Jordana
Full moon night in July
It was coming up on 1:30am and Jordana, Ivy and Domingo were the only people left in the tavern. Anita and Allenby were the first ones in the group to call it an early night. They were gone before it was even dark. Liam hung out for a while, but as soon as it started to get dark, he left as well.
The women who were playing chess left a little after Anita and Allenby. Mattias was at the tavern for a while and even played his guitar for about two songs. No one really paid attention to him but it was a nice background sound. He had a friendly conversation with Allenby before she left, but he seemed disappointed by the end of it. Mattias left when the clock hit 1am.
Some people came in and out of the tavern all night. All of them looked at Jordana but no one approached her. It seemed they might have avoided her due to Liam being with her. It didn't bother her since she was enjoying the company. Once Liam left, Jordana saw how much the place had slowed down.
Jordana looked at her watch. "It's 1:30 already." She slurred. "Time really did go by fast."
"Time can do that when you're in good company," said Ivy.
"And that you definitely are," said Jordana as she raised her glass to Ivy. She began to drink the glass of beer as Ivy pulled the glass away from her mouth. "Hey," said Jordana as she tried to reach for it. "What are you doing?"
"Time to change your drink," said Ivy as she put the glass in the sink and grabbed another. She poured water in the glass and gave it to Jordana. "Here you go. Drink that. Trust me, you'll thank me in the morning when your hangover isn't as bad as it should be." Ivy grabbed her own glass of water and down it.
"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," said Jordana.
"I definitely am," said Ivy as she poured herself another glass of water.
Jordana leaned her elbows on the bar and her head on her hands as she stared at Ivy. "Do you really know everything about the people of this town?"
Ivy laughed. "I know more than what people would like me to know. It's funny how much they like to share when they've gotten a little liquid courage."
"Oh I believe it. Is there something interesting you can tell me about some of the people in town?"
"I can, but I'm not sure I should." The two women giggled.
"Come on," pleaded Jordana. "Tell me something light, at least."
"Like what?"
"I'm not sure," said Jordana as she leaned back and thought about it. "Does everyone get along with each other or are there some sort of family rivals? I feel like that's always something with little towns like this. Family rivalries."
Ivy laughed. "Yeah, we have some of those, but I'll tell you something you might find more interesting."
"Oh yeah. What's that?"
"So like every town in Mass, it's an old town with old families. Like families who've been here right off the boats from the old world."
"Old world?"
"Europe."
"Of course."
"So the three oldest families here came from three different countries in Europe. Italy, Portugal and Spain."
"No Britain?" asked Jordana.
"From my understanding, those families didn't last long when they got into bad terms with these three families."
"Okay, this all sounds fascinating. Who are the three families?"
"Their names are Baez, Silva and Pietro," answered Ivy.
"Pietro? As in the name of the town, Pietrofalls."
"Yup, this town is named after that very family."
"Have I met any members of this luxurious family?" slurred Jordana.
"I don't know. Who have you met?"
"Well, I've met Allenby, Anita," said Jordana as she lifted a finger for every person she named. "Liam, Sheriff Lawrence." Jordana leaned back and saw the town drunk sleeping at the table in the back. "Domingo and my favorite person, Ivy." Jordana looked at her fingers. "I've met six people."
"You've met one of the families, but the Pietros aren't one of them. To be fair, there's one Pietro left and she's probably going to be the last one."
"So the last Pietro is a woman."
"Yes, her name is Isabella Pietro and she is the mayor."
"Oh wow, the mayor. That's cool," said Jordana.
"Yeah, she sometimes comes here. If you continue to hangout here, I promise you will meet her."
"You're on good terms with the mayor?"
"I'm on good terms with everyone. Everyone loves me."
"Alright, superstar, which family have I met?" asked Jordana.
"You have met the family from Portugal, the Silvas."
"Oh yeah," said Jordana. "Who were they?"
"Well, you've met one of them. Anita Silva. You can make the argument that Allenby has been adopted into that family."
"That's so interesting. Is there a rivalry between those two families?"
"They're friendly, but I don't believe they really get along that much. To be fair, Mayor Pietro doesn't get along with anyone. Well, that's not true either. There is one person she does get along with."
"Who is that? A lover maybe?"
"He wished."
"So it is a he," said Jordana, excited. "Who is this mysterious man?"
"It's her personal assistant, Ashner. The man is attached to her hip. There's no place that she goes that he isn't close behind. Her shadow more or less."
"And he is in love with her?"
"That's what it looks like. Could be something else. Maybe he's just attaching himself to the most powerful person in town. He does give me sleazy vibes."
"Okay, you mentioned two of the three families. Who is the third?"
"The third family and maybe the most controversial family are the Baez."
"O, this sounds juicy. What makes them so controversial?" asked Jordana.
"You've seen Lucy Baez. She was the one wearing white and playing chess at the corner over there," said Ivy, pointing to the corner of the room where the two people were playing chess earlier. "There are only two members of the Baez family and Lucy Baez is the controversial member of the family."
"What makes her so controversial?"
"She used to be a private detective in a small town so you can imagine how she quickly made enemies."
"Now this is juicy? What kind of things did she find out about our local neighbors?"
"A lot because a good portion of the town doesn't like her, but I think she retired anyway. I believe she probably made enough money so she wouldn't have to do it anymore."
"Sounds like I should talk to her to get the juicy gossip in town," said Jordana.
"She would definitely know the gossip you would like, but she is very professional and will not share the information she's found on the job. People have tried. Myself included."
"I don't know," said Jordana as she leaned back in her chair. "I can be quite convincing."
"Good luck with that, but you were warned."
As Jordana leaned back in her seat, she took a quick look back at Domingo. "What's his story?"
Ivy looked over Jordana's shoulder. "Domingo? His story is a bit complicated."
"Is he ex-military?"
"No," answered Ivy, pity in her voice. "But he was part of our police force."
"Something bad happened to him while he was on duty?"
"Yeah, it shattered his mind in two, I'm told."
"What do you mean by his mind was shattered in two?" asked Jordana.
"I shouldn't be saying this," said Ivy as she leaned in close to Jordana and whispered. "But Domingo has schizophrenia. This is the most I'm going to say about it but Domingo had a psychotic break while he was part of the force. Now he's basically the town drunk."
"Is there no one to help him?"
"Plenty," said Ivy as she leaned back. "The whole town looks after him. For example, he'll be spending the night here where I'll provide him with a blanket and a roof over his head."
"Speaking of that, where will I be spending the night? It's about time I called it a night. I've had a bit too much to drink," said Jordana as she waved one of the empty liquor bottles.
"I'll show you," said Ivy as she walked around the bar. "And don't worry about Domingo, you'll have your own room and lock. You'll also have a reliable roommate."
"Oh yeah, who is that?" asked Jordana as she stood and followed Ivy.
"Me," said Ivy as she made a triumphant pose.
"But of course," said Jordana as she gave her a curtsy. "Lead the way, roomy."
Ivy led Jordana to the back of the bar and through the doors. At the back of the bar were doors that led to a stairway. They went up the stairs and entered Ivy's apartment. The apartment was very clean and there were plants everywhere.
"Is your name really Ivy by the way?" asked Jordana.
Ivy smiled as she stood to the side and Jordana entered her apartment. She noticed Jordana admiring her plants. "Yes, my name is really Ivy and my parents did name me after Poison Ivy."
Jordana looked back at Ivy. "Thank goodness you liked the name."
"You would think I would have rebelled against the name when I was younger, but Poison Ivy is just too cool not to like."
"Oh I completely agree with you, girl," said Jordana. "Where's my room?"
Ivy walked past Jordana and they went down the hall where there were three doors. One door at the end of the hall, and two doors across from each other. Ivy opened the door down the hall first. "This is the bathroom." Ivy then opened the door on the right. "This will be your room."
Jordana entered her room. The room was plain with brown wallpaper and a twin bed. There was also a small cactus at the windowsill. Jordana went to the windowsill and grabbed the pot with the cactus.
"I'm happy the first thing you did was grab the plant," said Ivy.
"Why is this little guy here by himself?"
"He's a gift to whoever stays in my guestroom."
"This is a gift for me?"
"Yes it is. I'm embracing my inner Poison Ivy and spreading plants everywhere I go."
"You're doing a great job," said Jordana with a laugh. "Thank you for this."
"No problem. My room is the one across from you so if you need anything, just knock." Ivy was about to close the door when Jordana waved at her.
"Wait," said Jordana.
"What is it?"
"Just wanted to say, thank you for everything. The plant, the room and the great company."
Ivy gave her a smile. "Stick around. You'll continue to enjoy all those things for a while longer."
"I might just take you up on that offer. Goodnight Ivy."
"Goodnight Jordana," said Ivy as she closed the door behind her.
Jordana sat on her bed as she held the pot with the cactus in the palm of her hands. She listened as she heard Ivy go down the hall instead of her room. Jordana assumed Ivy was returning to the bar to close up or check on Domingo.
Jordana stood up and set the cactus back on the windowsill. There was a desk and chair on the other side of the room which Jordana went over to. She sat down and pulled a small notepad from her back pocket. In the notepad she wrote down the three surnames of the founders of Pietrofalls, Pietro, Baez and Silva. She added a question mark next to their names. She closed the notepad and shoved it back into her pant's pocket.
Jordana got back up and returned to the windowsill to look at her cactus. As she admired the cactus, she noticed something outside. It was Ivy going off for a walk.
"Seems like you have your own secrets to hide," said Jordana as she lost sight of Ivy around the corner. There were howls in the distance and Jordana noticed the full moon. "Wolves," whispered Jordana under her breath. She closed the shades, got comfortable and went to bed.