Free The Silver Lining by Jennifer Raygoza

been extremely slow since the normal crowd was probably at home recovering from a hangover. It was one hell of a night in here last night. It was St. Patrick’s Day. The biggest money maker for bars. I don’t know what it was about this holiday that made non drinking people drawn to bar hopping and culture claiming. The same shit happened every single year. I could place money on the events of the entire night. You had a group of wild people come in. Each and every one of them swore up and down that they were part Irish. The place was filled with green shamrock decorations wall to wall, and green beer was overflowing. It’s the one thing that everyone had to drink at least once. Don’t get me started on the obnoxious light up pins, you know the ones that say kiss me, I’m Irish. I had been asked to kiss I don’t know how many girls last night and most of them were hot, but like an idiot, part of me was holding out for some green eyed girl for some dumb ass reason.
    I hadn’t seen or heard from Emily in three days, not since the night that she left. I frowned. No. Stop. We are not thinking about her tonight, I reminded myself. It’s stupid. Stop being a fool. Stay on track, which is the track to getting your own shit together. She has her problems. You have yours. These two tracks do not need to collide. I tossed her to the back of my mind, and looked around the bar remembering all the chaos that happened here last night. I called it St. Patty’s Day melt down. People are usually pretty shit faced about that time. It happened as the night drew near to morning. I recalled a few customers getting up on the bar in an attempt to do the Irish jig. I also remembered the terrible Irish accent attempts all night. The more the customers drank the more they tried and the worse they sounded. Plenty of nipples were flashed and one patron pulled his dick out at the bar. I spent a good night just nodding and smiling. This was bar life and I loved it. I just hated St. Patrick’s Day. I could deal with any other day of the year, except this one. I just didn’t understand the hype. I knew I shouldn’t complain because the bar was busy and the tips were crazy, but it just never quite made sense to me. Just like Emily who made no damn sense to me. FUCK! There she was again. Taking up my thoughts. Sigh.
    “How’s your week been, James?” Mike asked.
    “Don’t ask.” I threw the towel over my shoulder. “It hasn’t been a walk in the park.”
    “Be patient. You just have to give yourself time to adjust to life outside of prison.”
    “I worry at this rate, what it even feels like to be adjusted. Not sure it exist.”
    “Give it time, brother,” Mike said, as he picked up a broom and started to make his way around the bar. “Everything always works out.”
    “Yeah. I maintain hope.” I gave a crooked smile, and looked around the bar for something to do. I checked the ice bin, and struggled with the decision to fill it. I guess it could use a little more ice. I walked to the back, and grabbed a small bag from the fridge. I made my way back up to the bar with a little more energy and purpose. I ripped open the bag and tossed the cold ice chips in. The doors to the bar opened and in walked Zach. I stopped mid-movement and just stared. I wasn’t sure what to feel first. This man was the reason for me having been locked up. He didn’t come to visit me there, not once. He didn’t accept my calls. He didn’t explain or accept responsibility. Look at this fool. He just up and decides to walk in here tonight. Bullshit. He took long strides toward me. He ran his fingers through his blonde bangs that laid to one side, and adjusted his watch as he approached me.
    “You have some nerve.” I backed away from the bar and stared him down. I didn’t need to ask him how he found me. There were nosey paparazzi everywhere even if you couldn’t see them they saw you.
    “Just hear me out,” he pleaded.
    “Hear you out? What could you