what a motherlode!

Her hands were shaking the entire drive to Oasis Springs. She put on her favorite radio station to calm her nerves, but her ears weren’t even registering the music. She saw the flashing neon sign for the Rattlesnake bar ahead and her heart starting beating faster than ever before.

‘I can’t believe I’m about to meet a stranger at a bar and... and do what? Get killed? Maybe I should just turn around...’ she thought to herself as she got closer and closer to the bar.

She pulled into the parking lot and put the car in park, ‘I could just leave and never speak to him again. He doesn’t even know what I look like, he’d never know who I am.’

Her phone buzzed and the screen lit up. It was a message from him. 

> I’m at the bar. I’m the only one not dressed like 70 degrees is freezing, should be easy to spot.

She slid her phone into her pocket, took a deep breath, and got out of the car. She walked up to the door and gave the bouncer her id.

‘Just up those stairs could be the love of your life... or the end of it,’ she thought, ‘Oh, stop it. Juniper met her boyfriend on here, we’re in public, what’s the worst that could happen?’

Delilah made her way up the stairs, gripping onto the railing the entire way up. When she reached the top, her eyes scanned the bar. Right in the middle was a tall, dark haired boy in a tank top. 

She giggled quietly to herself as she looked at everyone else in their long sleeves and jackets. Delilah took a deep breath in and headed over to the bar. She lightly tapped the boy on his shoulder and took a step back.

When he turned around, he gave her a smile that just melted her heart. His eyes were a deep, dark brown that she got lost in. He had a slight smattering of freckles across his nose, his face was slightly flushed- from the beer? Or maybe... from seeing her?

“Are you Delilah?” he asked with a gentle smile. 

She just stared, ‘Say something you idiot! You’re going to make him think you’re stupid!’

“I, um... I.. yes. I’m her. Delilah, I mean,” she stammered, “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve never done this before and I’m so bad with people and-”

He laughed and stood up from his seat, “It’s okay darling, there’s nothing wrong with being nervous.”

He guided them over to a couch towards the back of the crowd. Delilah sighed internally, glad he was taking them to a spot away from everyone. 

“So, why don’t you tell me about yourself? Get your mind off why you’re nervous and just talk about something you’re familiar with,” he told her, lightly grasping her hand in his. 

///

Three drinks later, Delilah had seemingly shared her entire life with Matt. And in return he shared his life story. The two hardly noticed anyone else in the bar, it was like when they looked into each other’s eyes the whole world faded away. 

Matt asked if she wanted to look at the stars and she happily said yes. The two stood up to wander outside, but Delilah tripped over herself and fell into him. He wrapped his arms around her and helped her stabilize. 

She spent the night on the phone with her best friend Juniper. She let Delilah whine about every aspect of her loveless life without interruption. When she finally ran out of words to say, Juniper chimed in with her advice.

“Use SimDa,” she said, “It’s how Chris and I found each other.”

“That dating app? Isn’t it just for hookups?”

“You can use it for that, yeah, but they have a section for people who want something more than that.”

“I don’t know June, you know how I get around new people,” Delilah muttered into the phone.

“Yeah, you suck,” she replied with a giggle, “But what’s your other options? Go sit at a bar and strike up a conversation with the least drunk person there?”

“I... you’re right,” Delilah sighed, “Do you think I’d be able to find anyone tonight?”

“There’s that really awesome jazz duo playing in Oasis tonight. I’m sure you can find someone going there.”

Delilah thanked her for helping and resolved to download SimDa. After hanging up, she went to the app store and downloaded it. Delilah nervously picked at her nails while it downloaded.

After what seemed like an eternity, the download finished. She tapped it and was greeted with a sign up page. She hurriedly typed in her email and password and the app took her to a page where she could choose the type of date she wanted.

‘One night stand... blind date... serious... There we go,’ she thought to herself.

The small circle in the middle of her screen spun as it searched for singles in her area. A light beep let her know it found 7 people. It didn’t show her photos, just names, ages, and distance away. She chose a guy named Matt, around her age, who was also in Newcrest. She opened a new message and typed:

> Hi. I’m Delilah

She put her phone down on her desk. Almost immediately, it beeped.

> Hey there, Delilah.

She giggled to herself, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. She didn’t even know who this was and he opened with a cheesy song titled, but it made her giddy for some reason.

> What are you up to tonight?

> Just painting, watching tv, waiting for someone to ask me out... What about you?

A rush of confidence seemed to overcome her. Being able to hide behind a screen left no room for shame or embarrassment and it felt exhilarating.

> You paint? I’d love to see your work sometime. Maybe tonight, at the Rattlesnake bar in Oasis?

A smile overtook her face as she quickly typed back

> Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you at 8.

Benji got a promotion at work, but it changed his hours drastically. By the time Delilah was coming home at 3, he was heading out. 

“We’re like two ships passing in the night,” she joked after seeing him leave one day.

He smiled and agreed before grabbing his uniform and leaving. Delilah had been noticing that when she got up to cook breakfast, there was always a redheaded girl sneaking down the stairs. She assumed it was another hook up at first, but then she noticed her the next day. And the next. And for almost two weeks straight she kept seeing the same girl leaving Benji’s room every morning. 

‘Does he have... a girlfriend?’ She wondered. In the 7 years they’d known each other, Delilah had only seen him seriously date two girls. 

Heavy footsteps pulled Delilah out of her thoughts. She was greeted with Benji’s tousled hair and yawns.

“Good morning, Dee,” he said while grabbing breakfast out of the fridge.

“Who is she?” 

“What?” 

“The girl who leaves your room every morning. I would think if you want to keep bringing a stranger into our house you’d at least have the courtesy to introduce us.” Delilah said while aggressively flipping the pancakes she was making.

“Oh, that’s Nina,” Benji said between bites, “She’s nice, I think we’re dating now.”

“Y-you think?” Delilah said incredulously, “How do you not know if you’re dating someone?”

“Well she keeps bringing me gifts and food, and when she introduces me she calls me her boyfriend.. but she never actually asked. I guess that’s just how girls our age do it now.”

Benji laughed, put his dishes in the dishwasher, and waved goodbye before heading back upstairs. 

‘Why are you so jealous? It’s not like you ever tell him your feelings,’ she thought to herself as she headed outside. 

The warm rain of Spring hit her windows and she began to match her paint strokes to the rhythmic beats of the raindrops.

While she painted, she thought about Benji. They were perfect friends, but could they make it as more? She loved the feeling of his lips on hers, his warm skin against her. But Benji couldn’t stick to one girl for long.

She thought back on college and how they’d celebrate after winning a game. Delilah would be the quietest one at the party, but Benji always sought her out. He’d take her hand, offer her a drink, and sit on the patio with her, laughing under the stars. They’d end up tipsy, she’d end up a little more open than normal. They’d kiss, he’d bring her up to his room, and they’d spend the night together. Sometimes it was cuddling all night, sometimes it was a movie and sex. But whatever happened in the night, by morning Benji was already texting another girl.

///

A few vendors bustled around the area, setting up their furniture and wares they were selling. Delilah found an empty rack and hung up her paintings. She marked them lower than what her agent recommended. She was here selling to locals, not wealthy art collectors after all.

A few people came up and looked around. A guy around her age introduced himself as Sergio and complimented her work. 

“I can feel how much emotion you put into these, it’s brilliant,” he told her. At least, that’s what she thinks he said. He had his scarf wrapped around his neck and over his mouth, so it was muffled, but she chooses to believe those were the words he used.

He picked out a piece she did when she was feeling confident. She managed to sell to a few more people before all the customers and vendors began to pack up. Delilah stood back from her booth to count her earnings, when she heard a crack come her booth.

She looked up and saw one of the vendors ripping her paintings down and putting them with his stuff.

“Hey! HEY!” she yelled while running towards him, “Those are mine, what are you doing?”

“Sorry sweetie, all the other vendors cleared out an hour ago. Boss told me to take anything still on the tables.”

Delilah stood there in stunned silence as this man, easily twice her size and height, carelessly tore down her hard work and threw it into a box. She walked back to her car wondering if she should call the police. But what were they going to do? The vendors all have to sign a waiver weeks before they can start selling and it most likely included some clause allowing them to do this.

She pulled back from the hug, face warm from the blush that was sneaking up on her cheeks. Overwhelmed with emotions, she leaned in to kiss him. To her surprise, he leaned into it as well. After a moment of blissful silence, she moved back.

“I-I’m sorry. My head is so conflicted right now, I don’t know what I’m doing,” she stammered, trying to hide the blush covering her face, “I, um, I have to go.”

Benji was quick to start lifting after his shower. Exercise had a way of making him calm and able to forget all his worries. Shortly after Delilah joined him in the garage. 

“No more lit trees,” she sternly told him. 

Between breaths of air, Benji agreed, “It was a dumb idea, I should have thought it out. I just miss home and wanted it to be like our Christmases always were.”

Delilah sighed and looked at the ground, “I understand, I miss my sister too. We’ll make plans to go back to Windenburg for Thanksgiving, okay?”

With a sigh, Delilah put down her paintbrushes and joined her best friend at the shining tree. Christmas wasn’t her favorite; it was cold, icy, and she never had family to celebrate with. This year was different, so maybe she should be too. 

Benji gave her a smile and held out his hand, “Help me find the angel topper since you’re too tall to sit up there.” 

Delilah smiled and blushed while taking his hand. The pair had met in an art class freshman year. Benji was there for his gen ed credit, Delilah was there because she dreamed of being a world famous artist. The two became fast friends and, at times, more than that. Delilah was a realist when it came to her love life. She’s an introvert, loves painting more than making friends, and she’s always been a bit of a... downer. But sometimes, when she lays in bed at night, she can’t stop herself from imagining what life would be like with Benji. 

Benji pulled out a lighter and held it to the candles they had placed on the tree. Delilah cautiously lit a few herself; she warned against having a lit tree. She would have preferred simple plastic lights, but this was how they always did it at Benji’s house. After a few minutes, he stepped back and admired their work.

He turned to Delilah and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get any words out he felt an intense heat on the back of his neck.

Delilah went pale, dropped the lighter, and pointed behind Benji, “F-F-FIRE!”