Eventful Day Read Free

he shrugged, Julia wasn’t sure if she knew, but she nodded all the same, “So long story short, my buddy got shot. I reckon it wouldn’t have been so hard on him if it hadn’t been a fuckin’ kid who did it. Probably no older than twelve, shot him right in the shoulder, probably woulda gotten him in the head if the damn gun hadn’t been too big.” The guy leaned back in his chair and lit up a cigarette, right under a no smoking sign, Julia got the feeling he didn’t care, “Got him back to the unit, but it shook him up bad, he’d made it through bootcamp yeah, but he wasn’t really a soldier ya know?” the guy took a long drag off his cig and ignored the bartender glaring at him. “He pretty much begged to get sent home, and our CO was alright, he pulled some strings, my buddy wouldn’t be winning any medals, but they managed to get him out due to the injury without any great drama.” Hector stopped speaking at this point, favoring his vices for a time.
    Julia’s brow furrowed slightly, “You say that your buddy left, what was his name?” Hector smirked, but didn’t answer her, she frowned, “C’mon Hector, help a girl out.” She put on a smile, “Is it this XtoyourY guy?” She asked in a smooth tone, giving the best innocent look she could muster.
    The grunt seemed unfazed, “Maybe.” He gave a shrug, “I was asked to tell a story to ya, not answer any questions, no fun in that.” His smirk grew a little, “Still, next place for ya to go is Hugo’s, I’m sure ya remember huh?” With that, Hector put his money down on the bar for his tab. Julia wasn’t sure if he’d just drank a lot, or was a very generous tipper, but the amount he laid down distracted her long enough that when she looked up he was gone.
    Hugo’s inn was where Lucas had stayed while he was on leave. Hugo was a veteran himself, and offered special rates for soldiers. Lucas had not quite gotten to moving in with Julia when he’d gone to war, and thus when he returned, he didn’t have a place to stay. Hugo was kind enough to put him up for free. The fact all the places she’d been today related to her former lover was not lost on Julia, and it was getting more interesting to her. She thought that maybe Hugo’s would be where she’d finally find the answers to Mr. XtoyourY, if he was Lucas, or someone who just really enjoyed playing mind games on her.
    By this time, the sun was setting, darkness was starting to creep into the sky and Julia found herself on guard. Hugo’s was a bit of a walk from the Blackout, but not far from her apartment, so there was that at least. When she finally arrived she confirmed it was the same old inn. She noticed that maybe Hugo might have a couple more neon lights in need of replacement, but other than that it was the same old inn.
    Julia walked in the front door and behind the counter was Hugo; he had grey hair now, still cut short in a way she’d noticed that military men tended to keep, even after leaving the military. He was a big man, not in the sexy, tall, Hector way; more a former grunt that had let himself go on the buffet way. Hugo smiled when she walked in the door, “Ah! Julie!” he smirked, “Long time, no see!” Hugo was a client of hers; he would commission her to write up new pamphlets for the inn every now and then in an effort to make his place look comparable to larger hotel chains. Julia had to take a bit more artistic license every time she wrote a new one since Hugo seemed to have an aversion to cosmetic repairs to his lodgings. The terms like “Rustic” were used a lot now, still, Julia had not come to talk about commissions.
    “Hey Hugo,” She smiled at the large man, “This is gonna sound odd, but has anyone left me anything or…” she paused, realizing perhaps for the first time what a strange quest she’d been on all day, “Wow…This sounds nuts.” She spoke to herself, prompting a bellow of a laugh from Hugo,
    “Don’t worry lil’ Missy, I do have