The Air Singer (The Cantors) (13 page)

The band finished the song and Tally pulled away from her dance partner to catch her breath. “Thank you for the dance.” She began to exit the dance floor.

“One more?”
The young man requested.

Tally laughed, flattered at being asked a second time. “
Maybe, but I need find the ladies’ room first.”

Tally headed down the hallway next to the
stage and found the restrooms. As she passed the men’s room door, Dan stumbled out and bumped into her. The sleeve of her dress snagged on the phone holder he kept on his belt. As she yanked her arm back to catch her balance on the opposite wall of the hallway, the phone dropped to the floor between them. Dan blinked his eyes and wobbled as he tried to focus on Tally. “You okay? I wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty dress.”

Tally bent down and picked up Dan’s phone with the intention of returning it to him when another idea popped in her head. “I’m fine
. Can I borrow your phone to make a call? It seems pay phones are nonexistent anymore.”

“I guess so.
” Dan began to put his hand on Tally’s arm.

“Thanks!
” She ran into the ladies’ room and locked the door behind her.

Holding the phone in her hand,
she took a deep breath, dialed and waited as the phone began to ring. She knew that Roland and Oliver would not approve, but at this point, she didn’t care.

“Hello?”

Tears formed in Tally’s eyes at the sound of her best friend’s voice. “Kate!”

“Tally, where are you? Are you okay
? Oh my God, I’ve missed you.”

“I’m fine and I’ve missed you too
. So much has happened since I left. I don’t have long, but I wanted to let you know I am okay. So what has happened since I’ve been gone?”

“I have a boyfriend
! He’s great. We’ve only been together for a few weeks, but he is amazing! What about you? You are the one who took off with her knight in shining armor. What’s been going on with you? Anything happen between you and Roland?”

“No and I don’t think it will
. I’m nothing more than a job to him. He’s supposed to be my body guard or something like that.”

“That’s too bad
. I would love for you to find someone. If you were here I would introduce you to one of Clyde’s friends and we could double date!”

“Who’s Clyde?”

“My boyfriend! I wish you could meet him. When will you be coming home?”

“I’m not sure
. I’ve been learning so much up here and they want to make sure I’m solid in my abilities before I come back. I had a breakthrough today. We are out celebrating at some place called The Lager House. If I ever get to bring you up here, this will be our hang out. They have a great live band and the people seem nice.”

“So where
are you?” Kate pried.

“I can’t tell you Kate
. I’m not even supposed to be calling you. I just needed to hear your voice. You won’t believe how good it sounds.”

Someone began to bang on the door outside.

“I have to go now. I’ll try to call you again later. I’m so happy that you found a man to keep up with you! Hopefully I can find out more about him next time.”

“I think you would like him
. I can’t wait for you to meet.”

“Neither can I
. I should go now. Stay safe.”

“Okay
. You too.”

Tally hung up the phone
. She took a moment to freshen up her makeup and exited the bathroom to find Dan waiting in the hallway along with a woman who rushed past Tally and shut the door behind her.

“Thank you for the phone.” Tally handed it back to Dan.

Dan smiled. “You’re welcome. Want to come have a drink?”

“No thank you, I should get back to my friends.” Tally started to walk by Dan when a burly hand grabbed her arm.

“I let you use my phone, now you let me buy you a drink.” Dan slurred.

Tally
manually removed her arm from the grasp of the intoxicated bully. “Thank you for the phone, but I don’t need a drink. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my friends. I’m sure they are waiting for me.”

She made it three more steps before the drunk grabbed her arm again and turned her around. “It’s just one drink. Your friends can wait.”

Tally turned to the deal with Dan when Roland appeared and placed an arm around her waist. “Dan! I see you met Tally.”

Dan’s hand dropped from her arm. “I didn’t know you were back in town, Roland
. Let me buy you a beer.”

Roland smiled and guided Tally out of the hallway. “I’m fine right now, but thanks for the offer.”

As soon as she was safely away from the hallway, Tally pulled away from Roland. “Thank you, but I could have handled that myself. You don’t always have to come swooping in to save me.”

“
How do you know I wasn’t saving Dan? I saw the look on your face when he grabbed your arm.” Roland joked. “And by the way, saving your ass is part of the job description though I would never say that I
swoop
.”

Tally ignored Roland’s attempt at humor and returned to sit next to Oliver at the table.
“So now that I’ve discovered my trigger, I guess I’m well on my way to master my element.”

Oliver smiled
. “Well you are much closer today than you were yesterday, but you still have some work ahead of you.”

“
Don’t you think I could bring Kate up for a visit?”

“That’s not a good idea.” Roland answered as he took his seat across the table. “The Spina know she is your friend and
is probably watching her for any hint of your location.” He reached for Tally’s hand but she yanked it out of his grasp. He brought his hand back to his lap. “We talked about this. It is too dangerous.”

“
You think everything is too dangerous!” Tally snapped back. “Even going to bathroom is too dangerous.”

Roland looked confused
. Tally continued her tirade.

“
What? Did I take too long washing my hands? Is there something in your job description about timing a singer’s bathroom breaks?”

Roland folded his arms across his chest. “I noticed you left Romeo on the dance floor and kept an eye
out when you went to the ladies’ room. I saw Dan bothering you and thought I would help. And yeah, it is my job!”

A
pplause from the audience as the band finished their set overwhelmed any attempt Tally made to reply. A voice came from the speakers. “It’s time to slow things down a bit. Guys grab your girl and hold her close for a few minutes while the band takes a break.” 

A slow ballad
flowed through the room. To everyone’s surprise Tally’s dance partner from earlier appeared at the table. “How about that second dance?”

Tally looked straight at Roland with a devilish grin. “I’d love too!” she answered.

Roland met her stare and responded to the gentleman. “I’m afraid she’s going to have to sit this one out. Perhaps you can grab the next one.” He stood up and stared at Tally. “Can I talk to you outside?”

He moved to grab Tally’s hand
but she pulled it from his reach. “No. I’m dancing with Romeo.”

“Who’s Romeo?” the confused young man asked.

“Oh for Pete’s sake!” Oliver exclaimed as he placed his empty beer on the table.

Walking to Tally’s chair, he grabbed the back and pulled it out from under the table
, away from the two men, with Tally still in it.

“Hey!” Tally began to object when Oliver grabbed her hand and
dragged her toward the dance floor.

“
Would you like to dance Tally?” Oliver asked over his shoulder. He turned and placed his hands on her waist.

“Do I have a choice?”

“No. Now look like you are enjoying yourself so your admirer and your paladin return to their corners with their pride unscathed.”

Tally smiled brightly and watched as
an irritated Roland returned to his seat and the puzzled young man strolled back to the bar.

“What’s going on Tally?” Oliver asked.

Tally looked at her feet while they swayed to and fro. “I just miss my old life. I miss Kate. Every time something big occurred in my life, Kate was there to share it with me. Boyfriends, breakups, jobs; all were celebrated or mourned together. I miss her support. I miss her smart-ass comments. I miss her.”

“It’s complicated Tally
. I know that we seem over protective at times, but you are too important. We can’t risk you being hurt or killed by the Spina. I know you are tired of hearing about it, but the risk is real. I don’t know how to make you understand how serious that is. Don’t you remember Roland saving you in the parking lot that night? What about when they broke into your apartment? It’s not going to stop. You will always be hunted.”

A shiver went down Tally’s spine as she remembered the night Sean tried to kidnap her. “I know
. I just wish…” She didn’t finish the sentence. It didn’t matter. Oliver was right.

“Do you regret meeting Roland?”

Tally’s heart jumped at the memory of Roland entering The Tap Room that first night, then ached as his words from earlier echoed in her mind. “No, I just wish I could I bring some of my old life into this one.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible
. All we can do is make the best of this one.” Oliver smiled.

“The best part of this one wants boundaries.” Tally mumbled under her breath.

“Huh?” Oliver asked.

“Nothing
,” Tally lied.

“Look, we are supposed to be celebrating! Let’s have a fun night
. I don’t know what is going on with you and Roland, but I think he’s trying to play nice. Could you?”

Tally looked up and mustered a smile. “I’ll try.”

“And let’s keep your interaction with Romeo to a minimum.”

Tally began to argue, but Oliver continued.

“It’s not that you aren’t allowed to meet new people, it’s just that any guy cocky enough to hit on a woman sitting with two other men has an agenda. I’ve never seen him here before, so he isn’t local. He could be Spina or he could just be trying to get laid. Either way, I’m not seeing good intentions.”

Tally sighed. “Okay Dad!”

Oliver laughed. “I’m just looking out for you, which is all Roland is doing. Think you can give us a break?”

“Yeah,” Tally agreed. “But that means your dance card just got filled.”

“It will be my pleasure.” Oliver spun Tally under his arm. When she returned to face him, a grim expression replaced his easygoing smile.

“Did I step on your foot?”

“She’s here.” Oliver stared toward the back of the bar.

Tally twisted her head to see what woman stole his attention.

“Not so obvious!” he scolded in a hushed tone.

Tally jerked back to face her partner.

“Who’s here?”

“Vi
kki, my ex-girlfriend.” Oliver maneuvered Tally around the dance floor as to survey his old flame.

“The girl from lunch?”
Tally strained her eyes to the side hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman.

“I’ll be damn
ed!” Oliver whispered.

Tally’s curiosity
conquered any remaining patience. She turned herself in Oliver’s arms to get a better view. She leaned back against him and whispered, “Which one is she?”

Oliver spun Tally back
toward him and turned so that she could look over his shoulder. “She’s the one draping herself over your Romeo.”

At
the far corner of the bar a petit blonde wearing cowboy boots and a short peach dress stood on tiptoes with her arms around the neck of the dark haired gentleman. Tally watched Vikki run her finger down the front of his chest before releasing him to take a seat at the bar. Romeo excused himself to the restroom.

Tally looked back at Oliver. “Do you want to leave?”

His awkward smile told her yes, but he refused.

“No way, this is your night and I won’t let Vikki ruin your evening too.”

The song ended and Tally gave Oliver a tight squeeze around the neck. “Thank you for the dance.”

The pair walked back to the table where Roland waited patiently. “Need a rest already?”

Tally smirked at her paladin. “I thought we could use a couple drinks.”

Roland stood up. “I’ll take care of that, have a seat.”

“I’m capable of ordering a few drinks all by myself,” Tally replied. “Sit down. Relax. I’ll be right over there.” She pointed toward the bar. “If the bartender spills a beer on me, you can pounce on him in seconds.”

Roland scowled at her response.

Exasperated, Tally corrected herself. “Okay you don’t swoop and you don’t pounce. So what exactly do you do?”