12 – Offending Barry (1)

“Is there anything to even do in this town?” Jake asked Axel one evening. The two sat on Axel’s bed, trying to figure out something to do.

Axel remembered mini-golfing with Sebastian. His throat tightened up. No, he couldn’t go back there. It would bring back memories he wasn’t up for remembering. He needed to forget about Sebastian. Sebastian had probably already forgotten about him. “Not really.”

“I saw some mini-golf place. I know we’re a bit old for it, but-”

“No!”

Jake blinked at him. “What?”

“I don’t want to go there,” Axel said, keeping his voice calm.

“Did something happen to you there?”

Axel shook his head. He needed to remember his other friends. Like Yannick. When was the last time he saw him? Months, probably.

It was a Friday night. Yannick sometimes performed at a nearby bar on Friday nights. “Have I mentioned Yannick to you before?”

“Your German friend?”

“Yeah. He actually sings at this one bar on Friday nights. We could go there and see him. You could meet him.”

“Sure.” Jake held a straight face. “Just one problem.”

“What?”

“I’m under 21.”

“Right.” Axel chewed his lip. “They only card me when I buy a drink. If you don’t order a drink, you’ll be fine. Hopefully...”

“Worse they’ll do is kick me out. We can go. It’s better than sitting around.”

Stellaluna never thought she’d find herself in a common bar. Barry had brought her there. The decision was rather sudden. She and Barry had been wandering downtown after eating dinner at a nice restaurant.

They almost walked right past the bar. But it caught Barry’s attention. “You know,” he said, “that’s something the mansion needs. A bar.”

Stellaluna would rather not have alcoholics wandering through their home on a regular basis. “Do we really?”

“It would be more income.”

We have enough income, Stellaluna thought. “We’d have to deal with angry drunks all the time. They might destroy our things, and then we’d have to pay for the repairs.”

“Good point.” Barry gazed at the sign. “I could still use a drink. Let’s go in for a bit.”

Not that Stellaluna had any say in the matter. She followed him inside.

The bar was dimly lit. Chattering filled the air. Off to the side of the room, across from the actual bar, were several tables. Behind the tables, was a tiny stage area. There, a man sat on a stool, playing a guitar as he sang. He had a beautiful voice, even though Stellaluna couldn’t quite make out any of the words. The loud conversations surrounding her didn’t make it any easier.

Barry ordered a couple of drinks and picked a table for two a few feet away from the stage. They drank silently.

“What in God’s planet is this music?” Barry asked, nose scrunched.

The man played an acoustic guitar, paired with a deep voice. It sounded normal enough to Stellaluna, though she still struggled to make out the words. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s some strange language. Not english.” Barry took a sip of his beer, frowning.

That explained why Stellaluna couldn’t make out the words. She took a sip of her daiquiri as her eyes wandered towards the singer. Something about him was familiar.

The singer’s eyes met Stellaluna’s. She nearly spat out her drink. It was… Yannick? He wore a black button-up shirt with black trousers. Much different than the ratty work clothes he had to wear.

Yannick smiled at her. Stellaluna returned it, though a faint blush crept up her neck. She took another sip, wondering if Barry would recognize him too.

But Barry had his eyes on the table directly in front of Yannick. With a start, Stellaluna realized why. Jake Williams sat there, next to a young Hispanic man.

“What does Jake think he’s doing, hanging around someone like that?” Barry grumbled.

That was rude. The man had no control over his race. Stellaluna opened her mouth to defend the stranger. But she couldn’t figure out how to word her thoughts.

Barry ranted on. “First that ridiculous protest, now he’s hanging around a known queer? People are going to start thinking he’s gay.”

So that was what he meant. And that was hypocritical, given his best friend had a gay son. “Sebastian’s a known queer."

“Sebastian has been cured. Everyone knows that. That man there? He’s blacklisted.”

“How do you know?”

“He once tried booking one of our rooms. I personally ran the background check and it came right up.” Barry took a sip of his beer. “Not every day you get a Hispanic man asking for a room and coming up gay. I have no trouble remembering him. And I’m almost certain he’s the mechanic who messed up Waylon’s car.”

Already Stellaluna liked the man. “You don’t say.”

Barry nodded. “If Jake cares about his reputation, he’d stop hanging around him.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know.”

“I should warn him then.”

At some point during their conversation, Yannick had stopped playing, put his guitar into a case, and joined Jake and his companion at the table. The three men talked amongst themselves.

“Friends with the weird foreign singer too? I’m definitely warning him now.”

Barry got out of his chair, and walked over to Jake’s table. Stellaluna, not wanting to miss out on an exciting tale to share with Zailey later, followed.

“Jake!” Barry said as he approached the table with open arms. “How wonderful it is to run into you here.”

Jake, Yannick, and the Hispanic man stared at him. Jake had his brow furrowed. Yannick had his eyes rounded. The Hispanic man had a blank look.

“May I have a word with you?” Barry asked. “Away from your… friends?”

“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Axel,” Jake said boldly.

“He might not like what I have to say.”

“Then don’t say it.”

“Look. Reputation is important. Especially if you’re going to be running a large company. Every action you make. Every choice. People hear about it. And if enough of them don’t approve, you'll lose business.”

“Okay.” There was a hint of hostility in Jake’s voice.

This could get ugly! Stellaluna leaned forward, not wanting to miss a word.

“I don’t know if you know this, but that man you’re hanging out with?” Barry jerked his head towards Axel, who averted his eyes. “He’s blacklisted for homosexual activity.”

There was a hint of cautiousness in Jake’s face. Like he was carefully considering how to respond to the accusation. “What makes you think that?”

“He tried staying in one of our rooms once. A quick background check told me everything.”

“You run background checks on your guests?”

“Of course. I don’t want any degenerates messing up the place.”

“Degenerates?!” Jake glowered at Barry. “Are you saying Axel is a bad person just because-”

“Let it go,” Axel whispered to Jake. “It’s not a big deal.”

Jake jerked his head towards him. “Are you serious? He refused to give you service because you’re-”

“Not so loud!” Axel hissed, glancing at all the nearby patrons, who paid no attention to the scene.

“That’s fucked up.” Jake went back to glaring at Barry. “I can’t believe you’d do something like that. Isn’t your place the only hotel in town?”

“There’s one other one he could have stayed at,” Barry said.

Jake turned back to Axel. “Did you?”

Axel focused all his attention on picking a callous on his palm.

“Don’t tell me they refused you a room too!”

“As they have every right to do,” Barry said.

“Oh really? And where did you expect Axel to stay?”

It was a valid point Stellaluna hadn’t thought of. Surely in a large city, someone would take Axel in. But a small town like theirs? What if a gay person was traveling through and needed to stop for the night? What would they do? Sleep in their car? What a cruel thing to do. Making someone sleep in their car when there were plenty of open rooms they were willing to pay for. Stellaluna stroked her chin as she found herself disagreeing with her husband. Not that she’d admit it to him, of course. Her eyes wandered over to Yannick, who frowned like everyone else. Except his was more of a confused frown than an outraged frown.

“Not my problem,” Barry said nonchalantly. “He should have thought of that before he decided to fool around with men.”

“Holy shit!”

“Jake...” Axel warned.

“You’re a real asshole,” Jake said through clenched teeth. “I’d rather destroy my reputation than be like you!”

Stellaluna covered her smile with her hand. It was about time someone stuck up to Barry.

“I’m done here.” Jake stood up, and stormed off, Axel right behind him. Yannick gave Stellaluna a friendly nod before picking up his guitar case, and hurried after them.

Barry stared at Stellaluna, open-mouthed. “Can you believe how that kid talked to me? Absolutely no respect for his elders!”

Stellaluna kept her mouth covered. Hopefully he’d think it was out of shock than hiding her amusement. Zailey would love this.

“I’ll need to tell his father, of course. He must know about his son’s reckless behavior. Maybe he’ll have better luck talking sense into that boy.”

“Why do you care so much anyway?” Stellaluna asked.

Barry stared at her as though she were daft. “I’m trying to work out a deal with Will to open a Pieway at the mansion. What will people think of us if I’m associating myself with the father of a boy like that?”

Jake seethed as he walked out of the bar with Axel and Yannick. He couldn’t believe the nerve of Barry. Walking up to him and telling him not to be friends with Axel. Proudly admitting to denying Axel a room because of his sexuality.

Once outside, Yannick took the lead. Mainly to put his guitar in his car. Jake watched him pop open the trunk and carefully set his guitar in. It was dark out, the only light coming from a few streetlights in the parking lot. Every so often, one of them flickered.

“Can you believe that guy?” Jake asked with crossed arms.

Yannick tilted his head to the side as he closed the trunk. “What?”

“Barry. What he did.”

“What has he done?” Yannick asked. “I understand not.”

Right. Axel had warned him Yannick’s english wasn’t great. “He told me not to be friends with Axel because…” Jake hesitated. Did Yannick know about Axel? Was Axel okay with him knowing?

Yannick looked to Axel. “Master Callahan knows that?”

“I tried staying at his hotel. He found out when he ran a background check.”

“And he wouldn’t give him a room because of it,” Jake added.

“I’m sorry,” Yannick said to Axel. But there wasn’t a hint of surprise in his expression or tone. If anything, he just looked tired. He leaned his back against his car, eyes on Jake. “I hate him.”

“You know him?”

“Yes. I work for him.”

“You work for him?”

Yannick nodded. “I am there a servant. It is my day job.”

From what Jake knew of Barry and his employment practices, he felt a wave of sympathy for Yannick. “That must suck.”

“Sometimes. But I need money.” Yannick let out a quiet sigh. “At least his woman is nice.”

“His woman?” Jake frowned at him.

Yannick frowned back, tapping his chin.

“Wife,” Axel said.

“Wife.” Yannick nodded. “Yes. His wife is nice.”

“Really?” Jake didn’t know much about Stellaluna, but he hadn't imagined her opinions being different from Barry's.

“Yes.” Yannick rubbed the back of his neck, head turned away. “We talk sometimes. Master Callahan is mean to her.” His voice grew hard. “She is too good for him. She needs someone better.”

“Oh?” It was hard to see Axel’s expression in the dark, but Jake could hear lighthearted teasing in his tone. “Like, you?”

Yannick shrugged while staring at the ground. “That will never happen. I am only a servant.”

“She was looking at you.”

“She was looking at everyone. We are just friends.” Yannick’s voice wavered and he sighed. “I must go.”

They all exchanged goodbyes, and Jake followed Axel to his van. “Wanna have some fun at my place?”

“That’s all you think about, isn’t it?” Axel smirked at him as he unlocked his van.

“As if you don’t want to.”

“I never said I didn’t.”