The Grandfather Clock by Jonathan Kile

bachelorette party stayed to
listen and he opened with “Delilah,” which prompted them to drop a
fistful of dollar bills in the jar. He was making good
money.
    The ladies sat in a booth with their
huge beers getting warm. The bride-to-be had her head on the
shoulder of her red-tongued friend who was shouting along with a
country song. The freckled brunette I had been talking to came to
stand next to me at the bar.
    “ Do you know how to get to
Café Du Monde?” she asked.
    “ Yeah,” I said above the
din.
    “ Want to go there with
me?”
    We stepped into the busy street. New
Orleans has the smell of great food, alcohol, bleach, and trash,
all mixed into something truly its own. It’s not as offensive as it
sounds, but it isn’t good either. Once in a while, in another city
I’ll catch a whiff and think, “Bourbon Street.”
    “ Are your friends going to
miss you?”
    “ God, no. I’m the sister
in law. She’s marrying my brother,” she said. “I came out of
obligation. Don’t get me wrong, I like to have fun. I just haven’t
been, um, welcomed by them.”
    “ That sucks.”
    “ Oh, it hasn’t been bad. I
get it. They don’t know me. It would be more fun if I hadn’t come.
Fourth wheel. I’m Erin.”
    “ Michael.”
    “ You live here,
Michael?”
    “ Oh no. Just passing
through. I know Brian through work. Home is in Florida.”
    “ When do you fly back? Not
being nosy. Sorry. Just talking,” she laughed.
    “ Actually. I’m driving
through from California. Long story,” I said. “And you’re from...
let me guess. Atlanta.”
    “ Charleston. Nice try
though. I went to school in Athens.”
    She told me about her work for an
advertising firm. She was a few years out of school at University
of Georgia.
    We found a table and ordered two café
au laits on ice and two orders of beignets. Powdered sugar covered
our faces and clothes with one bite. I was exhausted as I assessed
my new acquaintance. Erin was pretty. She looked like she’d gone to
a makeover for women in advertising. She had dark brown hair, with
a shoulder length cut, held behind her ears by dark rimmed glasses.
She battled the hot weather with a white tank.
    “ So, driving from
California alone? What’s that all about?”
    “ I’m transporting a family
heirloom, a grandfather clock, because no one else wanted
it.”
    “ A clock? Wow. That’s a
lot of effort for a clock.”
    “ Yeah,” I sighed. “I
needed to get away.”
    She grinned. “Really, come on. This
sounds juicy. It’ll be boring if you don’t tell me.”
    “ I broke off my
engagement.”
    “ Whoa,” she gasped,
spraying powdered sugar. “I didn’t see that coming. What
happened?”
    “ It’s going to sound
petty,” I said.
    “ Oh, please.”
    “ You’ll think I’m a
jerk.”
    “ What the hell do you care
what I think?” she smirked.
    “ Okay,” I said, pausing
for dramatic effect. “It was a bad relationship getting worse. I
was trying to find a way out. Then this little thing just set me
off. We were at her friend’s wedding. She was wasted. Everyone was
wasted, so... I was sitting by these three bridesmaids at the after
party – not even talking to them – and one of them tells her that I
look like Ben Affleck.”
    “ I can sorta see
that.”
    “ Anyway, Christie, my
fiancée, sneers at them and says, and I quote, ‘Have you seen Ben
Affleck? Ben Affleck is HOT.’”
    “ Ouch, that’s kinda
harsh.”
    “ Yeah. I know it sounds
like I overreacted, but it was something that just
snowballed.”
    “ No, I can see how that
might be a symptom of a larger problem.”
    “ Yes. Exactly! I probably
should have been more vocal, but to say something would just have
started a fight. I should have never let it get that
far.”
    “ Seriously, why did you
propose in the first place?”
    “ It was the thing to do I
guess.”
    “ I’m sure she’ll be fine,
Michael.”
    “ Oh, here’s the kicker.
This happened a week ago today. She’s already