Chapter 5
Angelo woke with a splitting headache.
For several seconds, he lay still, staring at the ceiling and trying to remember where he was. His mouth was dry, his stomach unsettled, and every movement seemed to send another wave of pain through his skull.
Then the memories returned.
The Eagle's Beak.
The whisky.
The miners.
Maya.
He groaned and covered his face with both hands.
"What did I do?"
A knock sounded at the door.
Angelo closed his eyes.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Maya walked in carrying a basin of water. She placed it beside the bed without saying anything.
Angelo looked at her.
She looked different from the woman he had seen behind the bar the previous night. Gone was the confident smile and playful attitude. This Maya was quiet and almost shy.
She placed a bowl of porridge beside the basin.
"You should eat."
Angelo stared at the food.
"Did you carry me home?"
Maya nodded.
His eyes widened.
"I'm sorry."
"You should be."
Angelo winced.
"How bad was I?"
Maya considered him for a moment.
"Do you really want me to tell you?"
"No."
"Then you're wiser than you look."
Despite the headache, Angelo managed a weak smile.
Maya reached into her pocket and placed two tablets beside the bowl.
"Aspirin. Take them after you eat."
She turned toward the door.
"Maya."
She stopped.
"Thank you."
She glanced back at him and smiled.
"Just don't make me carry you home again."
"I promise."
She opened the door.
"Oh, and Angelo?"
"Yes?"
"If you plan to come back for more drinks tonight, bring someone strong enough to carry you."
Then she walked out.
Angelo stared at the door.
He had no response.
He pulled the blanket over his head.
"This woman is going to be the death of me."
He remained in bed for most of the morning.
By noon, the headache had eased enough for him to sit up. He ate some lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about the mine.
The Blue Stomach sickness was still spreading.
Production remained suspended.
And somewhere in the background, his mother was probably furious.
He knew he should be working.
Instead, he found himself thinking about Maya.
He didn't understand it.
He barely knew the woman.
Yet she had somehow managed to occupy his thoughts since the moment he had arrived.
He decided to take a walk.
He avoided the mine and headed toward the centre of town.
Before long, he found himself standing outside the Eagle's Beak.
He stared at the wooden sign above the entrance.
"What am I doing here?"
He almost turned around.
Then he heard laughter from inside.
He walked in.
The bar was packed.
Miners crowded around tables, drinking and talking loudly. Music played somewhere near the back of the room.
Angelo pushed through the crowd and found a stool at the bar.
A large woman stood behind the counter.
He looked around.
"Maya?"
The woman raised an eyebrow.
"You looking for someone?"
"Yes."
"Maya?"
"Yes."
She laughed.
"You'll have to wait."
Angelo was about to ask why when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned.
Maya was standing behind him.
She was smiling.
"You're back."
Angelo stared at her.
"You're different again."
Maya laughed.
"What do you mean?"
"Yesterday morning you were quiet. Then you were this completely different person behind the bar. Now you're back to being…"
"Being what?"
"I don't know."
She leaned closer.
"Maybe you're the only person who gets to see both."
Angelo frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Maya looked around before whispering.
"In here, everyone knows me as the bartender."
"And at the boarding house?"
She smiled.
"That's a different Maya."
She winked and walked away.
Angelo watched her disappear into the crowd.
He couldn't stop smiling.
A bottle appeared in front of him.
He looked up.
Maya was standing there.
"Slowly this time."
"I can handle myself."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yes."
She walked away.
Angelo looked around the bar.
Something felt different tonight.
The miners weren't just drinking.
They were celebrating.
One of them noticed Angelo and raised his glass.
"To the boss!"
The entire table erupted in cheers.
Angelo looked confused.
"What is this about?"
The miner beside him laughed.
"You gave us a holiday!"
Angelo finally understood.
The mine shutdown had given the workers their first real break in years.
For him, stopping production had been a necessary decision.
For them, it was freedom.
He looked around the room.
Men who had seemed miserable and defeated only days earlier were laughing, singing and enjoying themselves.
For the first time, Angelo realized that South River wasn't simply a town full of hopeless people.
These people had hopes.
They had dreams.
They had families.
They had lives.
The mine had simply consumed almost everything else.
A miner sitting beside him raised his glass.
"Thank you, boss."
Angelo lifted his own glass.
"Enjoy yourselves."
The man smiled.
"We will."
Angelo spent the next few hours talking to the workers.
He heard stories about accidents in the mine, illnesses that had been ignored, men who had disappeared underground and families who had lost loved ones.
The more he listened, the more determined he became to find out what was really happening.
But as the night progressed, he noticed something else.
Maya kept appearing beside him.
Sometimes she brought him another drink.
Sometimes she simply smiled before disappearing back into the crowd.
And every time she did, Angelo found himself watching her.
Eventually, he stood.
"I think I've had enough."
Maya looked at him suspiciously.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Good."
She smiled.
"I don't want to carry you again."
Angelo laughed.
"I'll make it home myself."
He walked toward the door.
Before stepping outside, he turned back.
Maya was watching him.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
Then she smiled.
Angelo smiled back.
He stepped into the cool night air and began walking toward the boarding house.
For once, he wasn't thinking about Phoenix.
He wasn't thinking about university.
He wasn't even thinking about his mother.
He was thinking about Maya.
And that realization frightened him more than anything he had encountered in South River so far.