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When we arrived at the Piano Bar, I was suddenly thrown back in the past. The last time I was here was just a few weeks before Clay and I broke up, and here we were again. The bar top may have been updated and there seemed to be a few less pianos, but it still felt the same. Despite being open for the last hour, the bar was slow. A few people sat at the bar top, and the bartenders readied everything behind them, but there was hardly any movement, and it was brighter than I’d ever seen it. The emptiness of the bar felt unreal. I had never seen this place stagnant. The stage was set, and a performer was already doing a sound check, motioning toward the back of the bar where another man sat with a sound table.
“No way.” Clay chuckled. “That’s Elliot.” He pointed to the stage, a wide grin on his face.
“Elliot? Milo’s groomsman, Elliot?” I asked, looking from Clay to the man on the stage.
Clay nodded. “I had no idea he was performing tonight.”
Elliot was singing into the mic, no music to back him up, testing the sound. He sang a song I recognized from Madeline’s house, his eyes focused on the lights in front of him, motioning his hands up and down and then finally giving a man a thumbs up. Clay placed a hand on my arm and began to lightly lead me forward. As we got closer to the stage, Elliot’s focus went from the man to us, and a wide smile formed on his lips.
“Clay!” he shouted into the mic, a squeal following him. “Oh, man, sorry. Sorry, Connor,” Elliot waved his hand to Connor and stepped back from the mic. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he jumped off the stage.
“We’re here to talk to the owner actually.” Clay grasped Elliot’s hand and shook it. “This is Ophelia,” he said, smiling, turning to me and placing the same hand on my back.
Elliot’s eyebrows raised as he looked from me to Clay, and then his smile turned into a smirk. The all-knowing smirk. Elliot knew our story.
“I can get you in with Craig. What for?” Elliot tried hard to erase his smirk, but the way his eyes bounced from me to Clay told me he was having a hard time. He rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing a tattoo on his forearm, and waited for Clay to answer.
His hand was still firm on my back when he said, “We’ve been put in charge of planning a bachelor party for Milo and Madeline, and this is where they first met.”
Elliot let out a chuckle. “Oh, yeah, I remember! He was heartbroken for weeks after that infamous blind date. Are you thinking about reserving the upstairs?”
“That’s the goal,” I said before Clay could talk. “So, we need to talk to Craig?” I tilted my body to look up at Clay.
“I bet you I can get you in for free. I play here twice a month. Let me see what I can do.” Elliot’s smile grew.
“Are you playing tonight or just fooling around with the mic?” I asked, stepping slightly toward him, forcing the warmth from Clay’s hand to leave my back.
Elliot turned back toward the stage. “Nope, I’m playing. Show starts at eight. Call Milo.” He turned back to Clay. “Get him and his girl over here.”
Clay raised his eyebrows and looked down on me, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. “What do you say?”
“I say. . .” I reached in my purse and dug for my cell phone. “I’m calling Madeline now.”
“Perfect.” Clay smiled. “Elliot, can we meet Craig?”
“Sure thing.” Elliot nodded in the direction of the bar and began to make his way there.
Clay looked at me, as if asking for permission to follow. I gave him a quick nod and waited for Madeline to answer the phone. She was most likely still on the porch with Milo. Those two could stay there forever, a book in her hands and his arm around her. Pure happiness.
“Hey, Phe. What’s up?” Madeline’s voice interrupted my train of thought.
“Are you down for a fun night?” I asked.
Milo, Madeline and Jamie arrived at the Piano Bar at 7:30, all ready and excited to hear Elliot play. Milo assured us he was fantastic, Clay backing him up. Madeline was gushing. She was beaming, telling everyone that even though he was playing at her reception, this would be her first time hearing him. To say she was excited would be an understatement. The five of us gathered around a small round table closer in the middle of the bar, closer to the bar top than the stage. Elliot came to greet us, but his company didn’t last long. Before he left to set up his stage, he assured us drinks were on the house tonight.
The entire time he was there, I noticed his gaze on Jamie, giving her more smile than he did the others; however, Jamie didn’t even take notice.
“I wonder if they have mango-ritas here.” Jamie leaned into the middle of the table.
“A mango-rita?” Milo pinched his brow and looked over at Jamie.
“It’s good!” Jamie defended.
I chuckled and turned to Madeline. Clay was across the table from me, sitting next to Jamie, and I was squished between her and Madeline. I wouldn’t admit it, but Clay was too far away.
“I’ll go to the bar, mango-rita’s all around,” I announced, twisting in my chair.
“Please no,” I heard Milo grumble.
