Homecoming (Lesbian)

CHAPTER 25

"Thank you, have a good evening!" Bill said placing the mic back on the tripod.

He got off the stage and came right towards the bar. I smiled at him, and to my surprise, he hugged me. "Jesus, Riley. Look at you. I thought you went off and joined the army."

"I did. I'm back. Mike said you were living in Michigan."

"Yeah, for about a year," he asked the bartender for a lager beer, then sat next to me and asked, "How's live being treating you?"

"I'm..." I was going to answer that things couldn't be better, but Bill had such a kind look on his eyes that I couldn't lie to him, so I didn't finish the sentence.

"Yeah, I can imagine. I never told you guys this but my dad was a vet, too. He... he was never the same. But we tried to be there for him. It's hard, I could only imagine, but I knew it was really hard... but you've got a lot of people who care about you. It'll be alright. Just give it time. Trust me."

I hadn't spoken to Bill since I'd been a prick to him, and yet he was the first person to tell me something really encouraging. Something I could actually relate to.

"Thanks, Bill. Listen... for the longest time I've been wanting to apologize for the things I said when we were—"

"Oh man!" he said "Oh, come on. I was an asshole to you guys too. If Little Bill were to say that in front of me, I would teach that little prick a thing or two."

I laughed, then placed my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Me too."

We talked for hours. We talked about our lives, the places we'd been. He had travelled the country as a comedian. He had been doing it for three years and was thinking about having a solo show, but he couldn't for the life of him put something interesting together.

"Yeah, man. One thing is putting together these ten or twelve-minute performances. But a two-hour stand-up... you need a theme, you need jokes that are intertwined with each other in a way that makes sense, you need to talk about something people can relate too and at the same time, not stay in the same thing for too long. It's really complicated."

"I didn't know stand up was so complex."

"Yeah, it is. What about you. You're home. What are your plans?"

"I rented a small place about fifteen minutes from here. I'm opening up a bookstore."

"Really? Your own business, that's awesome."

"Yeah, but it's not easy either... I mean Faye it's helping but... I think I should just stay away from her. Scott doesn't act like it, but he's really possessive."

Bill lowered his head, had a sip of his beer and replied, "So you know."

"Yeah, I found out as soon as I got home. I don't know. She says she wants to help with the store and us getting back to being best friends but... She looks happy with Scott. They seem like the perfect couple, I don't wanna ruin what they have."

Bill turned to me with eyes wide open and murmured, "So you don't know."

"What?"

"About Faye and Scott."

"That they are married? Yeah, I know."

"That's not what I meant."

"Wait, what are we talking about?"

"Look, they invited me for the wedding and Faye and I got the talking. I shouldn't be saying this because it's none of my business, but her marriage with Scott? It's not what you think. There are a lot of things they are not telling you."

I opened my mouth to ask something, anything, but I didn't want to think about it. It was painful. And the thing with pain is, the more you run from it, the more it stretches to chase you down. Bill and I drank another two beers and deviated from the Faye thing. At nine thirty, he offered to walk me home, but since it wasn't that far, I declined his invitation.

We got out of the bar and before we parted ways I asked, "So how long are you staying?"

"Don't know yet. I've been thinking about taking some time off. Maybe finally getting to write my solo act."

"Alright. It was great seeing you," I said.

"You too, Riley. Don't be a stranger, here," he pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to me, then turned around and left.

As I walked home, it started raining, I put my hoody on and shoved my hands in my pockets. I didn't know what Bill meant. Scott and Faye seemed happy at the Paintball field. They were hugging each other and holding hands and all those things. But then again, Faye had also given me hints about how trapped she felt at home, how her life wasn't what she had expected and to be honest, I thought she was helping me with the store not only to help a friend in need, but also to find meaning in live again. A purpose. Something to dedicate herself to.

I wanted to talk to her. There was this wall between us that I had helped build up, I knew, but I wanted to tear it down. She hadn't really told me anything wrong about Scott, or her marriage, she'd just given me hints. That's how far away we were from each other, we couldn't be direct about anything. I wanted to talk to her, to be there for her and to let her be there for me. After that day, I decided I would tell her everything. Even about the ambush.