She began digging in her purse again.
Cheyenne and I looked at one another, and then both looked back at Reagan. The look we shared was a knowing one. One we’d shared a hundred times as kids. I couldn’t put into words what we were communicating but we both understood one another.
I rested my hands on the bar and leaned closer to Reagan. “What are you looking for?”
“Cash.”
“You are really stubborn, aren’t you?” I observed.
Her head jerked back up. “It was for the tip.”
If she only knew that I’d give up a year’s worth of tips for one smile from her.
“Cheyenne?” Cash’s voice sounded beside me.
I turned and saw my friend looking like he was seeing a ghost. I knew the feeling.
“Hi!” Cheyenne lifted her hand awkwardly, it was clear that she didn’t recognize him.
“Cheyenne this is-”
“Cash!” Her face lit up and she jumped into the air and hurled herself at him. He caught her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh my gosh!”
As I watched my baby sister embrace my best friend with open arms, literally, I couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of hurt. Her excitement level hadn’t been near that to see me.
You didn’t even recognize her, jackass, I reminded myself.
“How are you?!” she enthused when she finally released her hold and he set her back down.
He looked almost speechless as he stared down at her. Finally he managed to stutter, “Good…good…”
If I didn’t know any better, I would think there was something going on between those two. But since Cheyenne was all of five when she left, I knew that couldn’t be the case. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something, and I didn’t like it. I was still trying to figure it out when I heard Reagan gasp.
“Is that a pig?” She pointed. “In a bar?”
“Yes it is.”
“Is that legal?”
“What do you mean?”
“To have a pig in the bar? Isn’t there some sort of public health violation?”
“That’s Kevin,” I stated, by way of explanation.
“That’s Kevin?!”
“You’ve heard of him?” I was surprised. She didn’t seem like the type to follow a pig on social media.
“Sort of.” She tilted her head to the side, still not quite sure of what she was seeing.
“It’s Kevin Bacon!” Cheyenne exclaimed.
Kevin Bacon was somewhat of an Instagram celebrity. He belonged to Ray, who lived upstairs and had been the handyman/jack of all trades for this place for long before I’d started managing it. When my dad had bought Southern Comfort, Ray came with it. And with Ray came a plethora of rescue animals that he referred to as, “bar mascots.” Over the years, there’d been Axl Rose the goat, Minnie Mouse the bearded dragon, and Cleopatra the python, to name a few.
Right now the only two mascots were Kevin Bacon the pig and Skittles the parrot. Skittles hung out in the back where the pool tables were and talked shit to the people playing. Kevin liked to hang out on the back patio, which was just outside the indoor bar. We had a rolling glass garage door that separated the space, but on nights like these, when the weather was nice, we left it open, letting the outdoors and indoors flow together seamlessly.
“I follow him on Instagram.” Cheyenne looked even more excited to see Kevin than she’d been to see Cash, and that was saying something. “Can I take a picture with him?”
There were thousands of pictures of Kevin with locals and vacationers on his page. Some people came here just to meet him and get a selfie. “Of course! Go ahead, I’ll be out in a minute.”
Cheyenne headed out and Reagan was right behind her. I knew as I watched the duo go that it wasn’t just a feeling I’d been having. My life was different now. In their own unique ways, both of those women had put cracks in my hardened heart.
And I had a feeling the effect they’d had just by showing up was nothing compared to what was to come.