Read WhiskeyBottleLover for Free Online Page B

along with true and righteous good.
There had to be a balance and somehow he factored into that.
    “So, what, you were just living your life and bam, you wake
up inside a bottle, destined to grant wishes to people? It doesn’t make sense
to me.” Chance leaned back in her chair and stared at him, waiting.
    Hayes thought about telling her the truth, how he was tricked
into the bottle, but what did it matter? In a short time he would be back
inside and waiting for the next person. Depending on what she wished for, her
life would go on without a hitch and he’d soon be forgotten. “It doesn’t have
to make sense, darlin’. It just is. You better eat while your food is warm.”
    He sat there, uncomfortable under her scrutinizing stare,
but kept his lips sealed. She wouldn’t be the one to free him. He knew that all
the way down to his old bones. Chance had a good life and he would not screw it
up any more than he already had.
    “What kind of name is Chance for a woman anyway?” he asked
as she served the lasagna.
    “I was found by chance in an abandoned building. Left to
die, I suppose, or maybe my mother had died and couldn’t return to me. I have
no idea. Anyway, I became part of the system and the woman who handled my case
named me. Apparently she was into unique names.”
    “Left to die?” He couldn’t fathom it. Not this beautiful,
vibrant woman. “How old were you?”
    “Not even a year old.”
    “No family took you in?”
    “Yeah, for a while until I got a little older and then I
started getting shuffled around from one family to another. Most of them were
polite, fed me, clothed me, put a roof over my head, but something was
missing.” She shrugged, picked up her fork and took a bite of her food. “When I
turned eighteen I walked away from the system.”
    Hayes mulled that over a bit. She had no family, no one to
miss her if she suddenly vanished. A prime candidate to take his place. No, he
couldn’t do it. Life had already been hard for her.
    “I’m truly sorry about your past, Chance. Have you found
what was missin’ yet?”
    “No.” She continued to eat without adding any further
commentary.
    Silence stretched between them and Hayes didn’t mind. He
savored each bite of real food, good food, and committed it to memory in case
he didn’t get the chance to eat again for a long while. If he learned anything
from this poor excuse for a life, it was to appreciate every little thing that
came along.
    “What about you? Did you have family?” she asked and then
took a sip of wine.
    Hayes pulled on those memories hard but could bring little
forward. “I did at one time. The eighteen hundreds were hard, dangerous. What I
remember is bein’ alone for a good bit. Just me workin’ where I could, gettin’
by. The bottle fades a lot of memories. I suppose it’s a good thing.”
    “Why?”
    She honestly looked stunned at that. He shrugged. “If I had
family, people who cared about me, people I loved, it would be torture to know
they’ve already lived and died without me. It’s hard to miss what you didn’t
have.”
    “That’s true,” she whispered.
    When she got up to clear the table he held out his hand to
stop her. “Let me.” In a split second the dishes were clean and put away. Even
the leftover food found its way into the refrigerator. “The least I can do for
the hospitality. Thank you for sharin’, Chance. It’s a rare treat for me. Now
I’ll return the favor.”
    Chance gasped when a big chocolate cake appeared in the
center of the table. He didn’t know why he chose that but it appeared to be the
right thing. After the sudden shock her eyes sparkled and she dipped her finger
into the icing and tasted.
    “Oh wow, that’s good.”
    A knife appeared in his hand. He cut a slab, placed it in
front of her and grinned like a damn fool as she dug in. Did people understand
that the little things were this important in life? That a simple cake could
bring a person joy? He doubted it.