That Blue Gibson

CH 60

"So what the fuck do I do?" Liz finished retelling the entire story to Josie and let out a deep breath. She listened for a second as Josie giggled on the other end of the line. "Josie! I'm freaking out over here! Help me!" She paced the back corner of the bar's parking lot hoping no one would come outside and overhear her.

"Sorry! ...I'm sorry," she heard a door closing and Josie clear her throat, "So he just ditched you at the bar?"

"Kinda... but-"

"That's really shitty of him, Liz."

"Maybe I deserved it though? I started a fight and he seemed really pissed...," Liz heard a door open and a man's voice asking for the phone.

"Is this Elizabeth?" the man asked, seemingly now in possession of Josie's phone.

Liz scrunched up her nose in frustration. She didn't have time for this, "Uh... yeah?"

"It's Pat. Tell me what happened."

"Um... Hi, Pat. Could you put Josie back on? Please?" she wasn't about to explain her colossal fuck up to Dave's band mate, especially not the one he'd known for thirty years.

"No, you can explain it to me and let me help you or you can sit in whatever gross dive bar bathroom you're currently in and cry alone."

He had a good point, she wasn't getting anywhere with Josie since Rami was obviously around. "Yeah, okay. Grab a drink because this one's long," she sighed.

"Oh, I'm way ahead of you, honey," Pat laughed and Liz heard the distinct sound of ice cubes clinking against glass.

*

Liz tapped her foot against the large green dumpster next to her waiting for Pat to reply. She had relayed the entire night's drama to him and was just hoping he had some sort of wisdom for her.

"Well...," he finally sighed.

"Oh god, I'm fucked aren't I?" Liz groaned and flipped the call to speaker so she could rest her arm.

"No, no I don't think you're truly fucked until he tells you as much. He gave you the French exit because he needs to think and I'm willing to bet he's in some shitty diner close by staring into a cup of black coffee wondering if he should kick your ass to the curb or not."

"I have to tell you that doesn't make me feel any better, man," Liz felt like she couldn't breathe, like her throat was collapsing in on itself and she couldn't think straight. She was panicking, she never panicked over a man, not even her ex-husband. She just rolled with the punches, made an exit plan and followed through. But this, this felt different and that scared her more than anything.

"I'm not talking to make you feel better, Elizabeth. I'm making sure the upcoming Euro tour I'm booked on isn't a fucking nightmare because the lead in my band is pining for you."

"So what should I do?" Liz looked up as a motorcycle flew down the back alley and parked next to the bar.

"Are you sober?" Pat asked, the ice cubes once again clinking against his glass.

"Very," she grumbled and sat on the curb.

"Where are you?"

"The Rainbow," she looked around for a street sign, as if Pat didn't know exactly where she was.

"He's at Norm's," Pat said, "Any time a show goes south at The Roxy, he goes to Norm's."

"Okay... who is-"

"It's a diner, woman! Are you listening to me? I'll send you a link."

"Great, but...," Liz tried to take a deep breath, "What do I do when I get there? What should I say?"