Sunset had parked her car a couple blocks away, knowing full well how narrow and winding the alleys of the Canterlot docks could be at night, not to mention the danger of accidentally running over someone who was sleeping off their poison of choice, like the guy snoring behind a dumpster to her left. Unless you came by motorcycle, it was better to go in on foot.
Second reason was that it allowed her to take Sparky for his walk en route to her destination. The small dog had recovered well and was now a bundle of energy that Sunset barely knew how to contain. Although in this setting, he kept close to her at all times with an unusual quiet about him in the dark and unfamiliar surrounding.
When they rounded a corner, a plethora of lights, sounds and smells greeted them.
“Roar!!!”
With a yelp of surprise, Sparky darted behind his owner and looked out fearfully from behind her boot. Sunset leaned down to give him a reassuring scratch behind the ears. “It’s alright,” she said in a soothing voice. “It’s not gonna hurt you. The only thing it could possibly assault is your sensibilities.”
She looked up at the animatronic dinosaur head mounted above the door and underneath the garish neon sign that proudly proclaimed this place to be ‘Big Al’s Bar & Grill.’ Sunset waved her arm to activate the motion sensor again, and the plastic allosaurus head moved side to side, roared again, and only then did the jaw briefly open with the squeak of a rusty hinge.
Sunset pushed the mismatched saloon style doors open and walked confidently inside. This place had not changed at all. The scuffed wooden floor, the second-hand diner style booths, the ratty pool table in the back nobody used next to the broken jukebox. It was like she’d traveled back in time. The din of conversation immediately quieted down among the present sailors, dockworkers and bikers as she entered. Even if she hadn’t been aware that every head had turned her way, the low whistles and murmured remarks were a dead giveaway. Paying the other patrons no mind, she walked over to the bar.
“Well, well, well,” the bald, thin man standing behind the bar began. He was mustering Sunset up and down with his one good eye, the other being covered with a black eye patch. He turned his head, showing off the cobra tattoo running along his neck, and spit into a bowl by his feet with a resounding clang. “Look what the cat dragged in. Lil’ Miss Sunshine, as I live and breathe. Didn’t expect to see you walk through those doors tonight.”
“Hi, Snake,” Sunset greeted him cordially. “The big man in?”
He nodded his head in response. “Tinkering in the back with a new recipe or some-such. You know how he gets when he’s ‘in the zone.’ I’ll let him know you’re here.” Before turning around and heading into the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of root beer from underneath the bar and slid it over to Sunset who deftly caught the bottle, cracked it open on the edge of the bar and took a swig in one smooth motion.
As she leaned on the bar to wait, Sunset could pick out a voice that seemed familiar and wasn’t trying particularly hard to whisper. “Damn, look at dat ass. I’d like to order a side of that, if you know what I mean. Come on, baby. Bend over a little more.”
A second voice from the same direction shushed the man. “Hey, man. Keep it down. Don’t you know who that is?”
“That’s the best piece of TnA that’s walked into this dump all year, is what that is. I don’t care what name those tits are attached to. Why? You know her?”
“That’s Lil’ Miss Sunshine, you idiot,” the second man hissed. “Now shut the fuck up before Big Al hears you.”
“That’s Lil’ Miss Sunshine???” Sunset could practically hear the man do a double take behind her back. “… Well, I stand by what I said. She sure filled out nicely in all the right places.”
Sunset finally put down her drink, turned and began walking in the direction of the corner booth where the voices were coming from.
The voice of reason among the two was in the process of delivering another warning when he saw her sauntering up to their table out of the corner of his eye. “Oh shit, she’s coming over here,” he mumbled into his beard before forcing a smile.
“Hello, boys,” Sunset said, putting a hand on her hip and striking a deliberately provocative pose, “long time no see.”
“Indeed,” the first man said with a nasty smirk. “You know, I totally didn’t recognize you when you walked in without that resting bitch face you used to have. You got surgery for that?”
“Hm,” Sunset replied coolly, “didn’t expect to see you here, Carl. I figured you would have drowned years ago on account of how bad a fisherman you are. What happened? The sea find you so repulsive that she spit you back out?”
He grinned and leaned back. “Tell you what, why don’t you come over here and sit on papa’s lap for old times’ sake? I’ll tell you all about my adventures on the sea, sweetcheecks.”
At this point, the man with the functioning brain cell between them slammed his hands on the table and stood up. “Alright, fuck this shit, I’m out. You’re on your own, man.” He picked up his beer and told Sunset in passing: “You tell Big Al, whatever happens here, I tried to stop it.”
Sunset waited for the man to leave before turning back to the clean-shaven fisherman in his striped shirt. “Just you and me now, Carl.”
“Just the way I like it. Too bad for you, though. I know you like an audience.”
“Oh, we can give them a show if you want.” Sunset put one hand on the table, stuck out her hips and smacked her ass loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear it. “Go on, give it a try. Just keep in mind how long you were wearing the cast for after the last time you tried to get cute with me.”
Carl’s greasy smile vanished as the two of them stared each other down. “Careful what you wish for, missy. You’re not a little girl anymore,” he said, his voice taking on a darker tone, “you think you can just walk in here looking like this?” He stared at her chest without even trying to disguise it for a moment before going back to locking eyes with her. “And talk like that? One of these days, someone is gonna call your bluff.”
Sunset wasn’t fazed. “I deal with teenagers all day. I don’t blink. The only question here is: Are you feeling lucky tonight, punk?”
There was a tense silence as he mulled over his next move, and Sunset could see some sweat forming on his brow. Suddenly, Carl sat bolt upright, his eyes going wide as he began stare in a panicky fear at something above her head. Sunset knew. She’d heard the heavy footsteps stopping just behind her. “Oh, heya, Big Al!” Carl squeaked while sweating buckets. “We were just catching up.”
Sunset frowned, somewhat disappointed at having her prey being spooked by a larger predator. The large presence behind her remained in a stoic silence. It felt like a fun fencing match of barbs and dares had just been brought to an abrupt conclusion by a wrestler coming in and body-slamming one of the fencers.
Carl folded like a lawn chair on the spot. “So, uh, I think I’ve had enough for the night.” He stood up and fumbled through his pockets to pay for his drink. He took one more look and unceremoniously dumped his entire pocket full of small change on the table. “Actually, let me take care of my tab for the month here. This ought to cover it. Enjoy the family reunion, you two.”
Sunset watched the man make a beeline for the exit and vanish into the night to the roar of a cheap dinosaur prop before turning around. She found herself staring at a hairy barrel chest covered by a black leather vest and splotchy apron. Turning her eyes upward, she thought she spotted a little more gray in the scraggly beard than she remembered before meeting two dark brown eyes framed underneath greasy bangs. “I had him handled, you know,” she said simply.
The large man said nothing before throwing out his arms with surprising speed given his size and wrapping her up in a crushing bear hug.
“Okay, it’s good to see you, too,” Sunset wheezed as she felt her feet lift off the ground and her lungs expelling about half their air from the sudden compression. “Ribs, ribs!!!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Sunshine,” he rumbled and put her down immediately. “Look at you, you’re skin and bones! Snake, can we get the girl something to eat? Hm? And who is this cutie pie?”
“That adorable bundle of energy currently assaulting your big toe goes by the name Sparky,” Sunset informed him while gingerly checking for broken ribs.
Sparky had begun growling at what he perceived to be an attack on his owner. Big Al seemed unconcerned by the bite marks on his sandal-clad feet and knelt down. “Come here.” The dog sniffed carefully at the offered hand, licked a finger and then gave a happy bark as Big Al picked him up. He looked at Sunset with the dopiest grin. “Oh my gosh, he is so cute! Look, I can hold him in one hand.”
Sunset let the scene play out, not at all surprised at the sight of a 6′ 2″ bear of a man going gaga over a small puppy.
“Look, guys!” He announced to the entire bar. “I have a grandson! Drinks on the house tonight!” Sparky barked in confirmation from his perch overlooking the entire bar from Big Al’s palm.
The patrons cheered at that, one of them raising a glass and shouting: “Three cheers for Lil’ Miss Sunshine!”
Sunset rolled her eyes at that. “How does everyone here remember that stupid nickname? I don’t think I even know half the guys in here tonight.”
“I dunno,” Big Al rumbled before casting a guilty glance to the side.
Sunset followed his line of sight and found a large photo of her fifteen-year-old self looking back at her, with an apron around her waist, a massive scowl on her face and a caption that read: ‘Employee of the Year: Lil’ Miss Sunshine – Always serving you with a frown.’
“Seriously, Al? It’s been years since I waited tables here. Why haven’t you taken that down?”
He shrugged. “Never had a better Employee of the Year since then.”
“You don’t have an Employee of the Year, period,” she replied flatly. “You had that made for my 16th birthday.”
“Order up,” Snake suddenly said as he walked in between the two of them and sat two plates down on the table before retreating back to his bar.
Sunset caught one whiff and felt her mouth watering already. “Oh my god, is that your Veggie Cheesesteak? All is forgiven.” She sat down to dig in immediately. “Mmmhm, ohmygosh, hm, that’s sho good, I mished thish,” she moaned around her first bite and closed her eyes.
Big Al sat down across from her, quietly waiting for her foodgasm to pass as he rubbed Sparky’s belly. After a couple more bites and subsequent moans from Sunset, he asked: “Where did you find this little guy?”
Finally opening her eyes again and remembering to swallow before speaking, she replied: “Well, it’s more that he found me. I guess taking in strays just runs in this particular found family.” She could see him beam at that. “How are you and Mike doing?”
“Oh.” His face fell considerably. “Not so good. We … broke up.”
“What!? Why? You guys were such a cute couple.”
“Well, he cheated on me.”
“Oh, Al.” Sunset laid a sympathetic hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. I guess I just can’t pick ‘em.”
“Well, you’re wonderful, and you deserve better. If he can’t see that, that’s his loss.”
He patted her hand and gave a sad smile. “Enough about me. What brings you here tonight?”
Sunset sighed and, in lieu of answering, pulled a heavy book from her bag and plopped it on the table.
Big Al read the title and furrowed his brows. “California Legal Code? You’re not in any serious trouble, are you?”
“I’m always in trouble in some way, you know that. But no. I was doing some research, and I felt like I needed a real world perspective. I’ve got this student, you see.”
He crossed his arms and listened attentively. “Go on.”
“Well, I guess it’s just that I see a lot of myself in him, you know. Parents not in the picture, desperately trying to make up for something that happened in the past, working after school just to make ends meet. Sound familiar?”
“I can see the connection,” he said with a grave nod.
Sunset fidgeted for a bit and then decided the best course of action was just to dive right in with the question that had been playing on her mind all day. “I turned out alright, didn’t I? In the end, at least.”
She hadn’t been prepared for the knot that formed in her stomach when he didn’t reply right away. “Of course you did, it’s just that …” He gave her a sad look. “Wait here a moment. There’s something I need to show you.”
Sunset quietly watched him get up and walk to the stairs that she knew led to his room upstairs. She looked at the remains of her cheesesteak and didn’t feel hungry anymore, instead keeping her hands busy by giving Sparky some scratches who had come over and was looking at her with big puppy eyes.
After a while, Al came back downstairs carrying a thick manila envelope with him which he placed gently on the table in front of her.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Something I told myself I’d never show you when I realized it wasn’t going anywhere,” he said as he sat back down, “but I think you need to see it now. Go ahead, open it.”
Sunset opened up the crinkled envelope and spread the contents out in front of her, going through papers and files with typed and handwritten notes, interspersed with the occasional photo of her at school or around town. “This is … newspaper clippings, missing children posters, genealogical records?” When she finally realized what she was looking at, she looked back up at Al. “You were trying to find my family all those years ago?”
He nodded in confirmation.
“Oh, Al,” she said, a mixture of sadness and gratitude in her voice, “you know there was no way you could have ever found anything, right?”
He nodded again with a half-serious frown. “I know that now, yes, after you finally trusted me with your secret. Just wish I’d known back then before I hired the third private investigator.”
“But why?”
He shrugged. “You did turn out great in the end, kiddo. You really did. But it wasn’t until you met those friends of yours that things turned around. They helped you become this amazing young woman I see before me today. I always thought that, maybe, having your parents, or any living relative really, would have made things so much easier for you. I saw you struggle through so much. Family is important, and all you had was me and these knuckleheads here at the bar. I just … never felt like I was good enough to be the parent you really needed. But there was a time in your life when I knew that I was the only adult you even slightly trusted. So I had to try. I know I fell short, but I tried my best.”
-“Have you tried?”
Sunset recalled three simple words she’d recently spoken to a certain someone, coming straight from the heart, and in this moment, here and now, she knew exactly why she’d phrased it like that as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Big Al seemed perturbed at the sight. “Sunshine, I didn’t mean to … I’m so sorry …”
“No,” she said with a smile. “You have nothing to be sorry for. But you are wrong. You remember the night of my last Fall Formal?”
He nodded slowly.
Sunset pointed towards the door. “I was a fucking mess when I came home that night. I’d been crying on the whole way over, and before I walked through those doors, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let anything show through about how I felt. Because that’s what I always did back then, hide and run from my own feelings.
“But you took one look at me, and you knew anyway. And it’s not just that you knew, it’s what you did about it. You took one look at me, and then you closed up the bar, shooed out all the customers while I was trying not to go to pieces until they’d left, and then you sat with me the entire night while I cried myself out on your chest. I ruined your favorite vest, too.”
“It wasn’t my favorite vest,” he mumbled.
“Bullshit!” Sunset laughed through the tears welling up in her eyes. “That was your favorite vest in the whole world, and I ruined it with my snot and tears. You never said anything about it, cause we never even spoke about that night until today, but it was so important to me. Going back to CHS the next day to face the music … it was the hardest fucking thing I ever did in my life, and that’s saying something coming from me. And it kept being hard for a long time. All I’d ever done before was run, and I was going to run then, too.
“But I didn’t, because of you. You were there for me, like a rock. You’re right, it was my friends who helped me turn my life around. But you’re also wrong, because they couldn’t have done what they did, pull me out of the hole I’d dug for myself, if you hadn’t been at the bottom to catch me with those freakishly large, hairy arms of yours.”
Welling up with his own tears, Big Al stood up and Sunset immediately rose to meet him in a tearful hug, much more gentle than the one they’d shared earlier. “I’m so proud of you, Sunshine,” he whispered while stroking her hair. “I know whatever is going on with that student of yours, you’ll figure it out, and he’s lucky to have you in his corner.”
“Thanks, … dad.”
There was a long, awkward silence after that until Big Al went: “Hm, I don’t know about that.”
“Nope, felt weird the moment it came out,” Sunset replied immediately, “We’ll stick with Al.”
They both shared a hearty laugh, and Al rubbed Sunset’s shoulder when they broke the hug. “Come on, I need to show you something else. Much better than the envelope, I promise.” He turned to the bar. “Snake, can you lock up tonight? I’m going out.”
“Sure thing, boss. But I’m putting this down as overtime.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Big Al waved him off and led Sunset out the back where he unlocked and opened a corrugated steel garage door with a giddy grin. Stepping inside, he pulled the sheet off the vehicle standing in the middle.
“Whoa, cool! You finished restoring the EMW?” She immediately went up to the motorcycle to inspect it from every angle, running her fingers gently over the red and white logo. She even tried to look for the rust spots she knew had been there before. None could be seen. “She’s beautiful, Al. You really did a great job on her.”
“She sounds even better than she looks,” he replied proudly.
Sunset’s head whipped around in shock. “You actually got her running? They haven’t made parts for these in over fifty years!”
He tapped the side of his nose and winked at her. “I might be getting up there in years, but I still have some tricks up my sleeve.” Taking some keys from his pocket and jangling them, he added: “What do you say? Shall we take her for a spin?”
Sunset grimaced and looked over at the sidecar attached to the bike. “Don’t you think I’m a little old for the sidecar?”
“Who said anything about the sidecar?” He simply tossed her the keys, put on a half-helmet with some attached goggles and crammed himself into the sidecar. The metal creaked and groaned in protest to accommodate his massive bulk, and the whole contraption became decidedly lopsided, making it an even goofier sight than a large man with biker goggles sitting in a sidecar to begin with. “What? You too respectable these days to take a joyride with your old man?”
Sparky scampered past her, jumped into Big Al’s lap and gave a short bark before looking expectantly at her while panting and wagging his tail.
“Sounds like I’m outvoted,” Sunset acknowledged without too much chagrin and picked up her own helmet from a wall. She controlled herself enough to walk over slowly instead of skipping over like a kid on Christmas morning and swung her leg over the machine. The old-timer rumbled to life between her legs and she goosed the throttle a couple of times, shudders traveling up her body with every roar of the engine. “Oh, yeah. Baby,” she said almost sensually while sporting a grin that went from ear to ear. “You don’t get this feeling from turning the ignition on a Ford Fiesta.”
Big Al turned and looked at her quizzically. “Hey, whatever happened to your old bike anyway!?” He had to shout the question over the revving engine.
Sunset turned and answered him with a perfectly straight face: “Got eaten by a magically animated ATM Machine a few years back!”
“Huh.” Big Al, to his credit, also kept a perfectly straight face as he answered: “Maybe we go around the financial district as we head towards the highway, yeah!?”
Sunset revved the engine once more, released the clutch, and the trio rode off into the night.