Rena felt sort of guilty avoiding Thomas, particularly since he had been the most true friend to her in Greenville. He had always been supportive, even when she was an unskilled nobody who could barely stumble through a workday without breaking anything or setting the entire establishment on fire. While it wasn't necessarily the best way to handle a situation, Rena wasn't sure that confronting him was the best solution either. Thomas had been through so much recently that he certainly didn't need to worry about one more thing.
Of course, that 'one more thing' happened to be the fact that whatever issues had developed between Rena, his longest-standing employee, and Abby, his wife. Even as well-established as she was, Rena knew that when it came down to it, Abby was his wife, the mother of his daughter and unborn child. How could she even speak a word against that?
All the same, it was hard to entirely avoid one's employer and, though Rena wouldn't admit it, she missed their conversations. It had been so comfortable, the way they had related to one another, and having the curb the thought each time she noticed something interesting or amusing was beginning to wear on her.
She was being a coward. It hurt to even think those words but there they were. She was so distracted, she had to ask someone to repeat a simple order, something she normally wouldn't have to do. Well, it was high time she resolved this, she determined as she headed toward the bar. Thomas was there, of course, as he always was. She would just walk over to him and tell him she wanted to talk to him. How hard would it be?
Rena walked up to the bar with determination. "Thomas I need..." she began, before her courage dropped out on her once more and the words came out all wrong. "I need 2 ales and a mulled wine for the table in the corner." She blinked, processing what she had just said before biting her lips and forcing herself to continue. "No, that's not what I need. I mean, I do need that for the table in the corner but that's not what I meant to say. What I meant to say is I need to talk to you." It was not a typical Rena display and she wasn't exactly proud of the way it had come out but, well, it was a start.