George - Chapter Five: Analysis vs. Opinion - Part Two

***Warning for launguage***

“Hi there, Tiger.” I heard a whisper slightly behind me.

I closed my eyes and thought how surely I hadn’t missed spotting her earlier. I slowly turned around making sure that I had regained my composure.  “You’ve got me at loss.” I admitted as I stood up.

“Why’s that?”

“Because all I can call you is Steph. Whereas you call me Tiger.”

“Well surely someone as smart and observant as you could come up with something.” She said while smiling.

“I. . .think I’m going to go check out the foosball table.” Trev excused himself.

I waited till he had left and then looked back at her. She was still looking at me smirking. “I’m. . .really sorry about last night.”

“Why?”

I sighed and looked down for a moment as I thought back to what I had said to her. “Because it was wrong to do.”

“I asked you to do it, remember?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I should have. I don’t go around doing that, analyzing people out loud.  I just. . .the last thing I was trying to do was hurt your feelings. . .” I sighed. As much as I was trying to apologize, It was coming out all wrong. I couldn’t find the right words and I knew it was coming across as insincere.

“You’re worried that you hurt my feelings and that I’m upset because I may not have liked what you said.” That was exactly what I had been trying to say but couldn’t. 

“Yes.”

“Look, it’s okay. I’m not crushed, I’m not pissed, I’m not hurt. I figured that’s what you thought about me.”

“Wait, what I think about you and analyzing you is different from each other.”

“How can that be?”

“I have to analyze people every day. I need to know what could possibly affect someone to act or think in a certain way. Like, let’s say. . .” I looked over at Trev and thought of something. “Take Trev. Let’s say he was a patient of mine. He comes in and he says, what at least half my patients say, which is ‘I really don’t know why I’m here.’ I have nothing to go off of. They don’t know why they’re there, I don’t know why they’re there. So I have to start making observations, or analyzing them. Does their appearance tell me anything? What about their mannerisms? Then we start talking, about anything, which allows me to briefly observe their personality.  For a whole hour I observe/analyze them trying to connect dots with all three of those things; appearance, mannerisms, and communication. But that’s all they are; they’re only observations.” She looked confused and Ethan informed her that her drinks were ready.

“I’ll be back.” She told me. I watched as she delivered the drinks to a table of guys and spent a minute talking to them. She checked on another table and wrote something down before heading back to the bar. “I need a Bud and a Bloody Mary, Ethan.” She turned back to me. “Okay. . .what?” 

I scrunched my face trying think of a way that I could explain it better to her. I looked back over at Trev. “I hate to use Trev as an example but I can’t explain this without giving you a specific example; and I definitely can’t use an actual patient as an example. So, yes he’s my brother, and yes I’ve known him my whole life; but, he doesn’t tell me everything and there are certain things that I don’t know for certain. Like, why does he act the way he does, because no one else in our family does. But if I just observed him I’d tell you that he cares very much about his appearance because it’s obvious he works out.”

“Yeah, but you know he’s a football player.” She protested.

“Never mind that; pretend I didn’t. He’s muscular and he dresses nice which tells people he cares about his appearance.” She nodded. “Okay, now his behavior; he’s having a little trouble walking. . .” I shook my head, he was already on his way to getting plastered. “He’s talking to a lot of different people, he’s larger than life in his actions and how he talks to people. Was there anything that I said about him that stands out more than the rest.”

“Drinks are up, Steph.”

She sighed. “I’ll be back again.” I watched as she again delivered drinks and took another drink order. She returned to the bar.“Two Mudslides, Ethan.” She turned and looked at Trev. “I’d say the fact that he’s having trouble walking.”

“Okay, what would cause that?”

“Really, we’re at a bar. . .”

“I know, but just humor me.”

“Fine, drinking too much?”

“Exactly. Now what if you observed that happening over and over again, what would you think?”

“That maybe they need to be more careful about their drinking.”

“Wouldn’t you at some point think they’re a drunk?”

She thought for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I would.”

“Okay, stop there. Don’t make any judgments about what you normally think about someone that would be labeled a drunk.”

“How do you do that?!”

“Just try not to. Now, why would someone do that, drink a lot repeatedly.”

“I don’t know, probably why a lot of people do, to forget, dull some kind of pain.” I smiled. “What?”

“Now think about what you would normally think about a drunk person. How you’d react to them, how they would react to you, what they look like. . .Is that what you think of Trevor? Because he drinks too much repeatedly.”

“No! I would think that maybe there was something that was causing him to drink that much. Like I said, maybe he was trying to forget something, dull some kind of pain.”

“So what you observed about him is different than what you think. You observed that he probably drinks too much and it’s possibly because he’s trying to forget some kind of pain.  But what do you think about Trev?”

“I think for the most part, he’s a fun, nice, and caring guy.”

“What you observed about him is different than what you think about him. . .” That’s when I saw the light bulb go off.

“Steph, drinks are up.” She turned around and got the drinks. She nicely, but quickly delivered them to the table and checked on her remaining tables before returning.

“So you observe people but don’t judge them?”

“Exactly; at least I try not to. When I observe people, whether it’s in my office or at a party, that’s all it is; observations about their appearance, mannerisms, and communicating. I don’t judge why they do it I just observe that they do it and wonder why; what would cause them to do a particular thing.”

“Here’s what I don’t understand, why, if you spend your whole day observing or analyzing people would you want to do it outside of work. Doesn’t it get old or tedious?”

“I like the challenge of trying to figure out a puzzle. Probably one of the reasons I became a psychologist.”

“But why do you look at all people as puzzles? Why can’t you just enjoy being with them? Enjoy their company, their personality. . .why do you need to always ‘solve a puzzle?’”

“I do enjoy just being with people; but more so with people I know then strangers. I usually analyze people I don’t know. I guess partly because I figure they won’t ever know I’m doing it and also because it takes away the uneasiness I feel around people I don’t know.”

She chuckled. “You? You get uneasy around people you don’t know?”

“Don’t you?”

“Do you always answer a question with another question?”

“Do you?”

We stood there looking at each other for a moment; neither one of us wanting to give in to the other. I finally broke the silence. “Anyway, the point I was making earlier was that I am sorry for what happened last night and whether or not you think it was okay, I don’t.”

“And like I said, it’s okay, so you don’t have to keep apologizing.”

I stood there trying to determine if I should let it go or ask the question that had been bugging me all day.  Before I could ask Charlotte was walking up with a drink order.

“Hey Ethan, I need a chardonnay and a merlot.” He smiled at her and nodded. I noticed that they briefly kept looking at each other before they both looked away. 

“Hmm. . .” Steph voiced. “That’s different.”

“Something I’ll have to give her a hard time about later.” I looked at Steph and she was already looking at me shaking her head.

“What?”

“Do you all go around giving each other a hard time about stuff like that?”

“Yeah, don’t all siblings?”

“Again, answering a question with a question. . .I wouldn’t know.”

“You don’t have any brothers or sisters?”

I watched as the emotion disappeared from her. Her usually expressive eyes became emotionless and the smile that had been on her face just moments before was replaced with a blank expression. “No.” She simply stated.

“Hey Steph," Charlotte called us over. "What section are you serving in?” Charlotte came up and asked. I couldn’t believe her timing. Couldn’t she see that Steph and I were actually having a conversation? Steph looked at her and seemed to snap out of whatever she had been thinking about. My guess was she had been thinking about her family, maybe even her dad.

“Section 3; why?”

I turned and noticed that Charlotte looked really worried. She motioned with her head over towards a table and we all looked to where she motioned. Sitting at a table was Tony, looking back at the three of us. I felt the urge to let the bastard feel my fist in his face and was slightly shocked when I felt my hand ball into a fist. I turned my attention to Steph and noticed that she surprisingly looked calm.

“Do you want to switch sections?” Charlotte offered.


 

Steph continued to look over at Tony who was now smirking. “No, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Charlotte asked.

“Yeah.” She started walking over to the table but was stopped before getting there by another table requesting something. She wrote down what they wanted and then continued to Tony’s table. As she got closer to the table I could feel my heart beat faster. I kept my eyes glued on him the whole time as she took his drink order. When she turned her back to head to the bar he looked at me and smirked. I knew exactly what he was doing and I had to fight the urge to walk over to him and give him a piece of my mind.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Charlotte wondered.

“He’s marking his territory.” I stated.

“What?! The bar?”

“No. . .her.” I said as I looked over at Steph who was getting drinks at the bar. “He’s letting everyone know that she’s his. He may even be trying to convince her to get back together with him.”

“She wouldn’t do that. . .would she?”

I looked back over at Steph. If someone had asked me that question a couple days ago I would have said that I thought there was a chance that she would get back together with him. She had started dating him in the first place so maybe she would go back with him. But now, I wasn’t so sure, and knowing how guys like Tony could react when they didn’t get their way, made me start to really worry about what he might do.

“Hey, what are you all looking at?” Trev joined us.

“Tony’s here and he’s sitting in Steph’s section.”

“Where?” Charlotte again motioned with her head to where Tony was sitting.

When I looked back over to the bar, Steph was starting to make her way to one table with their drinks. Ethan and I made eye contact and he nodded before looking back over to where Tony was.

“Why can’t he be banned from here?” Trev wondered.

“Because he hasn’t done anything.” Charlotte said.

“He tried to beat up Steph.” Trev argued.

“That technically didn’t happen here. We may not like him but we are required to serve him.”

“Then what the hell is the point of having that bouncer guy out front?”

“To keep people from entering that have been thrown out, and to make sure underage people aren’t getting in.”

“That’s just fucking stupid.” Trev huffed. “You should be keeping assholes like him out.”

The whole time they were having their discussion I continued to watch Steph. She delivered some drinks to a table of guys and chatted with them for a minute. She then made her way to Tony’s table to deliver his drink.

I watched as she placed his drink down and then he said something to her. She responded back and then turned to walk away. He stood up and grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around. I glanced at Ethan and he was starting to make his way out from behind the bar.

I started to slowly walk towards the table too. Tony noticed us moving toward the table and he and I once again made eye contact. He got a creepy smile on his face and then forcefully kissed Steph. 

As Ethan and I made our way to the table, Steph broke away from him and slapped him across the face. Tony scowled at her and raised his hand, just like I had seen him do in the alleyway. Ethan and I reached the table at the same time and I would have been more than happy to break his arm, but Ethan grabbed it before me.

“I think it’s time for you to leave.” Ethan commented.

“Who the hell are you to tell me to leave? I can come in here and get a damn drink if I want.”

“Getting a drink is perfectly acceptable, but acting that way towards the employees here, isn’t.” Ethan narrowed his eyes at Tony.

“Employee? She’s nothing more than a fucking whore!” I stepped forward and was about to deck him when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over and saw Steph standing next to me shaking her head.

“You can either leave, or you’ll be forcefully removed.” Ethan explained.

“Holy shit you little cunt! Are you sleeping with all of them?” Tony accused.

I grabbed him by the throat and was about to let him have it when Trev stepped in. “How about we show this asshole the door, Ethan.”

“Can’t say that anything would give me greater pleasure.” As Ethan and Trev forced him towards the door I followed behind them. Tony fought and cused the whole time.

“You can’t fucking do this to me! This is fucking bullshit! All this fuss over a stupid slut?! This is fucking ridiculous! Get your god damn hands off me!” The bouncer opened the doors and Trev and Ethan threw Tony on the ground.

“Don’t ever come back here. If you do, I’ll have you arrested.” Ethan told him.

“You can’t do that! You’re just a stupid fucking bartender!”

“I may be a bartender, but I’m also part owner of this bar; and I don’t think my partner is going to have a problem banning you from here.” I was shocked. I had no idea that Ethan was part owner of the bar.

Tony stood up and narrowed his eyes at the three of us. “Hmph. . .It doesn’t matter anyway. I can get a drink from tons of other places. . .” He looked right at me. “. . .and there are other ways to get what I want.” He smirked and walked away.

Trev and Ethan turned to walk back inside. “Wait.” I told them and they turned around. “The more I find out about this guy, the more I realize how dangerous he could be. Charlotte told me that he sometimes waits for Steph to get off work and watches as they leave. Steph has even seen his car in the parking lot of Charlotte’s and her apartment building. He’s been basically stalking Steph and because Charlotte and her are friends and live in the same place, Charlotte is also, I feel, in some danger.” They both nodded. “You know Charlotte, if she thinks we’re watching out for her she’ll freak out.” They nodded again. “I can’t do shit in Appaloosa, but can both of you watch out for her?”

“That guy comes anywhere near Charlotte I’ll break his neck.” Trev promised.

“When you’re done, I’ll break what’s left.” Ethan stated.

“What about Steph. . .” I wondered.

“Well, like you said, they’re together a lot so if we’re keeping tabs on Charlotte then we’ll be doing the same for Steph.” Trev said.

“Yeah, and who knows, maybe after a while when he realizes that he isn’t getting anywhere he’ll give up.” Ethan added and Trev nodded in agreement. I didn’t say anything. If Tony was the type of guy I thought he was, he wasn’t going to “give up” so easily. We walked back into the bar and it was still buzzing from what happened. We looked around and didn’t see Charlotte or Steph and I started to slightly panic.

“They’re out back.” One of the other servers told us.

“I’ll be back in a minute. Patricia can fill in for me.” Ethan told her. The server nodded and went off to tell Patricia. We walked down the hallway that led to the back alleyway and exited the building. Charlotte and Steph were standing near a stack of boxes, talking. Steph had her back to us but Charlotte saw us walk out. She said something to Steph and walked over.

“I take it he’s gone.” She stated.

“Yeah, and I told him to never come back.” Ethan told her.

She nodded. “Thanks.” 

I looked over at Steph and she still had her back turned to us. “She just needs a minute.” Charlotte said.

I nodded. Charlotte walked back over to her and, after exchanging several words, she walked back over. “She says she’s fine, and that we should go back inside and she’ll come back inside in a minute.”

Trev and Ethan nodded and turned to walk inside. But I stayed put. “George, she wants to be alone.” Charlotte whispered to me.

“I’m not going to bother her, but she doesn’t need to be out here by herself.” I whispered back.

Charlotte sighed but nodded. The three of them walked inside and I leaned against the wall. I didn’t want to intrude on her thoughts so instead I directed my gaze to the sky. I was surprised that I could actually see several stars. I was once again reminded of the differences between the city and Appaloosa. If I had been standing in my yard in Appaloosa, I would have seen countless stars.

“You don’t have to stay out here, I’m fine. I just needed some fresh air.”

I quickly looked over at her and she had turned around. I stopped leaning against the wall but didn’t move towards her. “I know, I just didn’t think it was a good idea to leave you alone out here considering that it’s an alleyway.”

She slightly smiled. “So you think that alleyways are dangerous places now?”

I chuckled. “Someone once told me that they are. Someone even threatened to pepper spray me in one.”

She smiled and chuckled. “I think I’m ready to go back inside.” As she walked towards the door I stepped in front of it. She looked slightly annoyed. “Could you please move so I can go back inside?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The expression on her face quickly changed and once again her eyes were void of emotion.

“I told you, I’m fine.” I knew she wasn’t.  She wasn’t allowing herself to feel anything which was anything but fine. But I also knew that there was no way that she was going to open up to me. I just hoped that maybe she would open up to Charlotte or someone else.

“Please don’t.”

“What?”

“Play psychologist. Not right now.” She didn’t say it annoyingly like Trev or Charlotte usually did. It was more of a request.

I nodded. “I’m sorry. I won’t. Are you okay to go back inside now?” She nodded and I opened the door for her. We walked back inside in silence and when we entered the bar she walked up to Ethan. I saw Trev and Charlotte and walked up to them.

“Did she say anything to you?” Charlotte wondered.

“Not really. She’s not going to open up to me. Maybe to you since she’s known you longer, but not me.”  She nodded and went to go get a table’s drink order.

Trev and I agreed to stay until closing so we could walk out with Charlotte and Steph. The last customer left a little after two and Ethan locked the doors. The servers cleaned off the tables and Trev and I helped stack them on the tables while Ethan cleaned up the bar. When the cleanup was done, Ethan turned the lights off in the bar and we all walked out to the alleyway together.  Once outside the other servers said goodbye as we split off from the group.

“So, I guess the next time I’ll see you will be around Christmas.” Charlotte said to me.

“I guess so.” I admitted. 

“Be safe driving back to Appaloosa later.”

I smiled. “I will. You be careful going home.” I turned serious and also looked at Steph.

“I’m going to ride with them to the apartment building.” Ethan added.

Trev and I both nodded. That at least made me feel a little better I was still really concerned about Charlotte’s safety and I hated that I felt powerless to do anything since I lived so far away. “George. . .” Charlotte tried to pull me out of my thoughts. “I’ll be fine.” She tried to reassure me. I nodded. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. “Really, don’t worry. You’re always worrying about something. Promise me you won’t worry.”

“I promise.”

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that? I’ll talk to you soon and see you in a couple weeks.”

“Okay. Please be careful.”

“I will. . .”

As Trev and Charlotte said goodbye, Ethan hailed a cab and I walked over to Steph. 

We stood there in an awkward silence, neither one of us seeming to know what to say. I pretended to look around so I appeared to be doing something when I noticed the lamp pole in front of us and I let out a little laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Steph asked.

“I was just noticing where we are.”

“What? We’re standing on a sidewalk, outside the bar.”

“It also happens to be where you told me that alleyways are dangerous places.”

She looked around and then also laughed a little. “Glad to know you listened.”

“I’m actually a good listener, you know, goes along with being a psychologist.”

“Hmm. . .I never thought about that.”

“So can I assume you’re going to take your own advice about alleyways and keep an eye open for dangerous things or. . .people?”

She nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been living here for several years now. And as far as dangerous people. . .I’ve had some experience. Remember, I carry pepper spray.” She joked.

“Come on, ladies! I got us a cab.” Ethan called over to us.

“Have a safe trip home.” She said.

“Thanks. Have a good holiday.”

“Thanks, you too.” She said and then walked over to the cab.

Charlotte came back over to me one last time. “We’ll all be fine. Go home and try not to worry.”

We hugged one last time and then she walked over to the cab. The three of them got in and Trev and I stood there waving as the cab drove away.

“Come on. Let’s go back to the apartment. I don’t know about you but after the party last night and all that’s happened tonight, I’m exhausted.” Trev said.

“Yeah, it’s been a crazy couple of days.” I admitted. I looked around one last time and stopped once again when I reached the light pole. ‘God please let them both be alright.’ I prayed as I looked up at the light. It was all I knew to do since I knew the situation was pretty much out of my hands. I wasn’t sure if it was going to do any good but I figured it couldn’t hurt.

“Come on, George! I need sleep!”

“I’m coming.” I said as I took one last look at the light and then turned around to catch up with Trev.