Mister Cheatham County

~Thirty Five~

May 15, 2020

In the months passed, Ryan had been busy putting out album after album, and Scarlett's been busy with the bar. It's been an oddly busy end of winter/ early spring at the bar, but Scarlett didn't mind because it was keeping her busy while she was missing Ryan. With their busy schedules, they hadn't visited each other since Ryan spent a week in Jersey and Scarlett spent a week in Tennessee. It was expected with living states away from each other, but it didn't make it any easier. They still talked every day, and even though she wasn't physically there, he still made sure that she was involved in his music just like he wanted her to be.

Jason made up for what he did with Taylor and made his way out of the doghouse with Scarlett before she and Taylor had even left Tennessee for the week. Jason and Taylor talked every day, and by the middle of March, the two were officially a couple. Scarlett loved seeing her best friend so happy and loved knowing that regardless of the concussion situation, he was a good guy, and even while he wasn't around, there was someone keeping him in line.

Scarlett changed her schedule at work to only work Wednesdays through Saturdays. She loved what she did, and it was nothing against the work or her boss Dave, she just felt like it was the right time to give herself more time off to actually live a normal life. Since she started working there in the very beginning, she was realizing that any stories she had to tell were ones about her nights at work, and as she grew older, she wanted to be able to tell stories about more than just her days at work. She also knew that with all the regulars she had, taking those extra days off wasn't gonna hurt her. She was working almost twelve-hour shifts and making over one hundred dollars a night in tips on top of her hourly wage, so she was still more than comfortable when it came to finances.

It was now late Friday morning; Taylor had off as her schedule was sporadic, and Scarlett was relaxing before she had to go to work that evening. Needless to say, since switching over to working at just the bar, Scarlett enjoyed having the extra hours to relax before going in, as she didn't have to be in until five in the evening. The two best friends were sitting on the couch, just as they normally did, and were watching a movie that they'd honestly seen thousands of times before, but neither of them felt like changing the channel.

"Hey Tay, can I run something by you?" Scarlett asked, breaking the silence in their living room.

"Yeah, what's up? Is everything okay? Are you and Ryan okay?" Taylor questioned in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and Ryan and I are fine too, great actually. So, I was actually wondering, if I can get some extra days off, and I can actually make this work if you'd keep an eye on the dogs next weekend."

"You know I'd never say no to that. What days?"

"I was thinking Thursday afternoon to sometime Wednesday morning."

"I mean, I'm sure throughout those days I'll probably have work, but that'd be the only time they'd be left alone."

"Well, you know that as long as they're let out before you leave and there's no food or water left out for them, then they're fine."

"I know. What are your plans for those days?"

"Well, I was thinking about talking to Jason to see if he'd help me out if you're okay with that. I wanna surprise Ryan for his birthday, which is next Sunday."

"Scar, stop it, that's so cute. Why would I care if you went to Jason to help you out?"

"Well, my plan was to see if I could crash at his place when I got in because I wanna sleep before I go and surprise Ry."