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“Someone sitting here?”
“All yours.”
The stranger sat beside him.
“I heard I’ve finally been replaced.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re the new guy.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“She used to come to me. You know, when she couldn’t handle being alone. I was the one she turned to.”
The stranger paused as he looked down at his arms; now folded on the bar. He continued.
“When I stopped hearing from her, I assumed she grew up; that she could finally take care of herself… but now you’re here.”
“I am.”
The stranger gave him a once over. He wasn’t condescending, just observant. The stranger hesitated before speaking again.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“How is she?”
“Do you miss her?” He laughed.
“I worry. I wanna know that she’s okay… you know, without me.”
“She’s… been better. Obviously. I mean, there’s a reason why I’m here now.”
“But she was doing so well for herself. She had some really good friends.”
“Ah well, they turned out to be not so great.”
“But she still has a boyfriend, can’t she rely on him? Someone physical?”
“Oh, you don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“He ended up cheating on her. They were separated for barely a month, and he cheated.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“I wish I was. She had to do something to get her mind off it, so she finally got around to watching the last two episodes of my show. Just so happens, that’s when I was introduced.”
“That’s some timing, huh?”
“You’re tellin’ me. She’s been up my ass ever since.”
A brief silence fell between the two of them. The stranger shifted uncomfortably in his chair before speaking again.
“Are you taking good care of her?”
“I do what I can. I’m always there when she needs me, if that’s what you mean.”
“Good. Sometimes…” the stranger took a deep breath, “sometimes that’s all she needs.”
The stranger awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He was hesitant but continued regardless.
“Can you tell her I was here; that I asked about her?”
“Of course. I’m sure she misses you too.”
“Thanks.”