Chapter Three: Birds of a Feather

I wonder if Chuck’s available to go to the Summer Festival today?

He had said no a couple of days ago but maybe since it’s the weekend he’ll be available. I was unsure if he’d want to go though since he had acted so weird the night I stayed after work. I was confused at what had happened since that night. When Chuck had left with Honey, he had completely ignored me and it happened after he talked to Johnny. He almost seemed to be avoiding me. The whole thing was weird.

At least the recording session had gone well. We ended up staying at the recording studio till midnight. My job was to run around and get anything that the producers and musicians needed. Throughout the evening, I got to occasionally sit and watch the recording process. The group had a girl drummer and two guy guitar players. At one point they asked Johnny and me to jam with them on the keyboard and piano.

 

 

 

 

Johnny was really good about explaining all the technical stuff and helped me understand what was going on. He really was a good teacher. He made sure that all his employees were learning while working for him.

 

 

I had surprisingly gotten more comfortable around him. I could at least have a conversation with him without sounding like an idiot and I had learned that he really was a friendly guy. He seemed to be pretty happy with me work too. Just the other day he called me into his office to tell me I had earned a promotion.

 

After getting ready, I picked up my cell and called Chuck.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey Chuck, it’s Amanda.”

 

“Oh…hi”

 

“Hey I was wondering if you weren’t working if you’d like to go to the Summer Festival?”

 

“I don’t think I can make it Amanda. I have to be somewhere in a couple of hours.”

 

“Well, what about somewhere else?” Is it me or is he trying to avoid me?

 

“Well…I guess I could. How about the Karaoke bar. But I can’t stay very long.”

 

“Okay. Maybe you can teach this city girl to sing country.”

 

“Uh…sure.”

 

I hung up and couldn’t shake the feeling that he was trying to avoid me. I was going to get to the bottom of this. I grabbed my purse and took a cab to the Karaoke bar. Not long after I arrived, Chuck pulled up. He was wearing his police uniform which I thought was odd since I didn't think he worked on weekends. There was always the possibility that he got called into work.

 

We went inside and I was about to ask him if he wanted to sing but he quickly cut me off.

 

“Look, Amanda. I really have somewhere I need to be. I only came cause I felt bad that I told you that I would do something with you. I just really don’t have the time.”

 

“Really? Well next time don’t bother. If the only reason you came was because you felt bad then by all means go, do what you need to do. Won’t bother me one bit.”

 

He got a really sad look in his eyes. He started to say something and stopped himself. I had no idea what was going on. He seemed so friendly the night I met him and it all changed after he and Johnny talked at work that one night. Maybe I had done something that offended him. I tried to think what I had done but was drawing a blank. I decided that the only way I was going to find out was to ask him.

 

“Chuck..”

 

“I gotta go. I’m sorry Amanda. I’m just really sorry.”

 

 

 

With that, he got in his truck and drove off. I stood there in disbelief. After thinking about what had just happened for several moments, I decided to head back home. As I rode in the cab I tried to once again think of what had happened that had caused Chuck’s change towards me. No matter how many times I went over events, I couldn’t figure it out. By the time I got home, I was frustrated and mad.
I had just moved to Appaloosa and it seemed like I had already lost a friend and I wasn’t fitting in very well with most people I met.

Maybe I shouldn’t have moved here. I don’t seem to belong and all I hear about is how different I am because I'm a city girl.

I needed to do something fun to get my mind off of everything. I decided to go to Port a Party since Josy had suggested I check it out. I called a cab and soon I was on my way there. I walked inside and immediately went to the bar to get a drink. I was about half way done with my drink when I noticed a man staring at me out of the corner of my eye. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a creep staring at me.

Great! Now I have to deal with this.

I turned my head so I could glare at him. I had just made eye contact when I realized that it was Johnny. I got up and walked over to him.

“Hey Johnny! Sorry if I gave you a weird look. I saw someone looking at me out of the corner of my eye and didn’t know who it was.”

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you. I just walked in and noticed you sitting at the bar.”

“That’s okay. I haven’t had the greatest day so I’m kind of on edge.”

“Hope nothing work related.”

“No. Work is great!”

“Oh good! So how are you liking Appaloosa Plains?”

“I really like it so far. Most people seem really nice.” Most, unless they’re named Chuck.

“Good! Are you meeting someone here?”

“No, I’ve never been here and Josy had told me that it was a fun place. After the day I’ve had I thought it might be just what I needed.”

“What happened?”

“I’m just feeling out of place and like I don’t really belong. Did you ever feel that way when you moved here from the city?"

 

“I did a little. At that time there was a guy working in the office who was a city transplant like myself. We became friends and hung out some until he moved away. By that point I had lived here long enough that I had made other friends. If he hadn’t been working here I suppose I would have been pretty lonely.”

“That must have been nice for you.”

“You know…if you ever want to hang out with a fellow city transplant, I’m available.”

Although that sounded nice, there was still the fact that he was my boss and hanging out with your boss probably wasn’t looked to well upon at the office. “That’s really nice of you to offer, Johnny but wouldn’t hanging out with my boss kind of cause some issues at work?”

 

“Well you technically wouldn’t be hanging out with your boss. I’m being transferred to a different group. The announcement will be made this week at work.”

 

I was taken aback for a moment and thought about what he had just said to me. If he wasn’t going to be my boss any more than it should be okay for us to be friends and do things together. Then another thought occurred to me. This whole time I had feelings for him and had kept them buried because he was my boss…

“Well if that’s the case, then I don’t see why we can’t be seen together.” I joked with him.

As the night continued we listened to the singer that had taken the stage and talked. We each talked about things we missed from the city and our favorite things in Appaloosa. Our conversation eventually turned to dating.

“So why aren’t you here with a date? Surely you’re seeing someone.” Johnny questioned me.

“Uh, no. I guess I’m not many guys’ type here. To be honest, no one has really indicated that they are interested.”

“That’s probably because their afraid you’ll say no.”

“Why would guys think that?”

“Well, I mean, with you being so beautiful and all, they’re probably afraid of getting rejected.”

Wait, did he just say I’m beautiful? “Um…Well…”

“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that it’s pretty hard not to notice how pretty you are.”

The blood rushed to my face and I looked down. “That’s…really nice of you to say.” I realized that I had never heard anyone mention Johnny having a girlfriend. “How about you? Surely you’re seeing someone?”

 

“No, I think I’m in the same boat as you. Oh, not that women see me and think “He’s so good looking” and are afraid that I’ll reject them. More so the fact that I’m not their “type.” You know us city folk are kind of weird to these here country folk.”

“Don’t I know it. I get reminded daily of how I’m just a city girl and I can’t possibly do certain things because of it. It’s annoying…and I don’t agree with you about women not thinking you’re good looking. I think you’re very handsome.” He looked at me and smiled which caused me to look down.

 

There was a long silence between us. I looked at Johnny and he was looking down at the ground. It looked like he was thinking about something but I wasn’t sure. I looked at the stage and watched some people setting up for what looked like a performance.

“Amanda,” I looked up at him “there’s something that I want to tell you, but I’m not sure how you’ll take it. You see, I’ve had feelings for you since the first day you arrived in Appaloosa. I tried to bury them and forget them, but they wouldn’t go away. I’m sure you probably don’t feel the same and I hope that even though I told you, there won’t be any awkwardness between us. ” He had a sad look on his face which I guessed was due to him really believing that I was about to reject him.

“Actually, Johnny, I have to confess something to you. Remember when I first came to town you gave me a tour of the theater? I immediately felt something and since then I’ve fought to keep my feelings buried since you were my boss.”

“You…have feelings for me?” He looked floored as I nodded my head. “So, would you like to go on an actual date with me? After the announcement at work, of course.”

“I’d like that very much.”

 

Several days later it was announced at work that Johnny was moving to the songwriting team and that a new boss would be hired for my group soon. Johnny had told me when the announcement was going to be made so I had to act surprised but I couldn’t help stealing glances at him.

 

After work, I headed home to change clothes. I checked myself out in the mirror and then hopped in a cab. We had decided to meet back at Port a Party after work. After arriving, I started looking around for Johnny but didn’t see him so I grabbed a seat at the bar. I was about to order a drink when Johnny came up behind me.

“Do you want to dance?”

“Sure!”

A slow song had started to play as we walked over to a spot closer to the stage. He pulled me in close and we started to dance. We danced a little while before either one of us spoke.

“Amanda, are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean, I am older than you and we do still technically work together.”


“Johnny, our age difference doesn’t bother me and why would working together bother me? It just means that I get to see you more.”

“Well, I suppose that is an added benefit.” He joked with me. We spent the rest of the night dancing and talking. The more we talked, the more we realized that we had a ton in common. We completely lost track of time.

“Sorry Mr. Johnson, but we’re closing.” The owner warned us. Johnny and I both looked around and realized that we were the only people left. Johnny looked at his watch and we realized how late it was.

“I should drive you home. Sorry we lost track of time.” He apologized to the owner. We headed to my house and spent several minutes talking outside. We decided to go out again the next night before he said goodnight.

“I had a wonderful time tonight.”

“So did I. Thanks for showing this city girl a fun time.”

“My pleasure. Until tomorrow night then.” He reached down, grabbed my hand and kissed it.

I smiled as he walked toward his car and stood in my doorway until he pulled away I thought about the night as I turned to go into the house and felt my heart flutter. I went into the bedroom and laid on my bed thinking about Johnny.

Life is funny. You think you’ve got it all figured out and then something happens that turns it upside down. When I first arrived in Appaloosa I had dreams of meeting a dark, handsome cowboy. Now I want nothing to do with cowboys and was falling for a man who was once a city dweller like myself.