There is no place open after 8 PM in this town except for the bar.
In Manhattan it never really feels like night, it just feels like it happens to be dark. So many times, I realized it was 12 PM and had to go home. The amount of people always out felt weirdly calming in the anonymity of it all.
There is no anonymity in Edelweiss, especially at the bar.
I feel nervous.
The evening after visiting church, I went to the One Trick Pony. Annabelle warned me it would be fuller than usual, especially on Mondays, but I didn’t take her seriously. I’m squeezing myself into a corner spot right as the beginning of the show begins.
For some reason everyone is dressed in the most ridiculous cowboy themed outfits, star spangled banner shirts and denim shorts.
The yellow warm glow of the ceiling lights goes out and is replaced with the sparkling strung up lights all over the walls. A giant bright white light illuminates the small stage, with black curtains in the background, and a gorgeous piano.
The owner of the bar comes up on stage and everyone begins to cheer his name.
Harry! Harry! Harry!
“Oh hush, all of y’all,” he says into the mic.
Little giggles and laughs pepper the air until it’s quiet.
“As you all know, it is impossible to hate Mondays at the One Trick Pony,” Harry says with enthusiasm.
The crowd says the name of the bar alongside him at the same time. Their enthusiasm, the smiles start to make me feel less nervous, and my anxiousness turns to excitement.
“Tonight, we have a wonderful lineup today that is hard to beat,” Harry says. “If you think you got the talent to win tonight then sign up at the front! It ends in five minutes.”
A few people rush to the front and more laughs are heard. I find myself smiling alongside the rest of them.
“Don’t forget to VOTE,” Harry shouts. His emphasis on VOTE put spit into the mic. “What’s the point of SINGING if nobody VOTES! Be an AMERICAN and VOTE!”
He’s a great entertainer, riling up the crowd. He shrugs, does a goofy shimmy, tips his cowboy hat, and brings the mic up close again.
“Today we have Charlie Wolf singing Great Balls of Fire! He’s a true star!”
Everyone claps as Harry runs off, but the cheers get even louder when Charlie gets on stage.
He’s dressed just like Elvis and then I notice the theme for the night is Famous Country Singers after seeing a poster nearby. I assumed everyone was dressed like this because it’s how they usually dress and I feel underdressed again, like at the church.
Charlie carefully takes his seat in front of the piano, takes a deep breath and suddenly he is a completely different man as his hands deftly dance across the piano keys.
“You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain!”
“Too much love drives a man insane!”
“You broke my will!
“But what a thrill!
“Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!”
My mind explodes, rattles as well, and the audience sings along, every time he yells out great balls of fire! He doesn’t stop, even as his cowboy hat falls off, and sings even louder.
He is good.
Like, professional level good.
I sing along to the song too even though I don’t know all the words to it. Suddenly, behind me, a tap comes on my shoulder.
It’s Annabelle.
She is wearing probably the most flamboyant outfit in the entire bar.
She has a blue crop top with a long V-neck, leaving nothing to the imagination, and a white denim jacket with stars on top. Her white denim shorts with a star on the belt buckle show off her tanned legs. Her brown hair is curled and somehow looks like it could touch the sky.
I catch myself staring again and I look away.
She takes my hand, tight, and weaves through the crowd, bringing me to the front. I’m dizzy from the heat and the touch of her soft hands. It’s another moment that feels like forever but ends too quickly.
There’s a table with another beautiful woman wearing pink cowboy boots, a hat, pink everything. She mouths her name to me, but I don’t understand it, and she waves excitedly at me.
As I take a chair at the table and look up at the stage. Charlie is staring down at our table with another odd look on his face. I turn to look at Annabelle and she’s giving him the same look as well.
“Well, kiss me, baby!”
“Mmmmh, it feels good!”
“Hold me, baby!”
“Well, I'm off to love you like a lover should!”
“You're fine, so kind!~”
“Got to tell this world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine!”
I realize there is something special about the look in their eyes, a connection I’ve yet to understand. I try not to be upset but it’s difficult. I shouldn’t be so hard set on wanting Annabelle Lee, but how could any man not be? Especially when she looks at a man, with a face like that.
The song ends with its last great balls of fire, and Charlie gets a standing ovation.
He takes a long bow, and walks off the stage, switching to Harry.
“Well ladies and gentlemen that is quite an act to follow up on. That’s why I’ve got our next contestant for the night. It’s someone who can match up against last week’s winner, Charlie.”
Annabelle Lee looks under the table and gets out a blue guitar. She stands up from her table and gets applause of her own as she walks on stage. She takes a seat on a stool put up on stage and adjusts the mic.
“Thank you, Harry. I hope I can finally beat Charlie. ‘Gonna humble that man tonight!”
We all laugh but quickly quiet down when background music plays, and she takes a more serious face. She strums along and quickly everyone knows the song. They clap along to the beat and Annabelle sings right as Charlie takes his seat next to me.
“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene…”
“I'm beggin' of you, please don't take my man.”
What man could ever tell her no? Who could be prettier than her to try and steal him away? I look at the girl at the table, with the ridiculous pink outfit, and I start to wonder if she’s Jolene.
“Your beauty is beyond compare,”
“With flaming locks of auburn hair,”
“With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green~”
I take a quick glance at the woman in the seat across from me and she looks just like Jolene. Wild dark red curly hair, long pink and white nails, and her green eyes sparkle. She has pale skin, oddly enough, compared to everyone else there who has their farmer’s tans and rough hands.
The somber song ends, and the crowd cheers. My hands hurt from how many times I’ve been clapping all night and I feel bad for stopping early. She grins and my chest is about to explode the closer she gets to our table.
Harry runs up to the stage and makes a sad announcement.
“We’re gonna have to take a break-“
Loud boos erupt from the crowd, and he sticks out his hands, trying to calm them down. They’re a little too drunk now and now Harry’s trying to keep them under control.
“Our next few acts are much more different than usual. We’re taking a 20-minute break to set up the stage!”
This is acceptable to the drunks, so they settle down and go off to relax during the intermission. Now that it’s not too loud I can finally talk to Annabelle. She returns from her set and the red-haired woman hugs her tight.
“You’re absolutely awesome,” she says.
“No, you are darlin’,” Annabelle replies. “Oh yeah, let me introduce you to Nick!”
“Hi, I’m Evangeline,” she says. “I heard all about you. You saved both of them at the diner!”
“Oh yeah, it’s nothing-“
“No it ain’t,” Charlie interrupts. “I’d be dead if wasn’t for you. Come here and let me buy you a drink like I promised. Let’s go to the patio outside.”
“Oh. Wait no-“
He takes me by the shoulder towards the bar and I’m irritated. He must know that I’m interested in her and he’s trying to get me away from her. He orders several beers for us without asking me what I want.
After we get our drinks we go out to the patio, away from the heat of bodies inside the bar. Evangeline and Annabelle took a table for all of us. My heart soars as a giant scowl sours Charlie’s face. Charlie is entertaining with all the odd faces he makes.
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We sit down and talk, and I’m quickly interrogated by Annabelle.
“He told me he’s a writer when we first met. But I searched your name up online. I ain’t seen a single book,” she says. “You lying?”
Ah. Shit.
“I use a pen name! I swear to god!”
“Well what’s your pen name,” Evangeline asks.
“Don’t laugh. It’s a ladies’ name.”
They all laugh.
“Why you got a lady’s name? You really that humble, that you gotta hide your true identity,” Annabelle teases me.
“No. No. Never.”
“So you love attention,” she replies.
“Yes. No. I mean, my pen name is Rose Greenwood, and-“
“Get out of town,” Annabelle replies. “I love her books. There is no way you’re her!”
“Prove it,” Charlie grunts.
I search the air for proof, my eyes swimming, but I can’t think of anything. I tell them I just need some courage juice, and they groan. I chug one more beer and go back to the bar and order a margarita.
With a cup of courage in my hand my lips getting heavy, I start to talk.
“Ask me anything,” I huff.
“Okay. In the Desperado series, what really happened to Ignacio in the fifth book,” Annabelle asks. “Why does he suddenly leave?”
“Oh. He marries Maria from the third book,” I mumble. “In the sixth book it’s revealed he had an affair with her.”
Evangeline and Annabelle give each other a look. Women do this thing where they silently communicate with each other through looks. It’s terrifying. Where do they cultivate this superpower?
“I have no idea why y’all are staring at each other like that, and I have never read a single book of that trash,” Charlie says.
“Hey! Romance isn’t trash,” Annabelle replies.
“That’s right! I make good shit!”
“All those books are the same,” Charlie responds. “There’s some girl and guy. They don’t understand each other. Then they do. There’s always some horse on the cover too.”
“My books have no horses,” I exclaim. “Horse free guarantee!”
The women know I’m a lightweight now and start to tease me more. I start to feel weak and then I realize it’s not the heat. I’m about to barf all over the table.
“I think I need to go home.”
I can’t drive home. I’m too drunk.
“I can take you home,” Annabelle offers. “I haven’t had anything to drink tonight.”
I sober up a little once I know it’ll be just me and her.
“I can take him home. It’s dangerous late at night for a lady,” Charlie says.
“You had two beers! You gotta wait a while to sober up,” Annabelle replies. “I’ll be back anyway once I drop him off. I wanna see you lose this week.”
Charlie gives me the look and concedes. Evangeline gave me a friendly hug goodbye and I get her number. She wants to see me later and I wonder if she means something else.
I’m not humble at all.
This town is starting to make me feel famous, like I always wanted. Not hiding behind Rose Greenwood but being myself.