The Deal

Seven-Bernadette

"Bee, are you a hundred percent sure my drinking won't bother you?" Yvonne inquires.

I roll my eyes at her, growing tired of the constantly repeated question. "Yes! For the millionth time, Yvonne, yes! Drink up, girl." As Yvonne chuckles, an old couple passes by our table, howling with laughter, before wandering off to the counter to pay for their drinks. Pure exhaustion's weighing a ton on my body after the long hours of shooting takes. The only sounds I can rely on to keep me awake are my best friend's booming voice and the clinking of glasses from the other tables. After waiting for long weeks, we've finally come to J's Bar; the place where all this memory loss drama began. Since our arrival, I've locked my gaze on Jabar. Having studied the mannerisms of my brother-in-law behind the counter, the word 'player' comes to mind.

The young man loves to charm all his female patrons, constantly smirking and winking at them. A slight moment passed when he stole a glance at me from afar. When he winked at me, I had to divert my attention elsewhere. I'd be lying if I said I didn't blush. Meeting him on the first day of being discharged from the hospital, Yvonne reminded me he was gay. Sitting here, watching him, I highly doubt it.

"Have you been speaking to him so far?" Yvonne asks in between her sips of bourbon. I guess she's somewhat of a mind reader. She shifts a strand of kinky hair from her face; she's not even bothered about the amount of cleavage spilling out of her rich, purple sundress. On our left side, three men turn to look my way. It's obvious the pink wig and dark sunglasses I have look a bit out of place. Life before the accident, I heard I was never great at public disguises. At least Yvonne, despite being the polar opposite, rarely makes fun of me.

"Who? Jabar? Not really. We haven't been getting the time to speak very often." I stare down the glass of water in front of me, hoping Yvonne will sense my desire for a change of topic.

"Anyway, I'm so proud of you, Bee. I thought bringing you here would trigger unhappy memories, but so far, you've surprised me."

I watch Yvonne snatch six pieces of potato chips from the packet in between us, chowing them down. "Well, your appetite has surprised me." I catch myself in between my giggles.

"Laugh all you want. A hungry Yvonne is a drunk Yvonne. Starving for five weeks is like sleeping in a sauna."

I shake my head. "We could have gone to a fancy restaurant since you're that hungry."

"And waste a good night's worth of bourbon? The gods of booze will punish me severely. Besides, the food here ain't so bad. Mi luv it here."

When a slight minute of silence engulfs us, I reflect on the fact that I'm sitting here, triggering no memory whatsoever. Suddenly, I get the urge to say what's been on my mind.

"Hey, you know why Jabar's boyfriend has been MIA?" I blurt out after sipping my water. Yvonne lifts her brows. "His boyfriend? Naw. Ya know?"

"Yup. He's from a different nation."

Yvonne furrows his brows. "What nation?"

I giggle a little, worried about how Yvonne would react to this. "His imagination."

It takes a few minutes before she gets the joke, which makes me cringe. The silence feels awkward. "Oh, ha. Good one. Where did you hear that?"

"Oh, I was watching a stand-up with Thabo some nights ago. I thought it was funny. I was dying to get it off my chest."

"Cool." Yvonne munches on some more chips. "You want to do stand-ups or something?"

"Hmm. Well, not really." A little silence lingers. It's strange. Yvonne never brought up the topic of Bill. I doubt if she even knows I have a stalker. I need to make sure I'm proven wrong.