The Mandela Affection (A Cryptid Chronicle Companion Novel)

Chapter 3

Donny stood at the bar with a stupid grin on his face. He set another beer down at my seat along with a shot glass of dark amber liquid. "Here you go."

Nervously, I pointed at the hard liquor. "What's that?"

"Jack Daniels. That one is on me too."

"You don't have to do that."

"Sure, I do. It's not every day you see the girl who broke your heart."

"I guess not."

I pretended like I knew what I was doing and slammed the shot down. Instantly, my throat felt like it was on fire. To keep from choking, I took a long drink from the beer.

And, yes. It bothered me that Donny kept saying Jessica dumped me. It simply wasn't true, though it's not like I stayed in town afterward to make sure everyone got the correct story. If that's what Jessica or more likely her friends told people, it shouldn't matter. But it did hurt that she ran straight to Jim.

My hand remained tightly around the beer bottle. "I don't get it. Jim McGrath was such a jerk in high school."

Donny shrugged his shoulders. "I always thought that he was Ok."

"Jim McGrath?" I raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. "Yeah."

I suddenly remembered Donny had played football with Jim. Which was why it was a surprise when Donny connected with me on social media. We hadn't exactly been friends. Though truthfully, I barely remembered Donny. Not that I remembered much of anyone outside of my small circle of friends. The rest of our class blended together into composite stereotypes in my head.

Donny said, "Maybe, you're confusing Jim with someone else."

"Maybe— "

If anything, I was confusing Donny with one of Jim's goons. I forced myself to loosen the grip on my beer bottle. "Do Jessica and Jim come in here often?"

Donny shook his head. "No. Not that often, but sometimes Jim will stop in for a beer after work."

"What does he do for a living?"

"Jim's in the Iron Workers Union. He's worked on the Little Caesar Arena and the new Dan Gilbert building."

"Interesting." Maybe, Jim had changed. Maybe, he wasn't a jerk anymore if he could balance a job and a young family.

Donny said, "Do you mind if I ask you a weird question?"

Expecting it to be about Jessica, I reluctantly said, "Go ahead."

"Do you believe in Bigfoot?"

"Umm ... I believe in the possibility that the North American wilderness could support a species of wood ape.

Donny smiled. "I see you're a cryptozoology nut too."

"I wouldn't have pegged you for one."

"I love the study of undiscovered species. When I'm not working, I spend most of my free time out in the woods, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sasquatch."

"So you believe in Bigfoot?" I asked.

"I don't believe. I know. Last year, I heard one howl in the U.P."

"Awesome. What about the Loch Ness monster?"

"Never been to Scotland, but I don't think the Loch Ness monster is real," Donny replied. "I think it's either a large eel or a Greenland shark. Probably both, and it's been misidentified at different times."