Free Tails and Teapots by Misa Izanaki Page B

me?"
    "Yeah, Kale said it was okay, so what's the problem?" "Well, I don't have to worry about asking him anymore.
    Alan broke up with me a little while ago ... with an email." "What?"

    "He emailed me like an hour ago, called me an insensitive fuck and broke up with me."
    "Wow, that's really lame." Dante patted Frankie on the shoulder. Dante was trying to comfort him but it wasn't working. "Would it make you feel better if I said that you're better off without him?"
    "Not really." Frankie sighed and raked a bit of hair out of his eyes.
    "Well, it's true. Alan was a bitchy little brat and you deserved better." Dante nodded. "I mean he was really hot, but he treated you like crap."
    "Thanks, I think." Frankie grabbed a couple of limes and started hacking them into small wedges. Killing fruit always made him feel better.
    "It's true." Dante cocked his head and eyed Frankie worriedly. "And it's really shitty of him to break up with you on Christmas Eve too."
    "It's not that big of a deal." Frankie wiped his hands and pulled two beer bottles out of the fridge under the bar. He popped the caps and handed the beers to one of the waiting drink boys.
    "Yeah, it is ... email is a really lame way to break up with someone, especially this time of year." Dante's tail twitched back and fourth, doing that angry cat thing it did when Dante was annoyed at something. "Did you talk to him at least?"
    "He called me earlier to tell me to check my email." Frankie shrugged. "And now he's not answering his phone."

    "What?" Dante's tail bristled angrily. "That's even worse then just emailing you. He could have said something when he talked to you, at least."
    "Yeah, we—" Frankie stopped mid-sentence as Kale, the owner/manager of the club, stepped up to the bar with a box almost completely covered in brightly colored postage stamps in his hands.
    "Am I interrupting something?" Kale asked. One slim, auburn eyebrow arched in curiosity.
    "No..." Frankie busied himself with more of the limes stored behind the bar. He didn't need to let his boss in on his personal life, really he didn't.
    "That blond twink he was dating dumped him and he did it by email, too. The brat couldn't even come down here and face him."
    Frankie resisted the urge to chuck one of the limes he was cutting at Dante's head. It was tempting, but Dante and Kale were an item and smacking Dante would just get him fired.
    Kale probably didn't take kindly to anyone pelting Dante with fruit, even if he deserved it.
    "Sorry to hear it. You okay?" "Yeah."
    "Well, if you need a little time off or something, let me know." Kale nodded at him. "Dante or Ed can cover for you." Kale set his box on the bar and pushed it toward Frankie. "A little good news though, this came for you today. It's from Japan."
    "Thanks." Frankie eyed the return address with curiosity. It was from his mom. Ever since his dad died, Frankie's mom

    had gotten the urge to travel the world. She was currently wandering around Japan and having the time of her life. At least, that's what her post cards and emails said anyway. "I think it's a Christmas present from my mom."
    "Ooh, open it!" Dante started to bounce.
    Frankie pulled a box-cutter from one of the drawers under the bar and sliced through the layers of tape and stamps. A neatly folded letter sat on a mound of packing popcorn.
    Frankie opened the letter first and read it. Yup, it was from his mom.
    The letter read like the postcards he was used to getting from her. She was in Nara and having a great time. She was also sorry that she couldn't spend Christmas with him but she hoped that the present would make up for it. It was something she found in a tiny shop there and she knew that Frankie would love it. Well, she hoped he would, anyway. It was kind of funny that Frankie's mom actually wrote the last bit on her letter. Then again, she did ramble, even when she was writing. Frankie tucked the letter into his pocket. He would read the rest of it later. He then carefully