they popped out of the top of her shirt. She was wearing black pants that tugged around her round ass and her hips were the kind a man dreams about grabbing when he's ramming her from behind. If this was Joker's lady, I could see why he would overlook her personality. She was a spitfire for sure.

  I sat down on a stool that was probably located dead center of the bar. She put two hands on the bar in front of me. "I’ll get to you in a minute." Then she pushed away and walked over to someone else.

  I let out a laugh full of air and looked around the bar, like I hadn't met the rudest waitress ever.

  While waiting for her to get her shit together enough to where I could ask about Joker, I looked around the bar. Not much had changed. Sure, the pictures of Ireland were still hung around the place and all of the furniture was the same as when I left, but a picture of the boy sat next to the register. I'd be a fool to not think that he was in fact, Joker's son. This would mean that this little vixen was the boy’s mother.

  I'd have to pat Joker on the back when I saw him for tapping that shit. Hell, if she wasn't his, I'd do whatever I could to get a piece of that. A loud knocking broke my train of thought and caused me to look in the direction of the bar. The girl had tossed dirty glasses into the sink and was vigorously washing them, obviously blowing off steam as she scrubbed. Another guy looked at me and just shook his head. He stood up and as he passed me to leave he leaned over my shoulder. "This place is going to shit! Good luck getting your drink, man." I watched him walk out of the bar and noticed that he didn't leave her a tip where he had sat.

  I turned my attention back to the girl and noticed she was leaning against the sink, trying to regain some kind of composure. Finally, she turned around and started heading in my direction. When she reached the bar across from where I sat, she cocked her eyebrow. I just sat there for a second. It was like I had forgotten what I came there to ask about. "Yeah, just give me Guinness."

  She turned around without saying anything more and started making my beer. When she turned around, she slid it over to me. "Three dollars."

  I pulled out a five and slid it over to her. "You look like you're having a bad day."

  She grabbed the money. "More like a bad lifetime."

  After changing out the five, she slid two bucks across the bar. Before she could let go, I put my hand over hers and slid it back. "Keep it."

  She stuck it in her pocket. "I'll keep it close for when you ask for it back."

  I started to laugh. "That bad of a day, huh?"

  "I told you, it's just a bad everything. Do you want anything else or can I go help these assholes that refuse to leave?"

  I motioned my hand for her to attend to the other guys, but as soon as she turned around I started to chuckle. She really was a little walking attitude. I didn't know what her problem was, but it made her extra sexy.

  When her voice got loud, I looked over and saw that those two guys were giving her a hard time. She was actually backing away from the bar to get space between them. I don't know what made me do it, but I got up and walked over behind the two guys. "Is there a problem here?"

  Not only did the guys turn around, but I saw
her looking at me like I was crazy. She was behind them shaking her head for me to stop trying to help. That just made me want to help more.

  "This ain't none of your damn concern kid." One of the guys crossed his arms when he spoke.

  I hated being called kid.

  "The way I see it, I just made it my problem. You two need to leave, now!"

  "When the lady pays us, we'll leave."

  She stood where she was. "I told you, I don't know about any money and I don't have it."

  They went to say something, but I grabbed one of the guy’s arms and pulled it behind his back so it was instantly painful for him. He whined at the amount of pain I'd inflicted so quickly. I got up close to his ear, but didn't whisper. "Get the fuck out of here, before I show you how to really hurt someone."

  The other guy grabbed his buddy’s arm. "We don't want no trouble, kid. We just came to collect what's owed to our boss."

  "You tell your boss that he isn't getting anything today." I shoved the guy away from me.

  They started walking backwards. "We'll leave now, but you ain't always going to have this kid here to protect you, Charlie. We'll be back and next time you better have what you owe."

  They walked out of the door and I felt a wet rag slapping me in the face. "Thanks! You just made it ten times worse."

  "I was just trying to help you."

  "Well thanks, but no thanks. If you're not going to drink your beer, please just leave. I can't take any more of this shit today. Now I'm going to have to close the bar for a few days to keep them away from me."

  I leaned against the counter and slid the rag back to her. "What do they want?"

  "I'm sorry, do I know you? I don't think it's any of your damn business." I loved how pissed she was getting. It made me want to push her buttons more.

  "I'm Jammer. I'm actually here to ..."

  She cut me off before I could say anything. "Look, not that it's any of your damn business, but my entire life has just been assfucked. I've been left this shithole bar by a father that I didn't even know I had, and if that isn't even bad enough, I had to drop out of college because the bar came with a kid too. So unless you are Ed McMahon with a damn million dollar check, I suggest you just go."

  I kept at it. "What do you mean he left it to you?"

  "He's dead! He died six months ago of liver cancer. Why do you even want to know? Wait...is your name John Thomas?"

  When she said my name, I was a little shocked. Nobody called me John. "Who did you say?"

  She shook her head. "Never mind, I was just hoping. My piece of shit of a father left something for him, but the lawyers can't track him down anywhere. He's probably dead too. I mean, any guy that was a friend of my bastard father, was probably as fucked up as he was. Look, thanks for trying to help me, but I have work to do. If you don't mind, when you finish your drink, just see yourself out of here."

  I walked over to my beer and drank it all at once. While still swallowing, I slid my glass in her direction and walked out of the door.

  Chapter 5

  Charlie

  Everything had gone downhill after the day I set foot into that Attorney's office. It didn't help that Elle was now insisting on going because she swore I was getting some kind of inheritance that would make me as rich as her. I don't know why I believe her all of the time, because she never seems to be right about anything. Plus, earlier she didn’t want me going.

  The secretary was nice enough when we got inside, but I knew something was wrong when I entered the conference room. We sat at one end of a long table. The room had landscaped photos covering every inch of open wall and a giant window looking out at the city. Of course, since we were in Baltimore, it was just looking out onto another building. There was always something to do, but it was so damn congested.

  The attorney came in and did his introductions. I was pretty impressed that he seemed so young. In fact, he didn't seem to be much older than Elle or myself. He wore a grey suit with a baby blue tie that matched his eyes. His bright white teeth were perfectly set inside of even sexier lips. I think Elle was seeing what I was seeing, because she was kicking me from under the table and giving me that eye when he began speaking.

  He laid out a bunch of documents in front of me, but the one that caught my eye was a birth certificate. Now, I knew my father's name hadn't been listed. I just always thought it was because they weren't married when I was born. I pulled my birth certificate toward me and started tracing my mother's name. If she were here she could be right next to me explaining what was going on, but she wasn't. She was dead and so was my father, so I was left to fend for myself, just like I had since I was ten years old.

  "Charlene, are you aware of why you're here?"

  I shook my head. "I have no idea. Nothing makes sense to me right now."

  "Did you not know your father?" He asked.

  "What do you mean? I knew my father just fine until he died in a fire when I was ten." What did this have to do with my father?

  He sighed and grabbed a couple papers. "I mean your biological father. Did you know him?"

  My eyes got real big and I looked right at him. I could feel my leg shaking under the table and Elle reached under to tap it. "Are you saying that my dad wasn't my dad?"

  He held his palms up to face us. "Look, I can see how this might sound and I apologize for just coming out and saying it this way, but your biologically father was named Joseph McNally. I have the documentation to prove it." He slid the paper over and I skimmed through it while he continued to talk. "Upon your father’s incarceration, he signed over all of his legal rights to your mother and allowed your stepfather to adopt you."

  I heard the words he was saying, but I just couldn't believe it was happening. "No, this can't be right."

  He pushed a couple pictures toward me and I felt the room beginning to spin. The first picture was my mother in a wedding dress with a man I didn't recognize and the second picture was the man leaning over my mother and a newborn baby in a hospital. On the back of the picture were my parents’ names and my name. I covered my face with my hands and started to cry. "This can't be happening. How could I not have known this?"

  Elle was quiet as she rubbed my back. This wasn't exactly how she had imagined this going and I knew she felt horrible for me.

  "Charlie, you were only ten when your parents died. Maybe they planned on telling you when you were old enough to understand."

  I heard what she was saying, but all I could think about was how he hadn't come looking for me when he found out I was an orphan. "Why was I put into foster care if I had a father out there somewhere?"

  “When you were adopted your biological father had signed over parental rights and even if he wanted to care for you, he wouldn't have been able to because he was incarcerated."

  "Great, as if it couldn't get any worse, my father is a murderer."

  The lawyer clocked his pen over and over. "He didn't murder anyone. Look, my father was the divorce attorney for your parent’s case. I took over his practice when he retired. From what I gathered from his notes, twenty years ago your father was addicted to alcohol and then narcotics. He used to beat on your mother, which sent your mother into the arms of your step-father. One night he drank himself to a stupor and tried to drive home. He hit another car and killed someone. That is what sent him to jail. Once he was clean, he was a different man. In fact, my father helped him out when he first got out of prison. Your father owned a bar, and even though he was a recovering alcoholic, he never took another drink, not even when he was on his deathbed."

  There was a lump in my throat and my eyes were filled with tears. "Just tell me why I'm here. It doesn't even matter what kind of man he was, because I needed him to be my father and he wasn't."

  He cleared his throat again and slid me a stack of papers. "Your father set up a will the day he found out he had cancer. He stipulated that you were to get three quarters of the ownership of his business located at Highland Street."

&
nbsp; I don't even know if what he was saying was registering. "Three quarters? Who gets the other quarter?"

  He passed me another paper. "The other quarter goes to a John Thomas. We have yet to locate Mr. Thomas."

  "This John guy, is he like my brother or something?"

  He turned white and his face changed from steady to worried. "No, John is not your brother."

  "Well can I just sell him my half of the bar?"

  "Your father stipulated that the bar isn't to be sold until after five years of you taking it over." He explained.

  "I don't want the damn thing. I'm in college, what would I want with a bar?" I was being a bitch, but this was just unreal.

  "I think it could be cool. Maybe we would go visit the location before you freak out any more." Elle was really trying to get me to be more optimistic.

  "The tavern has been in your family for over thirty years now. Your grandfather opened it when he moved here from Ireland. It was the one thing that he prided himself in keeping in the family."

  He could say all the good things about my father that he wanted, but the only memory that I ever had of the man was the one where he was beating the shit out of my mother. The fact that he went to jail, didn't make me feel all giddy about finding out my long lost dad left me anything. "He still killed someone and I'm pretty sure that he would have killed my mother had she not left him. What do I have to do to get rid of this bar? I don't want it. I don't want anything to do with him."

  I was done with all of this. I needed to make an appointment with my therapist as soon as possible.

  "I’ll see what I can do to get the ball moving, but something like this is going to take time. I highly recommend you at least visit the property. There is a studio apartment located on the top floor that comes with the place. Your father lived there."