Twenty minutes later, they sat at a table in Tequila Barb's. Celia had texted Josie, and she was waiting. Josie ran over to her the second they walked in, excited to see her old friend.
"Va... I mean Celia! What the hell? You don't even tell me you're going to be in town?" She gathered Celia into her arms and squeezed. She whispered into Celia's ear. "I keep forgetting about the new boobs. You left so soon after you got them, I never had a chance to adjust."
Celia laughed and grabbed both of Josie's cheeks.
"I have missed you! Everything good in your life?" Celia asked.
"If I were any better, I'd be hugging my old friend, Celia." Josie let out a whoop, leaned in, and gave her a friendly kiss. She grabbed another quick hug and turned to Max and Benji.
"Hi, y'all. I'm Josie, and I can't tell you how good it is to see this one! What can I get y'all?" Josie asked through her joy.
Max and Benji ordered. Josie looked at Celia and said, "The usual?"
Celia chuckled, "Like I have to tell you."
In no time at all, drinks sat in front of them, while Celia laid out the entire story of her exit from the TDLR, including the name change situation.
"If we run into anyone else here, they all know me as Valerie Stewart. FYI."
A second round appeared as they continued laughing at Celia's story. She tried to hold back on exactly how big an asshole Dog Spaulding had been, but it was impossible to sugarcoat his behavior. Not that she really had to; his demeanor throughout the day had been self-evident.
Maxine said, "I don't know how you did seven years with that man. I'd have shot him after seven minutes."
Celia chortled, and as she did, her head spun around. She caught Josie moving toward her; Josie's eyes were wide with caution. Celia returned a look that asked, 'Is everything okay?' Josie tossed her head toward the door.
Looking at the door, Celia saw Rod, Mark, and Tommi walking in. "Oh fuck." Celia ducked and turned to Max and Benji. "Hey, we gotta go.
Come on. Move it."
Maxine had just taken a sip of her cocktail and looked at Celia with playful indignation. "Excuse me, madam, but I haven't finished my cocktail. Give me a second."
Celia took the drink from her hand and set it on the table. Celia's face registered fear and urgency. "No, we gotta go now. Walk in front of me. I don't want him to see me."
The two of them had no idea what had happened, but they complied without question. Celia's tone had let them know not to ask questions.
But it was too late.
Tommi had seen Celia and whispered it to Mark. Celia peeked around Max and saw Mark say something to Rod, then point in her direction.
"Shit. Too late." Looking both Max and Benji in the eye, she said, "I want to apologize for what's about to happen."
The second Rod saw Celia, he made a beeline for her. "Valerie? What the hell? I've been trying to reach you for weeks. I was worried." Rod let his hurt feelings flow. He reached for her hands, but Celia pulled them away before he could grab them.
Celia inhaled and looked at Rod. He had an extra ragged air about him. His hair hung longer than usual and much scraggier, as though he hadn't had a haircut in a while. Dark circles resided under his eyes. A twinge of remorse coursed through her. He didn't seem to be moving on at all. Her stomach churned, and she cursed herself for coming back here.
Damn, I wish I could teleport. Hmm, I think that a lot when I'm around him.
They stared at each other, neither really knowing what to say. Celia broke the excruciating silence and, with great reserve, said, "Rod. I'm surprised to see you here. You were never a big Tequila Barb fan."
"Yeah, well, Tommi really likes it, so we come by now and again," Rod replied, looking past her at Max and Benji. He waited for an introduction, but Celia made no effort to do so.
Mark and Tommi had followed Rod and were standing a few feet away. Celia glanced at Mark with disdain, content that her true feelings about him no longer had to be hidden.
Then she looked at Tommi. Wearing a shirt she should have donated two years ago, Tommi cowered on Mark's left, just behind him, shoulders slouched, eyes lowered, as though she were trying to be invisible. Mark glared at Celia.
He stepped forward and said, "I can't believe you even showed up here.
You got a lot of nerve."
Tommi clutched his arm from behind, "Mark. Let it go."
He jerked his arm away from her. "No, I ain't gonna let it go. This bitch broke Rod's heart; now she's gonna hear it." His chest puffed out with the inflated male bravado so easily found in Texas.
As he did, Max stepped forward and stood ready beside Celia.
Celia turned away from Mark and, gathering her purse, said, "We were just leaving, so goodnight. Let's go, guys." Celia ushered them toward the door.
"Yeah, sure, run away again. That's all you ever do. Bitch." Mark shouted after them.
Without hesitation, Maxine stepped between Mark and Celia, ready to rumble. Celia smiled with pride at her friend's loyalty; it warmed her soul.
But Celia didn't want the evening to go that way. Grabbing Max's arm, she dragged her away.
"Come on, this is over."
Rod followed, trying to get in front of her. "Wait, can't we just talk a bit?
I've been doing a lot of soul searching and..."
Celia increased their gait and left the stammering Rod behind. They passed into the parking lot without incident. The second the door closed behind them, Maxine burst out, "What the hell was that? I have a policy: whenever I'm almost in a bar fight, I get to know why."
Celia pushed them toward the car. "Let's get out of here, and I'll tell you." Benji had driven himself, so he had his car. "Hey, what about me? I was almost in the same fight. Don't I get to know?" he protested.
"Meet us at the hotel. Go." Celia yelled.
Benji nodded and ran to his car on the other side of the lot. Just as Celia and Max were getting to the Z, Celia heard her old name. It came with a thousand memories and not a single good feeling.
"Valerie?" Rod whined.
Celia hit the fob and unlocked the car door. She looked at Max over the roof of the car. "Get in. This'll only take a minute."
Maxine opened her mouth to respond, but Celia raised her hand and said, "I got this."
Max got into the car but did not close the door. Celia sucked in a deep breath. She turned with extreme annoyance and said, "What?"
Her tone stopped Rod in his tracks. He looked past her at her new car. "Whose car is that? Is that yours?" His eyes opened wide in disbelief. "Is that why you can't give me any money? You're spending it all on a yellow Z?"
"Oh, just stop. Shut the fuck up. I am so over you and your whining." Stepping toward him and looking him square in the eyes, she said, "Yeah, it's my car. I bought it. It's in my name, and you can't touch it. See how fast my life got better once you weren't in it."
"Yeah?" he said, taken aback by her aggressiveness... "Don't forget, the divorce isn't final yet, so we'll see," he spurted out.
Celia took a deep breath and clenched her fists, her equivalent of counting to ten. In a steadied, no-nonsense tone, she said, "Look, you fucked another woman; I caught you. I left. What is so damn hard about that to figure out?" Her face crunched into a killer scowl.
"But I..." Rod stuttered.
"Shut up!" The veins on her neck and forehead popped out. Behind her, Max stepped out of the car.
Rod saw Max and shouted at her, pointing his finger, "Get back in the car, bitch. This isn't any of your concern."
Celia's arms swept upwards in a half circle to stop him from talking. "Oh no. You do not get to yell at my friend. She's the first real friend I've had since I met your sorry ass."
Rod stepped toward her, attempting to match her aggressiveness.
"Now look here. You can't talk to me like that." He caught himself and tried to control his anger. "I know we have some problems, but nothing we can't work out. I've apologized a thousand times, I've groveled, and I promised it won't happen again. What more do you want?" His tone had started with aggression and switched to petulant whining, but by mid-sentence, she could see he realized it wasn't working. By the end of his little diatribe, his anger had nowhere else to go but toward her.
Celia glared at Rod, unimpressed with his outburst. "I want you to sign the fucking papers, and then I never want to see you again. Can I make that any clearer?"
Rod began to shake. Out of anger, fear, or the self-realization that he had totally fucked up his life, she wasn't sure.
Behind her, she heard a tense foreboding in Max's voice, "Celia?"
Rod's eyes blackened. This time she didn't miss it. His breathing started coming in hard, quick bursts. Celia had no intention of sticking around, knowing what would happen next.
Anguish mixed with fear and murder filled the parking lot. "You fucking bitch. After all I've done for you! I deserve better than this, you cunt!"
"Get in the car!" Celia shouted to Maxine. She jumped in and hit the ignition button. Before the door could close, the Z jerked forward, gravel spraying up behind them.
As fate would have it, she headed toward the closed end of the parking lot.
She'd have to turn around.
"Fuck. Hang on." She hit the steering wheel with her open palm. Stupid. It's not like you've never been here.
With a swift, decisive motion, Celia yanked the steering wheel hard to the right. The car's tires screeched against the asphalt as the vehicle spun in a tight, controlled circle—a perfect doughnut. Gravel scattered beneath the wheels. Without letting up on the accelerator, she straightened the wheel, aligning the car with the exit.
To her astonishment, Rod ran directly at the speeding car. His fists clenched as obscenities flew from his mouth.
In front of her were four rows of parked cars. Two rows to her left, each vehicle facing the other, then on the right, another two rows with each car facing the other. A driving aisle sat between the first two rows and the entrance, then between the second two rows and the first. She aimed for the aisle that passed the entrance.
Pointing the Z in that direction, she accelerated. Rod committed to that path. As soon as he established his position, she veered to the right and went between the first and second rows, leaving a double row of parked cars between them.
Rod changed direction with her and ran in a straight line toward the exit, trying to cut her off.
The Z moved past the madman with ease, made it out of the lot, and headed down the road, leaving the lunatic Rod screaming like a banshee in her dust. In the rearview, Celia saw Rod stop, bend over, and grab something that he flung at the speeding car—a bottle shattered on the asphalt well behind them.
Several blocks away, she slowed down. Breathing hard, she shook from her core.
I shouldn't have come back. I shouldn't have come back. I should've known better.
A warm touch on her forearm made Celia look down. Maxine's beautiful brown hand offered comfort and respite. Celia began to cry.
She pulled into a parking lot another block down the road and put the car into park.
Sobbing now, she said, "We can't stay here. Rod knows the car now." Looking at her trembling hands, she said, "I can't drive."
"I got you, babe." Max moved into the driver's seat.
Celia had Max take the car into the very back of the underground lot and park next to a big pickup. The truck blocked the tiny vehicle from view. Maxine texted Benji, and he met them in the bar.
Celia's breathing slowed to normal, and she explained the Rod saga to them. Maxine held Celia's hand during the entire monologue. Benji would shake his head from time to time as his eyes narrowed in disgust.
When she finished, Max said, "I think you're pretty lucky, getting out of that mess. I'm proud of you, girl."
"Makes me want to go postal on his ass." Benji spat out.
The sudden fierceness coming from the tattooed clothes hog made both Celia and Max smile.
"Why, thank you, Benji. It means a lot to me that you care." Celia reached over and stroked his forearm.
"Shit. It ain't right to treat a woman like that. Hell." Benji drained his beer.
The three sat in silence for a moment. Celia glanced at the clock over the bar.
"Holy shit, look at the time. We've got a big day tomorrow. I thank you both for your support. I can't tell you how very sorry I am that you had to witness that. I don't even know what to say. If I ever thought he would be there, there's no way I would have taken you."
The three of them stood up. Max bear-hugged Celia. "Girl, we've all been there, so no worries." Max thought about that for a second, looked at Benji, and then squinted. "Okay, so Benji probably hasn't, and to be honest, I haven't either. I'm pretty good friends with all my exes." She continued with renewed positivity, "But tons of women have, so it's nothing new. Just another asshole man trying to run our damn lives."
Celia threw her arms around them both. Max and Benji leaned in for the group hug and headed up to their rooms.