‘I just can’t believe they all kept this from me.’

Mickey gave me a soft, thoughtful look. ‘You know, I can kind of relate.’

My eyes shot back to him. ‘Really?’ I said, taking another sip. ‘Are you adopted, too?’

‘Nah,’ he said, ‘But my mom did lie to me for most of my life. When I was a kid she told me that my dad had died in a car accident just after I was born. But I found out last year that she’d lied. Turns out he just wanted nothing to do with us and split before I was even born. Guess she was trying to protect me and didn’t know how tell a little kid that.’

I leaned forward, placing my hands down on the bar. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from his. They were a golden brown, with flecks of green sprinkled along the edges. I’d never noticed before.

‘I’m so sorry, that’s horrible,’ I said, trying to keep my words steady. The whiskey was fighting to take control.

He shifted his weight, clearing his throat as he pulled his gaze away from mine and back down to his bar rag. His shaggy brown hair momentarily covered his face like a curtain. We’d never spoken this openly to one other before. Usually Andie dominated the conversation, keeping things loud and light-hearted. Looking down, I noticed how close my hand rested next to his and I could feel electricity bouncing between our fingers. Or maybe it was the whiskey. I quickly pulled my hand back to my glass and took another sip. Mickey leaned in to wipe down the area in front of me and I caught a warm, woodsy scent wafting off him. I ran a hand through my hair, hoping it didn’t look like a rat’s nest after storming around the neighborhood. Suddenly, I became very self-conscious about how potent my whiskey-breath must smell and leaned away from him, nearly losing my balance. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice.

Finally, he said, ‘Yeah, it was rough. I was helping her clean out the basement and we found a dusty old box of his stuff. She finally cracked and told me the truth. Said it’d been eating away at her and she couldn’t hide it from me any longer. Things have been a little tense since then.’

I was captivated by his story and although I knew it was wrong, I was glad Mickey had experienced something similar to my mess. It made me feel less alone. I had a missed call notification from my mom lingering from earlier that day. I pushed down the thought.

‘So, what happened then? Did you find your dad?’