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She thanked Nancy grimly. After her shift she went home and had dinner with her mom. Over plates of reheated lasagna, her mother told her excitedly about contacting several art galleries to show her work.
Given the day she'd had, it was a struggle to muster up her enthusiasm, but it was nice to see her mom actively engaged in the world of the living.
"They wanted to know if I had a web site. I said of course I don't—why would I ever have a web site? But I suppose I'll have to put something together. You'll have to help me work the digital camera so I can take pictures. I never did manage to figure out how to get the pictures off the camera and onto the computer."
Colleen smiled and assured her mom that she would help. After dinner she took Frankie for a quick walk, then got online to search the job boards. The next day she made a call to a recruiter who specialized in placing nursing staff. Surely with her experience and qualifications there would be something out there.
Or not, as she later learned from the recruiter. The only full-time jobs that paid reasonably well were either back in Billings or all the way over in Bozeman. If she took either of them she'd have to move, and much of her pay increase would be eaten up by rent.
She flashed back to her conversation with Molly. Back in college, on a good night she'd been able to clear a couple hundred dollars in tips...
Sighing, she picked up her phone and pulled up the number for Adele's Cafe.
Two days later, Colleen was behind the bar at Adele's and Molly was giving her a quick overview for her first evening shift. The restaurant was empty now but she knew it would soon be full as customers came to enjoy Adele's very popular happy hour.
"We don't have an official bar back or anything," Molly was saying from her perch on a barstool, "but if you run out of anything, just ask any of the servers to help you out."
Colleen nodded. "I just hope I remember how to make everything."
Molly waved her hand as she sipped at a glass of water with lemon. "You don't need to worry. Most people stick to the basics; beer, wine, your basic mixed drink."
"So no one is going to ask for a slippery nipple or a screaming orgasm?"
Molly laughed. "That reminds me of the time Brady asked me for a blow job and he was totally confused when he got a shot glass full of Baileys, orgeat, and whipped cream."
Colleen smiled. "That's creative. Maybe I should have tried that with Gregory. Although he'd probably miss the humor in it and just be pissy about not having the real thing."
"That's your ex, right?" Molly said with a sympathetic look.
"Yep,"
"I was sorry to hear about that. Honestly, I was really surprised when I did."
"Yeah, why?"
Molly shrugged. "Well, because you're Colleen Murphy—captain of the cheerleading squad, homecoming queen. Doesn't everything work out perfectly for you?"
The comment could have been read as bitchy but Molly's smile was so genuine when she said it that Colleen didn't take it that way. And she wasn't surprised Molly thought it. Though they had been friendly in high school, as Colleen was with everyone, they weren't particularly close.
And even if they had been, Colleen doubted she would have let Molly see anything other than what Colleen wanted her to see. Which was that life for her was, indeed, pretty perfect. "Only as far as high school," Colleen said with a wry smile. "And most of college, right up until I met my ex."
"So what happened?" Molly asked softly, then winced. "Sorry, don't answer that if it's too nosy."
Colleen picked up a wine glass and gave it a quick polish. "Every marriage has its issues, and we had ours. Long work hours, trying for kids..." she let her gaze drift down to Molly's belly for a split second. "And the fact that he found a co-worker who was more than willing to give him all the blow jobs he wanted. Not the alcoholic kind."
Molly's mouth pulled down at the corners and her shoulders slumped. "I'm so sorry. That sucks. Or should I say, she sucks?"
Colleen felt her mouth pull into a grin.
Molly reached out and grabbed Colleen's hand in hers. "I'm sure you know my ex-fiancé cheated on me too, so I know how awful that is."
Colleen had indeed heard about Josh Patton breaking off his engagement with Molly nearly two years before. Considering they'd been together for over a decade, the news of Josh's quickie Vegas marriage to another woman was a huge scandal in their tiny little town.
"I wasn't married to him," Molly continued, "but we were engaged longer than some people are married. So when he came home from a convention in Vegas married to another woman it was pretty devastating to say the least."
"Ugh," Colleen said and shook her head. "I remember when I started dating, Liam took me aside and said, 'Just remember one thing Colleen. Men are pigs.' I should have listened to him."
"Not all men," Molly said, her gaze drifting over to the doors the led to the kitchen where her husband, Brady, was prepping for dinner service. For a moment her expression was one of pure bliss.
