Sin City: The trip of a lifetime

Chapter 6: Mary's Crafts Store

Brendon left the last note for Angel on the bathroom door.

     "Don't forget to lock me!! :)"

   "That should be good enough!" He went down stairs and grabbed an apple and his keys before leaving. He climbed into his own car this time, an old '02 convertible. He let Damien pick his car a few years back, knowing he was better with them than Brendon was. With that, he was off to Mary's craft store. He took a bite of the apple, "Ash has some explaining to do. Big time" He said to himself. On the way he put on his playlist. "It Will Come Back" by Hozier played softly in the background while he drove. It was a song he often sang with Damien.

  "You know better, babe, you know better, babe
Than to look at it, look at it like that.
You know better, babe, you know better, babe
Than to talk to it, talk to it like that.
Don't give it a hand, offer it a soul
Honey, make this easy."

   He thought more and more about the words. It reminded him of Angel and Damien from last night. They looked so content laying together like that. 'Both of them had been alone for a while. It probably felt nice to have someone to hold' Brendon thought. He then thought about his own life. 'I haven't ever really had someone to hold, it never really bothered me though.'

"I know who I am when I'm alone
I'm something else when I see you.
You don't understand, you should never know, how easy you are to need."

  These lines made his face heat up. He thought about the cute bartender from last night. Brendon arrived at his job. After parking, he took out his phone

     [Oscar <3]: "Hey again Brendon. It was really great talking to you last night. Will I be able to see you again sometime?"

   Brendon read the text over and over. 'Someone to hold...'

   Brendon walked in and clocked in for his shift. He slowly crept up behind Ashley. "Hey there Sky" he said quietly. "OH GOD! BRENDON! DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT" she smacked him lightly. "And don't call me that. Especially not here..." "Alright alright. You do need to tell me more about that though!! What's it like being a stri-" "After work. For now, we need to just do our jobs." She walked away, Brendon following.

   "Hey, you alright? If it's something you don't want to talk about I won't bug you on it anymore. You're my best friend Ash. I guess I was being a bit too nosey. I just assumed you would have told me about that. Like, how often do you walk into a strip club and see your lesbian best friend dancing?"

   "I needed a little extra cash and I'm flexible enough. Why do you care so much?" Ashley asked, slightly annoyed. They went into the back and started bringing paint to the shelves in the front of the store. "Well, I met two people there and I kinda wanted to know if you knew more about them. And I care about you." She gave a soft smile in return. "You think I'm bestie cheating, don't you?"

   "What if I do?" He said holding his nose to the air. "No, Bren. I could never bestie cheat. You're one of the most important people in my life." "ONE OF?!" Brendon said, pretending he was offended. "Fine, fine" Ashley laughed. "You're the best bestie any bestie could ever have and I love you. How's that?" "Better, thank you!" He said pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead softly.

   "Who caught your eye then?" Ashley asked, putting out the warm colors while Brendon did the cool colors. "Damien told me not to think about it too much but, that bartender, Oscar. He's really cute and seems like a genuinely nice guy". "Awww my little Brenny has a crush?! Adorable!" She gushed, putting her arm around his neck.

   "Oscar is a really hard worker. He's been there longer than both me and Angel. He's actually quite the help too. He has a really sharp eye. Stopped a lot of people from hurting girls in the bar. Overall? He gets my seal of approval." Ashley smiled up at Brendon, "he doesn't jump from person to person either. Sure he flirts for tips, every bartender does. But I've never seen him give out his number before." Brendon blushed at that statement. "Oh my god Brendon. No way you got his number. No way!!"

   Brendon walked in the back without saying a word. He comes back with three wooden letters spelling out
"Y E S". "LET'S GOOOOO! MY BOY'S MOVING UP!!" The two jumped around for a bit before the boss showed up.

    "What's all this about?" Mary Cornell, owner of "Mary's craft store" asks. "Brendon might get a boyfriend Mrs. Cornell!" Ashley said with a big smile. "Well then, that's lovely. Good on you Brendon" the old women said, patting his shoulder. "I remember when I met my wife, Lisa. She was such an angel" Mrs. Cornell said with a smile. It had been two and a half years since Lisa Cornell passed away. Mary kept old photographs of the two in her office. The couple were together for 43 years. Mary was a sweet old women, working for her was a pleasure for the pair of best friends. This was how they met after all. A few years back Brendon took up the job to help him and Damien keep their small apartment. There he met a small, shy girl. Brendon thought back on the day they met...

   "Hi, are you Ashley Tan? I'm Brendon Holerrick. I'll be your new work buddy! I'm here to help you get adjusted. You just let me know if you need anything at all and I'll be right on it!" "Thank you Brendon, that's awfully nice of you. Ash is fine with me." "Alrighty! I'll remember that! May I have your pronouns?" "She and t-they. I'm newly out as a demigirl so I'm still getting used to people outside my family using they and them for me."

   "Awesome! You can use he and him for me. I definitely understand the needing to get used to it part. I'm a trans man. My brother is the only one in my family that really supports me. We're moving out into a little apartment down town." "Sweet! I'm happy you have your brother! What does he do?" "Ah, he's still in college. I'm a few years older. He's my half brother, here! I'll show you a picture!" Brendon takes out his phone and shows Ash a picture of them from Damien's freshman year and Brendon's junior year.

   "Aww, he looks really nice!" "Wow, you're the first person to not hit on him or ask if he's single." "Oh really? That's kinda weird. Wait, I guess it would make a little more since to tell you I'm lesbian." "That would explain it" Brendon laughed. "I can tell we're gonna get along great"

   "Brenny? Babes?" Ash said knocking the boy out of his daydream. "Sorry, I got lost in thought again" he explains as Mrs. Cornell goes back to her office. "I was thinking about the day we met." "Well, today we also have to work the registers. Come on love!" She walked right to her station as Brendon followed.

  After a couple hours, the day was over for the pair at work. Brendon checked his phone to see another text

   [Unknown: "Hey, this is Angel! Thank you again Brendon, you're a real sweet dude. Damien and I are getting along great! He made me a really yummy breakfast and we're watching a movie right now. I just thought I'd let you know everything's going great. Your notes were really helpful as well :)"]

  Brendon added her in as "Angel 🥂" and texted her back

   [Brendon ^^: "Aw thanks! Ash and I are heading to the club right now! She's going to bring me your bag and do her shift. After that, she's staying the night! :D I'm happy you and Day are getting along! He's got a really caring heart but can come off as a little cold and sarcastic, I promise he means well tho!"]

   Brendon climbed into his car and took a deep breath. He was about to see Oscar again. He looked at the text one more time. There was no hiding it; he was a little excited to see the red head. Turning his playlist back on, "Mr Saxobeat" played as he followed Ashley to Sin City.