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The bar was dark but Sam could see Malin’s slim figure behind the bar. She was leaning on the bar and laughing with a woman Sam had never seen before. They seemed so comfortable together. Sam stopped. Malin Jonassen had a girlfriend. Sam was instantly pissed at Jeff for not telling her. He came here all the time. Assuredly he knew and could have told her.
 

One of the bikers, a Center City regular, called out as Sam walked in, “If it isn’t the famous Samantha J. Stephens!”

Sam flinched and stopped. So much for sneaking in quietly, thought Sam. People knew her in this town, and especially in this bar, for two reasons - (1) The protagonist in her novels, Nicola Martin, had grown up in here and occasionally returned to ‘visit’ so Center City and it’s inhabitants had also made the New York Times Best Seller List, and (2) she drank here a lot on her annual Mom Visits.

“MJ, Sam’s drinks are on me!”, the biker continued. A small round of applause erupted from a group of bikers playing pool.

“Hey, Arne. Long time. Thanks!” Sam replied. She knew resistance was futile with these guys. For big, burly leather clad dudes, the bikers that frequented Al’s were sweet. And her mother hated them.

“Samantha Jane,” Jean would say, “I don’t like you hanging out with those Hell’s Angels. One day one of the is going to try to set you straight. They’re obviously up to no good, riding around on those loud motorbikes with all those tattoos…”

“Mom, I have tattoos,” was Sam’s standard answer. It usually flustered her mother so much that she became speechless and left the room.

Malin looked up and met Sam’s eyes as Kate ran across the bar to greet her. Sam hesitated.

“Why didn’t you call?”, Malin demanded as she came out from behind the bar. Sam stopped in her tracks with her heart in her throat. She’d been called out.

“Uh, why didn’t you?”, the usually confident Sam stammered.

“I wasn’t the one coming into town for a visit,” she laughed loudly as she folded Sam into a hug. Malin knew she would get Sam with that one. Malin could have been angry, but she knew Sam. She never expected her to call after their ‘adventure’ in New York. In fact, Malin had no idea what she would have done if Sam had called. Samantha Stephens had changed Malin’s life, but that change began long before they’d slept together. Malin had played it straight for nearly forty years before meeting Sam, but something about the brash, athletic, lesbian writer made her pause. One rainy Tuesday afternoon the door of the bar was flung open and Sam burst into her life. Malin had just returned to Center City after living in Sweden for most of her adult life. After spending a semester studying abroad in Sweden during junior year in college, Malin was in love. In only a few short months, she was nearly fluent in Swedish and completely enamored of the country. She finished her degree at the university in Uppsala and never returned home to the States. But then twenty years later with her father’s health failing and knowing his desire to keep Al’s in the family, Malin sold her half of the American diner she owned in Stockholm and begrudgingly moved home to Center City.

That rainy Tuesday they talked and drank until long after the bar closed. Sam returned the next day and the next, every day until she was due to fly back home to Texas. By the end of the week, Malin was intrigued. And apparently so was Sam because she called her soon after leaving and asked if she could base a character in her latest novel on Malin. The character idea became ‘Annika’, an American ex-pat bar owner living in Stockholm, CIA asset, and occasional bed partner for Sam’s protagonist, Nicola Martin. One morning following several in depth character and scene development phone calls, Malin woke up from a dream and realized that she was deeply and non-platonically infatuated with Sam.

In truth, Malin wanted New York to happen. She was certain that Sam assumed she was straight. And she thought she was, except where Samantha Stephens was concerned. The invitation to the book release and a weekend in New York was just the opening Malin had been hoping for. They would be away from Center City, Al’s, Lindstrom, and Sam’s mother. They would have time and, given that they were sharing a suite, opportunity. Whatever happened in New York could stay in New York, which was what Malin knew she wanted. She was straight; Sam was not. Besides, she lived in Minnesota and Sam lived in Texas. Plus after getting to know Sam over the past few years, Malin knew that her infatuation would never turn to love and a relationship. Samantha Stephens wasn’t the ‘marrying kind’. Hell, she was barely the ‘dating kind’. Malin had heard story after story about Sam’s conquests. No, ma’am, a relationship with Sam would be impossible, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun together in New York.

Relieved that she wasn’t in trouble, Sam fell into the hug Malin offered. Sam had forgotten how good Malin Jonassen smelled and how welcoming her hugs could be. She had a sudden flashback to their suite on the thirty-second floor in New York. Glass, city lights, Malin’s perfume, the Jagermeister induced haze, the warmth of her skin as she reached under her blouse, the way her tongue felt… Sam caught a glimpse of Malin’s friend over her shoulder and was immediately transported back to the here and now.

“Malin Jonassen has a girlfriend”, Sam thought. “Wow. So much for being straight.”

New York had changed Malin in ways she never imagined. Sleeping with Sam opened a flood gate of reality. Historically, she’d had boyfriends, but not many. She always claimed to be too busy or that she couldn’t find anyone decent. In truth, there had been several decent guys over the years, but something was always missing. Laying there next to Sam, Malin realized what in fine relief what that was. She wasn’t straight.

Sam pulled back from the hug just as Malin began to speak.

“Sam, I need you to meet someone,” she said as she turned back toward the bar. Her friend had swiveled in her barstool and was facing them with both feet on the ground. Smiling she got to her feet and approached Sam and Malin.

“Samantha J. Stephens. Jackie O’Leary.”

Jackie extended her hand, which Sam shook. Jackie was forty-ish with the body of a former Ironman triathlete. Her eyes were kind and intelligent. Sam was instantly jealous and she was never jealous.

“Oh, and this beautiful girl is Kate,” Malin continued as she leaned down to give the dog a pat. “I’ve got something behind the bar for you, Katie”. No one but Malin called Kate “Katie” and got away with it. Usually both Sam and Kate protested.

“So, you’re the One,” Jackie said as they returned to the bar.

“The One?”

“The one who finally got Malin here to switch teams. I can’t thank you enough”, she smiled and laughed.

So she was right, thought Sam. Malin Jonassen had a girlfriend. Fuck me, thought Sam.

“What are you drinking these days?” asked Malin. “Still shots of Jager?”. Malin never quite understood Sam’s love of Jagermeister, but she’d heard enough about Jean Stephens to know that it was probably necessary in Sam’s world.

“Absolutely. But I’ve got time. How about a Captain Morgan Dark and Diet Coke first?” came Sam’s reply. “I’ll need to Jager to get me out the door”.

~

“So, how’s your mom?” Malin inquired.

“Same old, same old. You been seeing much of Jeff?” Sam asked about her brother-in-law.

Malin laughed, “As a matter of fact, yes. He was here just last night for quite awhile. Apparently there was some kind of veterinary emergency he had to take care of.”

They all knew Jeff’s rouse to get out of the house. He was the most popular vet in Chisago County and ran a bustling practice that often included after hours emergencies, just not as many emergencies as his wife and mother-in-law assumed.

“Well, there you go. That’s what I’ll be walking in to. She’s delighted with me at the moment because I left Austin a day later than expected without telling her”.

It was classic Sam, Malin thought. She could be selfish and uncooperative when there was something else drawing her attention.

“I’m hoping she gets over it when I tell her about The Bucket List wish.”

“The what?”, Jackie asked.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for my parents for years. When I saw the movie ‘The Bucket List’, I wondered what my parents still had left on their lists. I decided that if I never came into some money, I was going to help them scratch one thing off their lists. I’ve got the money right now and they aren’t getting any younger.”

“Wow, that is seriously cool,” Jackie replied. “I wish I could afford to do something like that for my folks.”

“Me, too”, Malin chimed in. Sam could see the sadness in her eyes. Malin’s mother had died with she was ten and her father a couple years back.

“Malin, you are living your dad’s Bucket List wish. He wanted to keep Al’s in the family. You moved halfway around the world to make that happen,” Sam said.

Malin waved back the tears and asked, “So what do you think your mom will want?”

“I don’t have a clue. Maybe a museum some where. Or a trip to Wimbledon. My dad and Donna wanted to go on cruises. They’ve cruised to Mexico a bunch but my dad has always wanted to go through the Panama Canal and Donna wanted to see Alaska, ‘The Last Frontier’ she called it.”

“I love it! I’m sorry to have to ask”, Jackie said, “It doesn’t seem like you get along with your mother. Why would you do something like this for her?”

Sam thought a moment before answering. “I don’t hardly know myself sometimes. She can be a raging bitch and has always been critical of me and my life. But once upon a time, we got along. Better than we do now at least. She took me to tennis lesson after tennis lesson and tournament after tournament. She scrimped and saved and cut coupons so that I could afford to play with the best instructors. She wasn’t always the most loving parent, but she had my best interests at heart. Plus she stayed married to my dad for forever until my sister and I were out of school. They never got along and that had to be hard for her. So yeah, I guess that’s why. For better or worse, she’s my mom and even though I spend a lot of time hating her, I do still love her”.

“Gotta respect you for that,” Jackie smiled, impressed by Sam’s thoughtfulness.

“Alright, Jager time,” Sam said as she drained her rum and Diet Coke. “I told my mom I’d be there by 11:00”.

Malin poured Sam a shot of Jager and tequila for she and Jackie.

“To New York”, Jackie toasted with a wink. They clinked glasses and downed their shots. As Sam stood to leave, Malin came around the bar and pulled Sam into another hug.

Sam shook hands with Jackie. “Nice meeting you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again. I tend to come here a lot when I visit my mom”, Sam laughed. “Let’s go, Kate. Your grandmother is waiting on you”.

Sam pulled open the door and she and Kate stepped into the cool Minnesota spring air. Sam could smell Malin’s perfume on her shirt. Her once again felt a twinge of jealousy.

“Fuck, Kate. Just fuck,” Sam whispered half under her breath. “I know. I know!”