Ch94 A visit to Uncle Gus' bar

“Wes, we have to go to the bar,” Janet said.

Wes gaped at her. “What?” he shouted. “Babe, I can see you’re happy enough to celebrate, even though I don’t know why…”

“You don’t know why?” she shrieked. “You were right there! You saw how…”

“All I saw was you calling my client—at least I hope she’s still my client-- a bitch and a slut and…”

“No, I wasn’t. That’s what I was calling the woman who wanted my mother to think she had slept with my dad,” Janet corrected gleefully.

“Didn’t you say it was Ms. Harris? That she was one and the same?”

“Yes, but she didn’t know that I knew it was her,” she said. Janet actually did a little happy dance right on the spot and hugged Wes again.

Wes shook his head in wonder. “I’m sorry, I don’t see the difference and why the heck are you so happy? She didn’t admit to it.”

“Wes, she as good as did. Weren’t you looking at her?”

“Uh…what was I supposed to see?” 

“The way her eyes darted, the  sneer on her smug face told me she lied and knew what she did and was happy for it and the way she folded her arms across her chest meant she was trying to hide her true self. Didn’t you know that? Did you not hear the subtle inflection her voice took after I said she was wrong? They all told me exactly what she did.”

“Okay…” he said, still not getting it.

Janet rolled her eyes. “Remind me not to start a detective agency with you,” she said. “She did it exactly as I said it happened. The look on her face told me I got it exactly right. She couldn’t hide that. I must have caught her off guard or something.”

Wes shook his head, unconvinced.

“I’m telling you, Wes, she did take my dad to her house, but he slept it off on the coach. He didn’t sleep with her. She did call my mom to cause trouble even when nothing happened, just cuz she knew my mom would be ticked that Dad went with her anywhere. The bitch wished so bad to break them up that she made it all up to make sure it happened and she knew Dad was too drunk to remember anything.”

“Well, she did break them up,” Wes said. “She succeeded. Why did you lie about it?”

“I wanted to see her reaction when I told her it hadn’t worked. She gave herself away with that deer-in-the- headlights look.”

“When did she do that?”

Janet smiled indulgently and patted his cheek. “It’s a good thing you’re so pretty, cuz you ain’t so bright sometimes,” she said, opening the car door. “Now, get in. You’re taking me to the bar.”

“Whoa, I’m not buying you a drink just cuz you’re happy. We’ll both get in trouble for even trying.”

She sighed. “I don’t want to get drunk, you idiot! I just want to see Uncle Gus,” she said, exasperated.

“Who?”

“Gus, the bartender. He and my dad went to school together and they’re still best buds. Gus owns the bar my dad went to that night and I want to get from him any details I may be missing. Why my dad would leave with Karen, why Gus would let her take him in the first place and why did he give Dad tequila when he knows he can’t handle it!”

“Uh…and you think he’ll tell you?”

“Only one way to find out. Come on!” she said and she closed the door in his face.

Wes shrugged and hopped in the car. Twenty minutes later they were standing outside of a rough and tumble establishment in the rougher part of town. It appeared to be the first building built along this pier back when fishing was the main occupation in Port Orianco. 

Weathered pine boards made up the most of the rickety building with the occasional new board stuck here and there to ensure it didn’t look totally abandoned. Fishing nets strewn with dried star fish, seashells and plastic fish-- in absurd colors not found in local waters-- framed the entrance and empty whiskey barrows topped with overflowing ash trays flanked the door.

“Are you sure we should be here?” Wes asked nervously. “Doesn’t look safe.”

 Janet laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. I have mace!” she said holding a tiny spray bottle.

“Janet, you’ll just end up making whoever attacks you smell good. That’s perfume,” he said.

“Hmm,” she said, dropping it back in her purse. “If I can’t fool you…”

He laughed and grabbed her arm. “Stay close to me…you know, just in case.”

“In case I have to protect you from some sailor who takes a liking to you?” she asked, smirking.

“Very funny,’ he said, holding the door open for her.

Dank and dark enough to  grow mushrooms, they could see nothing inside until their eyesight adjusted to the lack of light, but that didn’t stop Janet from heading straight toward the bar even as Wes  tried holding her back.

“Jasmine!” A large man behind the bar said when Janet reached the bar. “What are you doing here? Your dad will kill me if he knows I let you in again.” 

Putting aside for the time being the fact she should ask her sister why she would come to see Gus, Janet stepped closer, giving him her typical impish grin. “That’s nice, Uncle Gus, but what will he say when he knows I’ve been here?” 

“Janet! Sorry, I…I usually can tell you apart, but you’ve never come here without your dad. Um…” Gus said, turning his gaze to Wes who stood just behind Janet like a bodyguard on high alert.

“This is my boyfriend, Wes Sebastian,” Janet said, smiling up at Wes and bringing him forward so they could shake hands properly. “He’s a computer guy and web designer. I thought maybe, if you haven’t done it already, you could get him to design a nice website for you to generate more business.”

Gus gaped at her. “Are you kidding me? If I had any more business I’d kill myself.”

“Looks pretty dead to me,” Janet said.

“Things don’t get hopping ‘round here til after working hours, Honey. You should know that. Besides, it’s the off season so…” he said, as he filled a few small wooden bowls with nuts, pretzels and popcorn.

“I heard you telling Dad that you can barely make it through the winter months when you don’t have a great tourist season. A website will help with that. You’ll get new customers year round,” Janet said.

"I doubt that," Gus said, turning away to store the snacks.

“Janet, what are you doing? What’s that got to do with your dad?” Wes whispered to her.

“I know what I’m doing. Just stand there and look pretty,” she hissed.

“Janet, how’s a website gonna drum up business there ain’t in winter?”

“People come in summer so all we gotta do is make them want to come in winter, too, and a website can do that,” she said.

“Nice try, kid. Tourists don’t come here cuz of a website. They come in summer cuz they’re here on vacation to have some fun and we got cheap fun. We got contests and karaoke night and local musicians that work for tips, but once school’s in, it’s back to normal. Just the locals. It’s always been this way. Guys come here after work to decompress and to get away from their wives for a while, They wanna get drunk and get girls drunk, too, so they can take them home and…” 

Gus suddenly stopped, realizing he ought not to have said that. “Uh… you should go home now, Janet, before your mama finds out you were here and she kills me.”

“Is that what my dad did?” Janet said, seizing onto the opportunity to which she purposely steered the conversation. “Did Dad come here to get away from my mom? Was he looking for a girl to…”

“No, he was not!” Gus shouted angrily. “Jeff is not like that. He loves your mama and would sooner shoot himself than…”

“He was here though and you just said guys come here to…”

“Not your dad. He was pissed, is all. He just came here to cool down.”

“And did he?” Janet asked casually, climbing up on a tall stool with Wes’ help.

“What? Cool down?” Gus said, nervously. “Yeah. Didn’t take much. He never stays mad for long, especially not at your mama.”

“What did you do to calm him down?”

“Listened.”

 

“What did he say?”

“Nothing you gotta know, cuz one drink later and he took it all back and blamed himself for the fight.”

“What did he have to drink?” Janet asked, taking a pretzel and nibbling on it.

Gus grimaced. “I…I tried to get him to just have a beer, but he was mad as hell when he got here and insisted on tequila, so…I didn’t think he’d really drink it,” he said, defensively.

“How many did he have?”

“Three…no, two,” he said, thinking back. “I had been about to pour him another, but he had already slumped down on the bar, nearly passed out. Then there was a fight broke out at the pool table that I had to stop before someone got a pool cue up their...”

“What was the fight about?”

“Hell if I know. I don’t get involved unless I gotta.”

“So, then what happened after the fight?”

“I went to call him a cab, but he was gone.”

“Did you see him leave? Did you let him drive drunk?” she shrieked, nearly jumping off the stool and sailing over the bar. Wes stopped her.

“I took his car keys as soon as he said he wanted anything more than beer, so he didn’t have a chance.”

“So then what?” she shouted angrily. “You just went ahead pouring drinks for horny imbeciles while your friend could’ve fallen off the dock and drowned?”

“Janet, be fair. He’s not anyone’s babysitter. He had a whole bar to look after,” Wes rationally said.

“I was too worried about Jeff, to go on as if nothing happened,” Gus said running frustrated fingers through his wiry hair. “I looked for him, but he was nowhere, gone. I asked Joanie if she saw him leave. She was the one who saw him with…”

“Karen Harris,” Janet finished for him, since he seemed reluctant to do it himself. “What was she doing here? This doesn’t seem the type of place for her.”

“She was always in here looking for her ex-husband whenever child support was due,” he said, shaking his head. “She’d lay it in him in front of everybody before he got a chance to say hello and she’d rip the money right out of his hands while yelling a blue streak. Total bitch.”

“See? I told ya!” Janet said to Wes. “I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

“I never said I liked her,” Wes retorted. “But she is my client and she pays me well, so I can’t be rude.”

“You work for her? Doing computer stuff?” Gus said.

“Yes,” Wes replied, handing him his card.

“Wow,” he muttered as he read the card. “If you’re good enough to please the biggest bitch in the world…”

Janet laughed, jumped off the stool and went around the bar where she hugged Gus around his protruding middle.

“Thanks, Uncle Gus,” she said.

“Honey, I’m real sorry I let him outta my sight, but…”

“Not your fault,” she said. 

"For what it's worth, I don't think he slept with her. He was too stoned. Joanie said Karen nearly dragged him outta here."

“Yeah, I thought so," Janet said. "I’m gonna make this right. Is it too early to book a party here for next June?”

“Next June? What for? Too early for graduation, isn't it?” Gus asked.

She shook her head. “My parent’s wedding anniversary. I’ll call you with the details.” 

She then grabbed Wes by the hand and waved to a stunned looking Gus.