Life, Love & A Little Coffee

Chapter Ten: Booze, Bats & Bruises

It was nearing two o'clock and Tom could not recall the last time he was drunk this early. More than that, he was already on his way back down, having hit shit faced about an hour ago.

By noon, he was behind Jeff's workshop, breaking all his unsellable pottery against the wall. Half an hour after that, they'd reached the volume of drunk that comprised a round of baseball with the pottery that would lead to about a dozen bruises between the two of them come morning.

As the new hour rolled around the corner, Tom was still discouraged, but not as hotheaded as he was when the drinking first began. He achieved a small measure of acceptance. Tom was aware of the risks. He knew Ada would not turn him in for their friendship, but the odds weren't in his favor. It was a small town where nothing ever remained hidden for long.

"Ada just texted. Wants to know what we want for dinner," Jeff told him.

They'd reached the stage of drunk that had a tranquility to it, a stage Tom preferred to be in. Now he roamed around the open shop that had no customers in it all day. Someone pulled up during the baseball game, but he guessed they'd scared them off when they hit reverse before ever getting out of the vehicle.

They weren't the only ones who'd kept their distance today. He hadn't seen Ada since he first arrived. She still blamed herself for what happened. He felt it in the dismal look she gave from the porch before going inside. Tom didn't know how to reassure her anymore than he already had, so he accepted she needed some time to come to terms with everything just like he did.

Truth was, he'd hate himself if she saw him like this. He'd kept out of view of their house for just that reason. Until he gained a grip on his sanity, he would stay put. He cared for her too much to make her worry more than she already was. That's why he'd kept his calm at the school the best he could and why he didn't flip out until her dad took him to his workshop.

Ada saw the best in him, and Tom wanted to keep in that way.

"I'm not hungry," Tom said before taking a swig of his beer.

"Good, cause it ain't dinner yet. You know Ada. She likes to plan."

Tom rubbed at his eyes. The man had a point. "Burgers, I guess. Something that doesn't suck too bad coming back up."

"I'll let her know to stay away from the pasta salad and deviled eggs."

As Jeff replied to his daughters message, Tom made his way to a back room by the office that he was already a frequent visitor of because it had a bean bag chair in it.

He plopped down as Jeff joined him, taking a seat on a stool. "How did Ada become... who she is, I guess?"

Jeff chuckled and scratched his temple. "God only knows the answer to that one, 'cause I sure as hell don't."

It was something he'd asked himself ever since he first met Jeff and his wife. He'd imagined something different for Ada. Maybe a wealthy family full of lawyers or something. It was surprising to find out that his straight 'A', straight laced student came from two hippies. "She's special, isn't she?" Tom said with a smile before taking another chug of beer.

"Nice way to put it. I just call her a weirdo. Truth is, Rebecca and I wondered a few times if we took the wrong kid home from the hospital. I never finished high school and Becc's is a college dropout. I finally just accepted that my wife gave birth to a middle aged school teacher, no offense."

"None taken."

Jeff rubbed at his long, dark beard and shifted on the stool. "That kid used to hate herself so much. She'd ask why she wasn't as pretty as her momma or as popular as Britt or as artistic as me. Why she couldn't fit in like her sister.