“Hello,” Frank said to Mary. Then, “Don’t worry, Lawrence, I won’t be here long.” Frank hoped they didn’t notice his shaking hands as he accepted the plastic cup of water from the bartender. He took a long sip as, behind them, the band started into a new song. “Just needed to rest a bit before heading back out.”

“You can stay there as long as you need to.” Mary’s words were quiet enough that when the man next to her spoke again, his loud words crawled all over hers.

“Mary and I were just talking about birds. She’s got these groovy earrings, and I thought, ‘Hey, we have something in common!’” Lawrence gestured to the tiny gold birds on Mary’s ears. His words were just this side of slurred, as if another big gulp of his warm beer would push him over the edge. “I love birds, man. Like that one.” He pointed to a framed photo of a black-and-white bird behind the bar. “Love those seagulls. They’re so happy all the time.”

“That’s not a seagull,” Mary said.

Lawrence looked down at her, then back at the photo. “Sure it is.”

“Nope.” She squeezed a little more lime in her drink and took a sip. “It’s called a red-billed tropicbird. See those long tail feathers? And the red beak?”

Lawrence was silent a moment, then he jabbed her in the shoulder. “You’re pulling my leg. I see these birds all the time.”

“Actually you don’t,” Frank spoke up. “The closest they come to us is down in the Caribbean.” Frank glanced at Mary. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to jump in.”

A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “It’s perfectly fine.”

They remained like that a few seconds longer, their eyes locked onto each other, until Lawrence pushed away from the bar and walked off. His movement jostled them back to reality.

“I think I ran your date off.” Frank fiddled with the edge of his cup.

“He wasn’t my date.”

“Trust me, he wanted to be.”

“Nah. He just wants a girl and I fit the minimum requirement.”

Behind her, Frank saw Lawrence sling his heavy arm around another young woman standing right in front of the stage. He whispered something to her, and she giggled and pulled him closer.

“I think you may be right. Glad I saved you from him.”

“I was doing just fine on my own, thanks. Though if you were planning to come help, it would have been nice if you’d shown up before he put his sweaty hand on my back.”

He let out a quiet chuckle. “Sorry about that. I was trying to work up the nerve to come sit next to you.” Heat flamed under his skin as she settled her warm brown gaze on him.

“Work up the nerve?” Her eyebrows lifted. “Last time I checked, schoolteachers weren’t all that scary.”

“Ah, you’re a teacher. So that’s why you know so much about birds.”

She tilted her head. “Not really. My interest in birds came long before I started teaching.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.