The ice cubes. Yes, they were all that was left after gulping down the brown liquid. Wait. It wasn’t just any brown liquid, it was a 25 year old Chivas Regal. The attendant came along and I repeated the elixir. The Cuban was almost burning my hand. Yes, I prefer cigars though it is rather a bad alternative for cigarettes, strictly. Just when I stubbed what was left of it, to my diagonal right I thought I saw ‘Love Story’ by Erich Segal.
It was still a chilly winter night in early January, at least in this part of the world. The book had its pages being turned over constantly at standard pauses for I kept staring at it for a little more than a while. I had had more than a hard day. The Chivas was obviously aiding me. The less crowded suburban bar aided too, not that I had to mention it, but it wasn’t my usual place tonight. Maybe that is what happens when your girlfriend hooks up with somebody else and just leaves you a message on fucking whatsapp. Fuck. For, of all the types of communications, fuck’s sake, why leaving a message on whatsapp? Well, the outcome of it – Love is a Ghastly Ephemeral Feeling, at least according to me. This gave me more than just a reason to stare at the book.
I followed the hand turning the pages to reconnoiter its owner. Gasp. Yes, that was my reaction. Maybe, I coming to this unusual place to get drunk over my former did have its perks. Something about her made me feel unusual. Perhaps it was something related to my being down. It was as if that part of me was trying to get her attention. I noticed her ring, then assuming she was married and maybe I was the luckless one around. I gulped the restocked cup and with a sudden seizure of euphoria, I gained her attention. Though she wasn’t outward, I couldn’t help, for the next few minutes, noticing her noticing me. Awkward, Yeah, I knew. I summoned the attendant.
An Appletini was served on her table. Courtesy: Me. She was alone. She didn’t refuse. And no, I did not take that as a sign. An acknowledgement of smile escorted by a message on a tissue paper was what I received in return. Possibly because of what I read on that piece of paper, which made her an intriguing person, to me, leading to take the most important step in my life that night. The uncomfortable feeling with all the pregnant possibilities that message carried, settled in me. One more large and I was stiff.
I got up and went over to hers. She didn’t mind my intrusion. The trouble was mine for the initiation. She remained perfectly calm and nodded in a salutation. “This is usually not me. ”, were my first words to her.“Ditto”, was her response. Not a romantic start. Now that I was in the vicinity of her physique, I observed she was a brunette and her hair was partially curly, strands of which falling across her face, kiss curls. Man that was irresistible. She was fair and looked elusive for a pretty woman. Her eyes seemed to convey more. I beckoned the attendant, asked for champagne, one for the lady and another for me.
They arrived. I signed the check with an extra good tip. Held my goblet in air and waited for her to respond. Not to derange my expectation, she lifted hers. “For an unpleasant past and a hope of a wonderful rela… friendship.” I waited for her, with a prudent smile, to clank my goblet. She on the other hand, remained calm, absorbed everything with elegance and glowed with an upbeat. She clanked with a smile and uttered, “Cheers. And why not for a relationship?” My face wore a wide grin. Just then I realized the better half of me, for the rest of my life, was sitting right in front of me.
Addendum: On the tissue – “She is not worth it and neither is mine.”
