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Chapter 5 - Wren

The beef stew from the night before had done the trick and Wren was able to fall into a dreamless sleep for a few hours. She woke up feeling better than she had in a very long time and got herself dressed into a pair of jeans and an army green sweater. She slipped her feet into a pair of camel colored low heel boots Julie had managed to grab for her before she left and she went to the bathroom to start her makeup.

She had been covering bruises for a year and she felt like she did a pretty good job at it. She opened up her makeup bag and dabbed a layer of concealer over the bruise and under her lip where you could still see some red swelling and a healing cut. After about 30 minutes of layering, she thought she had covered up her past well enough that you could only tell if you were looking.

Wren sat on the bed with Sylvia’s note in hand and began dialing. She called the diner and left s voicemail, then the bowling alley, and finally she called the pawn shop. She didn’t know anything about buying valuables, but she had sold several in order to get enough money to make it somewhere safe.

“Hello, Four Leaf Pawn Shop, Jasper here,” the gruff voice of an older man answered.

“Um, hi… My name is Wr- I mean Ellie,” she said, stuttering over her new name. “Sylvia gave me this number. I’m nee in town and I’m looking for work.”

The man chuckled, which resulted in a small coughing fit. “Sylvia, always sending people our way… let me tell ya something, if you’re just an addict…” the man began but was interrupted by another man’s voice. She heard a bit of a discussion on the other end and then someone grabbed the phone.

“Hi, uh, Ellie?” A familiar man’s voice came on the other end. Does Sylvia’s son own this business, too?

“Yes, that’s me,” Wren answered, trying to get used to her new name.

“This is Liam, we met last night. Can you actually make it into the bar in about 45 minutes? I have a position available there, also, if you’re interested?” He said. His voice was soothing in a way she couldn’t explain. He sounded like someone who didn’t mince words, and his voice was authoritative without being scary. It sent shivers up her spine.

“Um, yeah,” Wren said, taking out a notepad and her pen. “Whats the address?”

“81 South Gallagher Street,” he said and she could hear him flipping through papers. “See you soon.”

The phone hung up and Wren felt confused. She was happy to find something so easily, no doubt Sylvia’s doing, but she was worried about the work itself. She had worked in a bar for years, but she knew what kind of people to expect. She had met Nick at the bar…

She was going to take any job offered to her, though. She wouldn’t get by much longer without one. And of she needed to, she could pick up and leave quickly, though she would feel bad doing that to Sylvia.

Wren mapped the location and found it would take her about 20 minutes to walk there, so she grabbed her jacket and the bowl from dinner the night before along with her wallet and walked out the door towards the lobby of the motel.

The bell above the lobby door dinged and Wren walked up to the counter where Sylvia was scribbling in a large calendar.

“Good morning, dear,” she said with a smile so bright that it made Wren smile. She had bright pink lipstick on today and matching glasses with her red hair perfectly styled.

“Morning,” wren said, setting the bowl on the counter. “Thank you for the stew, it was delicious. You didn’t have to do that…”

Sylvia took the bowl and placed it on the desk behind the counter. “Nonsense, I love cooking and you looked like you could use a nice home cooked meal.”

Wren smiled and shoved her hands in her jacket pocket. “I’m going to walk down to the bar soon. Do you own that as well?”

Sylvia laughed in a warm, TV sitcom mom kind of way that brought joy. “No, dear. My son owns the Motel and the bar, along with the pawn shop, a mechanic shop, and a tattoo parlor.”

“So, I’m sorry to ask but,” Wren began, nervous because she didn’t want to upset Sylvia, and she definitely did not want to upset Liam. “But I noticed his jacket…are these legitimate businesses?”

“Oh, yes,” Sylvia said, leaning on the counter. “His club is made up of Veterans. Old and young. The most questionable thing they may do is intimidate people looking to make trouble.”

Wren smiled, blushing. “Oh, okay, sorry for asking, I didn’t mean…”

“Nonsense, dear. No need to apologize. My son and his friends look a bit rough around the edges, and they are, but Liam has a heart of gold once you can crack through all of the muck around it,” Sylvia winked at Wren, making her blush more.

“I had better be going, thank you, again,” wren said, walking toward the exit. “Pork chops is on the menu for tonight! If you don’t fee like eating alone, you are welcome to join me at 6PM.”

Wren smiled and waved before leaving.