Rum and Coke

The next day, Ellie decided to go see her mother’s old work before she went to the BBQ at Matt’s place. She was surprised to see the dilapidated appearance of the bar. To her, it looked as if it would collapse on itself if a strong enough wind blew. Noting that the cellar door was open, she went and peered into it. There was some shuffling, so she knocked on the worn door. “Hello?”

A woman in her upper forties greeted Ellie. Her wiry hair, streaked with a little grey, was all over the place. She looked as if she had once been beautiful, but age and drugs had robbed her of her youthfulness. Her skin hung a little off of her, leading Ellie to believe that she used to be someone that you didn’t want to mess with…that the only thing she had left was the harsh snap in her voice.

“Excuse me, are you the owner?” Ellie asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and lifted a large crate. It looked heavy. “Sorry kid, we’re not hiring at the moment. But if you’re looking for a job, go see Casey Stevens down the block. He can help you out.”

“I don’t want a job, I just want some information.” Ellie replied, walking down the stairs to greet her.

She set the crate down on a stack of crates near the cellar door. “If this is some new ploy the government cooked up- sending kids and the like- to do their dirty work, then I’m not biting. Like I told those coppers yesterday, I didn’t see shit when that punk got killed. I don’t personally know him, and even if those damn video cameras worked, I wouldn’t give them to the likes of you. Now go.”

“Did you know Danni Patterson?” Ellie asked, getting straight to the point. She didn’t care about the person who died last night. She wanted to know about her mother’s life.

The woman spun around and faced the teenager, clearly shocked. “Of course I knew her, I practically raised her. Why do you want to know? Are you in trouble? Because if you are, leave. I don’t want any more of that kind of shit around here.”

“No, no, it’s not like that at all. She’s my mom, you see….and I want to know more about her when she was my age...and, I want to know who my father is.”

“Save your money and your breath. Ask her yourself.” She shouldered a full crate and began walking up the stairs.

“I can’t. She took her secrets to the grave.”

The woman stopped half way up the stairs and looked back at Ellie. “I’m sorry. Grab a crate and follow me. We’ll continue this inside.”

~*~

“I first met Danni on a street corner a few blocks from here. She couldn’t have been older than ten. She was half-starved and looking for any sort of handout she could get. I wasn’t a charitable person back then, I’m still not, but something in the way she looked at me made me swallow my pride and take her in. Of course, I didn’t let her stay and eat for free. In return, she did a few small favors for me. Her home life wasn’t that great and I didn’t mind the company, besides, all my patrons loved her. Over the years, she hung out at the bar and my apartment more and more, until she was about fifteen. By that time, the nights she wasn’t working the bar, she came back in the early hours of the morning. Some of her clothes would be ripped or there would be fresh bruises on her body, but I never asked her about them. It wasn’t my place. And then he came around a few years later. She must’ve been about twenty. Anyways, he made all these promises about taking her away from me…away from LA. She disappeared for a few years before showing back up in a fancy dress. He was there, too. So, I guess he really did take her away and turned her into a high society woman. I don’t know.”

“This guy, do you remember his name?” Ellie asked. She was already on the edge of her seat. Her mind was racing at the speed of light, putting this stranger’s point of view into the story that she already somewhat knew.

“Can’t say that I do. He was in some famous band. Something with a number in it. I don’t know. I never paid enough attention to him.”

“Oh.”

“Is that all you wanted? I need to run a few errands before I open for the night.”

“Yea, that’s about all.” She stood up from the table and offered her hand. Ellie followed suit and grabbed her hand.

“Sorry I couldn’t say more.”

“No, you’ve said enough. Thank you.”

“You look a lot like him, ya know. I may not remember his name, but I remember his face…except your eyes…they’re definitely your mother’s.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.