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“Hey, look…” said Decker. “About—”
“No,” she said. “Let’s not.”
A long pause ensued.
“What’s wrong with that guy?” said Decker finally.
“Drugs, maybe,” said Essence. “Or, um, I don’t know. Something. His sister, Eloise, she says he’s emergency prone.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I don’t know,” said Essence. “But she’s always leaving the Meck mid-conversation. She’ll be saying something, get a text, look at it, and just be like, ‘Kevin.’ Then get up and disappear without another word. She’s a few years younger than us, but I’ve known her forever.”
“You think he knows where Hollis is?”
“Obviously not, if he’s here looking for Hollis,” said Essence. “Since Hollis isn’t here.”
“He probably went back to the Meck looking for us,” said Decker. “We did say we were going to wait for him there.”
“Yeah, we screwed up.”
“So?” he said. “Back to the Meck?”
“Yeah,” she said.
They went out the front door of the house, leaving it unlocked as they had found it, and then had a brief discussion about whether or not to move Decker’s car and decided it could stay in Hollis’s driveway for now.
Then, they walked the three blocks back to the bar.
Inside, Niles Chaudhary, the naga, and his orc friend, the professor whose name Essence always forgot, were leaning against the bar holding beers.
“Essence!” said Niles, tipping his drink at her.
“Niles,” she said with a very big smile. Once, she had hooked up with Niles after she’d somehow ended up at a house party at his place. Well, not even really a house party. It had been two in the morning, and the bars had been closing, and he’d said everyone should come to his place, so she’d gone, and then somehow ended up in his loft. He had two penises.
Anyway, he’d been predictably awful about it afterwards, assuming that she was, like, in love with him—she was not, for the record—and acting like he was allergic to commitment while strongly hinting he’d probably have sex with her again if she wanted.
Men.
Apparently, these days, he was all settled, however, with some girl who’d barely graduated from college. He had opened a restaurant on Duke Street. She still hadn’t made it in there yet.
The orc professor grinned at her. “Hello, there, Essence Quill.”
Tangles and briars, he knew her name. “Hey, you,” she said, grinning wider. “Where’s Jeff?”
No one was behind the bar.
“Out back, smoking,” said Niles. “It’s dead as all fuck in here.”
“That’s Friday,” said Essence.
“Right,” said Niles, shaking his head. “What’s going on with this younger generation, huh? Why don’t they come to bars? Is it just here, or is it everywhere?”
“Are you two handcuffed together?” said the orc professor.
“Guess I’m just introducing myself to everyone tonight,” said Decker. “I’m Decker Naggs.”
“Oh, right,” said Essence. “Sorry. Um, this is Decker, both of you. And Decker, this is Niles and, um, and…”
