Whiskey in the Jar

Brian rubbed his eyes and yawned as he got out of bed. He woke up so tired, he just about managed to find the toilet in his sleepy ‘just woke up’ state. Last night had exhausted him but he enjoyed it anyway. Finding his way into the kitchen he poured himself a cup of coffee and went outside to sit by the small garden table next to Jordan. She was comfortably sitting in her oversized ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ t-shirt and pajama shorts, smoking a cigarette and reading the paper with a cup of coffee on the table.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

Brian took a cigarette from the pack that was lying on the table and lit it. As Jordan read the news and Brian checked his messages and emails, the pair sat in silence practicing what became their morning routine. Jordan fixed the messy bun that stood on top of her head and pulled away stray strands that were getting into her face. She looked at Brian who was typing furiously on his hand held device and smiled at his furrowed eyebrows and pout.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah, it looks like it’ll be a busy day for me today…” he put out his cigarette in the ashtray and took a sip of his coffee.

“What’s the plan?”

“Got a meeting with the label, then Schecter and we gotta start writing actual songs…”

“So you’ll be gone all day?” for the most part of the past three months she lived with him, they spent most of their time together doing in particular. Now that Brian has made significant progress, the world began to turn again and he had obligations to fulfill. This meant that Jordan’s role in Brian’s life was almost at an end causing the emptiness to creep into Jordan’s body.

“Yeah pretty much. I’d ask you to come along but...”

“Nah it’s okay I get it, it would be weird if I tagged along when you’ll be at work.”

“I’ll be with Zack the whole day so I’ll have the chance get him to ask you out…” Brian winked at her implying that he wasn’t serious but really he wasn’t sure if Jordan was joking when she dared him to talk to Zacky.

“Yeah you go do that.” She brushed him off playfully turning the page. She looked at him and he pulled a funny face at her. “For a 32 year old you really do act like such a child, Haner!” Jordan laughed and slapped his arm.

“So what are you gonna do with your day off? You’ll finally be get rid of me.” He squinted at the sun and scratched his bare leg.

“Hmmm I don’t get many days off so I must choose wisely.” She rubbed her chin with fake seriousness as she teased him.

“You might want to take that day to reconsider your career choices. I bet being stuck with assholes like me isn’t quite the dream.”

“Don’t say shit like that, Brian. You’re not an asshole!” As if on instinct she put her hand on his.

“You’re way too nice to me.” He smiled sadly and kissed her temple. Jordan sighed feeling guilty for enjoying the innocent kiss.

“It’s my job, asshole!” She laughed distracting herself from the kiss, feeling proud of her joke. “Anyway, I’m gonna call up a friend and see if she’ll hang out with me. I don’t know; maybe do some responsible things like pay my bills.”

“Out of all the things to do in the world, you’re going to pay your bills?!” He scoffed.

“It’s a necessary evil,” Jordan sighed “I do need to come up with a plan on how to get my baby sister to talk to me actually…”

Brian perked up at the mention of Jordan’s sister. It was a rare occasion when Jordan talked about her past or family and it was a mystery that Brian wanted to solve. He wanted to know Jordan a lot more than she let him and he wondered whether she only viewed their relationship as strictly professional or it was just too painful to talk about her past.

“You never said you have a sister…” He said hoping that would get her to talk about her family.

“Her name is Emily and she’s turning 18 in a couple of weeks. She also hates my guts so that’s nice.” Jordan’s bare foot began to shake at the stress and guilt thinking of her sister brought on. “She lives with our grandparents in Seattle.” She lit another cigarette and inhaled the smoke.

“Why is she not with you?”

“Well…my grandparents always lived in Seattle and had no clue what was happening to my mom so when they found out their son in law killed their only daughter, they took Emily. They knew I was in no state to take care of her so they raised her.”

“You didn’t want to go?”

“I had a job at the hospital. I thought I was gonna be okay but nah I wasn’t. I became a functioning alcoholic…then someone noticed, I got fired and hit rock bottom. Classic.”

“It must have been hard.”

“It was.”

“You should take a trip to see your sister for her birthday. She can’t not talk to you if you’re right there in her face.”

“And what? Just abandon you here?” Jordan scoffed.

“I’ll go with you. I owe you more than I could imagine…going with you is the least I can do. If you want me there, that is…”

“But you’ve just started doing your music again! I don’t want to distract you…”

“Fuck it. They’ve waited for me to get my shit together for months, they can wait a couple more days.” He waved his hand with dismissal. Jordan stared into his eyes waiting for him to tell her that he’s joking but he stared back with absolute serious intention.

Jordan lost the battle but still doubted that the trip would happen. It would be too much of a commitment for Brian and Jordan wasn’t sure that she would have the guts to actually fly to Seattle.

They finished their coffees and cigarettes and dispersed to get ready for the day. Just as Brian left the house to go to his meetings, Jordan left and went to her apartment.

As she walked into her own home, that was paid off by her wealthier grandparents, she felt like a stranger. Everything felt cold and small. Being used to Brian’s big house by the beach made her small one bedroom apartment feel like it was closing in on her. She began doing all the trivial things like reading her mail, cleaning around and paying off bills that were pretty much non-existent since she hasn’t been using the space much for the past months. After doing all those things she decided to call Layla her best friend and asked her to visit.

Upon arrival they shared a long hug since they haven’t seen each other in a while. Jordan couldn’t wait to hear about all that Layla was up to and she couldn’t wait to tell her about all the things that she’s been up to. They sat down on the two seater couch and began to drink the milkshakes that Layla brought. They knew each other since college, Layla knew everything that went on in Jordan’s life so she was not ashamed to tell her everything. Ever since Layla found out that alcohol was a problem for Jordan, she proposed that instead of drinking cocktails like most girls their age do that they drink milkshakes instead.

“So it’s been a while…thought you forgot about me for a minute there!” Layla teased her best friend.

“I know! I’m awful!” Jordan hid her face with shame in a fluffy black pillow. “But wait until I tell you everything that’s happened!” And so Jordan filled her in on every single detail on her life with Brian including the latest development; the trip to Seattle.

“Oh my god!” Layla covered her mouth with her hands in disbelief and excitement. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Nothing’s happening, Layla…” Jordan blushed hoping Layla doesn’t get any crazy ideas.

“Bullshit! He pretty much took you out on a date! I mean it’s fucked up he took his dead wife there for their first date too but still that counts as a date…” Layla winked at her best friend. “It’s so obvious that he likes you, Jordan. He’s probably scared as fuck to move on so he’s setting you up with this Zack person to persuade himself he doesn’t have feelings for you.”

“That’s a crazy theory…”

“No not crazy …Fuck, I mean the man cares so much he’s willing to go all the way to Seattle for you! That’s so romantic…” Layla sighed

“This isn’t some fairy tale romantic type movie, Layla!” Jordan laughed. “Anyway, tell me about your life, what’s been happening?”

Layla began to tell Jordan about her life and all the things that she’s been doing. Though she felt her life was dull compared to Jordan’s adventures with Brian. Layla was married and had a child so her life was very different to Jordan’s and with both women having a busy schedule it was hard to find time to hang out so Layla took the opportunity to vent about her life without Jordan judging her.

Meanwhile Brian was working hard to not fall asleep in all the meetings he attended. They weren’t important per se, just more of a formality and a welcome back. He didn’t care to be there but he couldn’t let people down and he had to show everyone that he was ready to work again. He spent most of the day doodling on napkins and feeling like he was missing something…or someone.

By the time Jordan and Layla finished talking and Brian attended every meeting, the sun was setting. Both Jordan and Brian arrived at the house at the same time. As they got out of their parked cars, Jordan jumped on Brian’s back and carried her into the house as they shouted meaningless insults at each other.

“How was your day, assface?” He asked as he fell back on the couch.

“Was fabulous, dickface. Yours?” She imitated Brian’s actions.

“I would have preferred to shit in my hands and clap than repeat the day.” Brian said, raising both thumbs up with sarcasm dripping off of every word and thumb.

“Why don’t we order some Chinese food? That’ll improve your day, right?” Jordan was already dialing the number before Brian could object.

They sat around waiting for their food to arrive. Out of boredom, they continued to shout stupid insults at each other as if they were children. When the food finally arrived, Jordan began to spread all the containers on the dining table as Brian grabbed plates and cutlery.

As they sat down, Brian announced some news nonchalantly.

“By the way, you got a date with Zack next Friday.”
​​