Page 4 of No One's Like You
"Because it's the right thing," the man cuts her off, smoothing the shirt he's wearing as if it had a wrinkle. "What I earn is more than enough for you to stop going to that place."
Ellie Trahan lets out a laugh that leaves Marcel astonished. She shakes her head as the traces of laughter disappear and her green eyes darken like a forest in the middle of the night.
"And that," she points at him angrily, "is another reason why this relationship is dead. You've become stuck in another era where the woman stays at home raising her children alone while the alpha male brings in the money.You married someone with a different mindset, Marcel. I never lied to you, I showed you everything about me and yet you've dedicated yourself to trying to change me. You've always seen the bar as a hobby and no, it's not. It has cost us a lot of effort, it's my dream and I'm fulfilling it."
"To have a family..."
"Stop it already, damn it," this time Ellie raises her voice, tired of the same old song. "We're not going to have a family; I don't want to have a family with you. This doesn't work and I've been trying for a long time, but you really can't fix something when we're both pulling in different directions."
Marcel becomes thoughtful. His expression is one of confusion, as if he doesn't understand what Ellie means. He knows couples have problems, arguments, or differences, but marriages always get fixed. His parents have been through a lot and yet his mother has always forgiven his father's indiscretions; she stayed at home raising him and his siblings and, almost forty years later, they're still together. As it should be.
"I'm going to the bar," says Ellie upon seeing that Marcel has remained like a dimwit in the middle of the living room. "When I return, I hope not to see you here. I'm sorry this didn't work out."
Ellie grabs her purse and the keys from the entry table. She understands that she's been abrupt, but she couldn't act any other way. Marcel and his square mind have never understood reason and, if she doesn't end it this way, she'll remain trapped in a marriage that doesn't work.
While driving to the Early, she thinks about her new failure. Another relationship that ends abruptly, just like that. It's as if Ellie gets a small battery in her heart when she starts dating a guy and, suddenly, it runs out of energy and desire. Her mother—who has been married four times—says that a woman should always be accompanied, that life is to be lived as a couple and that, if one doesn't work, you try with another. But Ellie never feels truly fulfilled; her longest relationship has been with Ruby, her lifelong best friend, and most of the time she feels she doesn't need anything more.
"Shit," Ellie blurts out when she enters the bar and trips over a couple of boxes and, after trying to push them away roughly, she hurts herself.
Ruby, who was crouched down at the refrigerator restocking cold drinks, stands up and approaches her friend quickly.
"What's wrong?" she asks anxiously at the sight of her friend's pained expression.
"I got a pull in my back," Ellie huffs, moving with pain.
Ruby positions herself behind her, raises both hands, and begins to massage Ellie from her neck to the middle of her back. She has large hands and skillful fingers. Ellie closes her eyes and almost moans with pleasure because her friend gives the best massages in the universe that also relieve any ailment.
"I don't understand how you're so good at this," Ellie murmurs with her eyes closed, feeling Ruby gently pressing her muscles.
"A girl has her secrets; besides, this is a gift," Ruby responds with her usual cocky tone.
"Why hasn't Marcel learned to give me these massages like you do?"
It's an innocent comment, Ruby knows, but she can't help tensing up. She wants to tell her that neither Marcel, nor James, nor Jake have loved her the way she does, and that's why their caresses don't feel the same. Obviously, she doesn't even open her mouth; she settles for what she's had all her life: a friendship with Ellie, seeing her every day at the bar, having her for a few hours all to herself every Wednesday, and being able to touch her this way while feeling her friend melt under her touch.
She sighs; sometimes the weight of years of a secret love is too much for her.
Chapter 3
Girls' Wednesday.
Ellie arrives at the bar door when it's just minutes before seven in the evening. It's Wednesday, the famous girls' Wednesday that she shares every week with Ruby, but she feels she needs this one more than ever. She uses her key to enter and locks it from inside when she hears noise within, which means her friend is already inside. Ellie drops her purse on one of the tables, allows herself a few seconds to enjoy the silence that reigns inside the bar, and then approaches the counter, where Ruby stands with her back turned, finishing up something.
"Hi," Ellie greets, sitting on a stool like a customer.
"Right on time," Ruby says, turning toward her with a cocktail, and not just any cocktail, but a Ramos Gin Fizz, her favorite.
"Oh my God," Ellie marvels, "you made it for me."
It's not that the cocktail has anything special or its ingredients are hard to get, but it takes time to make itright, and only Ruby has managed to find that perfect touch that Ellie loves.
"I had time and I think you need it," she says, sliding it toward her. "On Monday you seemed a bit off, and yesterday we didn't see each other all day, so I wasn't sure if you were feeling better."
Ellie swallows as her hands wrap around the glass. On Monday she didn't tell Ruby anything about her argument with Marcel, she needed to clear up some things first, and yesterday they didn't see each other because she took the day off, so she'll do it today.
"I hope this cheers you up," Ruby finishes, and Ellie can't take it anymore and bursts into tears suddenly.
"Ellie..." Ruby says, both surprised and concerned.
